Succession planning
PlAnning For succession
As the H1N1 virus forces companies to consider how they will cope with
reduced staff numbers, Garry Smith emphasises the vital role played by
effective succession planning in ensuring continuity of service
F
or many organisations, their annual reports give an assurance Succession planning
that “Our people are our greatest asset”, or words to that Ideally, companies will have comprehensive succession plans in
effect. However, their business continuity strategies often place, ensuring that there is always someone suitably qualified and
focus on IT, telephony and premises. That said, there is a growing skilled ready to fill any gaps, whatever challenges arise. The process
acknowledgement that maintaining the availability of core skills involves having a clear understanding of the organisation’s long-
and knowledge also needs to be addressed as part of a BCM term goals and objectives, matched with knowledge of the current
strategy, and indeed BS25999 Code puts people first in the list of capability of staff and their development needs, plus an awareness
organisational resources to be considered. of what’s happening in the labour market.
Apart from eliminating single points of failure, the advantages
The swine flu effect of embedding succession planning throughout the organisation
For most companies, the emergence of the H1N1 virus and include:
the speed at which it spread – particularly to the front pages of • More motivated staff
the newspapers – was surprising. Many organisations quickly • More effective deployment
diverted resources to plan for the expected business impact of the • Effective transition between roles
pandemic, and those which already had pandemic plans in place • Preparation for bigger roles
had to revise these when previous planning assumptions were • Better retention of valued staff
shown to be flawed. • Broader business understanding through cross-functional moves
Despite the extra workload caused, some BCM practitioners, • Improved capability to deal with a crisis or disruption
particularly in organisations where there is no strong continuity There is no doubt that the ability to identify, grow and retain a
culture, have quietly described swine flu as a blessing in disguise. It stable, talented workforce can be a vital source of competitive
is easy to see why. The effects of the virus have so far been relatively advantage. Effective succession planning fosters the next generation
mild, and staff absence levels have not become a problem. This of talent necessary for continued success. In fact, according to the
has provided an opportunity to check the validity of plans and recent ‘War on Talent’ survey, conducted by the Chartered Institute
processes before a second (potentially more virulent) phase of the of Personnel and Development, 58% of UK organisations reported
virus arrives. having a process for identifying leadership talent.
However, the primary reason is that senior managers have been Despite this, succession planning is often not considered key in
forced to put business continuity at the top of their agenda as the context of business disruptions. There are a number of reasons
they consider how they might cope with limited resources. What for this. Firstly, the process is generally owned by HR, and is tied
activities can be stopped, scaled down or done differently, and in to a range of other processes such as performance management,
how can staff be redeployed most effectively? For those who have recruitment, training and development, and graduate programmes.
been trying to tackle these issues for years but been hampered It may also be linked to a competency framework relating to
by indifference or even obstruction, swine flu may prove a very a broad range of leadership behaviours, rather than specific
e
effective ‘burning platform’. knowledge or skills needed to support critical activities. In addition,
For many organisations, this is the first time they have really succession planning often focuses predominantly on senior roles
given serious consideration to how to maintain their business with within an organisation, whereas many critical staff may have
reduced staff numbers or without key staff members. So having operational, technical or specialist roles.
started on this process, what should organisations be doing to The challenge for BCM practitioners is to ensure that business
ensure that people issues are addressed as part of their continuity continuity requirements and the range of skills available throughout
©iStockphoto.com/lorrainedark strategy? the organisation are captured as part of the succession planning
November/December 2009  Continuity  7
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