Succession Planning
Succession Planning course
For a full introduction to Succession Planning, you can access the quick 20 minute course on Thinkific through MyConnection < MyLearnings < Succession Planning.
Candidate Assessment Tool (CAT) Work Standard
What is Succession Planning?
The goal of succession planning is to have the right person, in the right role, at the right time (meaning the right time for the organization and the right time for the succession candidate).
Succession planning is the process of identifying, assessing, developing and moving successors to replace departing employees in critical roles. Effective succession planning:
- Supports continuity of services
- Improves the employee experience
- Influences retention
- Ensures effective transitions at all levels of leadership
Key success factors
Six key success factors influence the design and delivery of the framework:
- Whole system focus - all levels of leadership (manager to executive) are included in the scope of the program.
- Integrated - alignment to other HR programs is crucial to ensure an efficient, effective and consistent experience across the organization.
- Evidence-based - Succession decisions will be objective in nature, using data and taking a fact-based approach to ensure fairness and consistency when assessing and selecting succession candidates.
- Cross-functional - Consideration of succession candidates will happen both within current and across other portfolios to encourage a systems focus when developing and moving candidates.
- Collaborative - Succession candidates will identify and confirm interest in future opportunities and will participate in the development of learning and growth plans with their supervisor.
- Aligned - The LEADS in a Caring Environment and SHA Leadership Transitions model influence and support the Succession Planning Framework. Both provide a clear picture of the capabilities, skills and behaviours expected of leaders at various levels of the organization.
Succession Planning framework
Bringing the Succession Planning Framework to life is an intentional commitment and partnership between organizational leaders and Human Resources. Effective succession planning is leader-led and HR-supported.
The toolkit exists to support leaders in developing succession plans by providing tools and resources aligned to various phases in the succession planning process. HR- specifically the Organizational Effectiveness and Leadership team- will provide ongoing support, training and education.
The Succession Planning Framework provides a high-level visual of the 7 phases in the succession planning process within the SHA.
Phase 1: Identify critical roles
Critical roles are high in strategic value and rarity. Strategic value refers to the importance of the role in keeping the organization functioning and executing on the strategic objectives. Rarity refers to how difficult it is to find and develop the capabilities in the role.
Phase 2: Identify candidates
This step focuses on identifying employees to assess and develop for future opportunities. It requires supervisors to determine which direct reports to assess as succession candidates. As supervisors complete this step, it will provide the organization with a pool of succession candidates to consider for future opportunities.
Phase 3: Assess candidates
Assessing candidates based on performance and potential is the focus of this step in the process. Performance is a combination of doing (both actions taken and results achieved) and being (leadership behaviours demonstrated). Potential is a combination of aspiration, learning agility, alignment to core values and engagement.
Phase 4: Confirm candidate interest
Confirming candidate interest focuses on two-way conversations between supervisors and employees. These important conversations help to determine a candidate’s interest in succession opportunities and determine career aspirations.
Phase 5: Create succession readiness plan
After confirming candidate interest, portfolio leadership teams will come together to create a readiness plan. These plans will help portfolios to identify each critical role, the anticipated timeline when critical vacancies might come available, and the list of succession candidates for each critical role.
Phase 6: Develop candidates
This step focuses on helping succession candidate’s progress from where they are, to where they need to be, in order to be ready for future opportunities. This phase can include a mix of both internal and external development resources such as training and development programs, coaching and mentoring, and challenging/stretch assignments.
Phase 7: Move successors
Moving a successor is about effectively managing transitions and supporting leaders as they let go of the old, and embrace the new.