Dear Friends, Would you like to pls let me know the an overview on what is Succession planning. and the steps required for it. I will be waiting for this thanks and regards, Jay
From Pakistan, Karachi
2From Pakistan, Karachi
Succession has always been a major issue in any organisation for any position, due to innumerable reasons. Improper delegation of work, leading to chaos is one of them. Delegation is an art, which very few people practice. Non-practitioners of delegation fail to realise that when they leave their position, there would be no one competent enough to replace them. Thus succession becomes harder and a greater problem.
The succession at Ranbaxy Laboratories, following Mr. Parminder Singh's demise is an example to how delegation helps in the smooth transfer of executive power.
Objectives of delegation
Succession planning by exposing subordinates to different levels of work.
Manage and prioritise work efficiently.
Employee motivation.
Enhance interpersonal skills.
Making it work
Evaluate tasks. Based on the task's merit, identify the appropriate person to handle it. Any subordinate can handle routine tasks. However, certain tasks require special skills for which a search needs to be made amongst subordinates.
Set rules and regulations. This is essential to build trust. Reporting authority and boundaries for decision-making need to be clarified. Vagueness should be avoided.
Analyse the benefits. Delegation is beneficial to the person who is giving the work, to whom it has been given, the department and the organisation. The problems, however, should also be understood, such as the consequences if things do not work out, the worst case scenarios, negative impact on the individual and the support and guidance that need to be given.
Select the delegatee. Choosing the appropriate person with the knowledge, skills, motivation and time is the crucial task. It is also important because this is how people develop and are trained for succession.
Adept communication. The delegatee should understand the work delegated. Some areas that need to be clear are:
# Why the work needs to be done
# What is expected of him
# The deadline
# Decision making authority
# Work progress reports
# Resources and help at his disposal
# Monitor performance. Just because the work has been delegated, it should be no reason for abdication. Do not allow the subordinates to become careless about meeting deadlines.
Review and evaluate. Positive outcome needs to be evaluated in terms of skills and activity. Failures should be handled constructively. Self-appraisal forms from the employees will help in such evaluation.
Conclusion
Delegation permits comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of subordinates, which is the first step to succession. Above all, it leaves the superior more relaxed and tension-free.
From India, Delhi
The succession at Ranbaxy Laboratories, following Mr. Parminder Singh's demise is an example to how delegation helps in the smooth transfer of executive power.
Objectives of delegation
Succession planning by exposing subordinates to different levels of work.
Manage and prioritise work efficiently.
Employee motivation.
Enhance interpersonal skills.
Making it work
Evaluate tasks. Based on the task's merit, identify the appropriate person to handle it. Any subordinate can handle routine tasks. However, certain tasks require special skills for which a search needs to be made amongst subordinates.
Set rules and regulations. This is essential to build trust. Reporting authority and boundaries for decision-making need to be clarified. Vagueness should be avoided.
Analyse the benefits. Delegation is beneficial to the person who is giving the work, to whom it has been given, the department and the organisation. The problems, however, should also be understood, such as the consequences if things do not work out, the worst case scenarios, negative impact on the individual and the support and guidance that need to be given.
Select the delegatee. Choosing the appropriate person with the knowledge, skills, motivation and time is the crucial task. It is also important because this is how people develop and are trained for succession.
Adept communication. The delegatee should understand the work delegated. Some areas that need to be clear are:
# Why the work needs to be done
# What is expected of him
# The deadline
# Decision making authority
# Work progress reports
# Resources and help at his disposal
# Monitor performance. Just because the work has been delegated, it should be no reason for abdication. Do not allow the subordinates to become careless about meeting deadlines.
Review and evaluate. Positive outcome needs to be evaluated in terms of skills and activity. Failures should be handled constructively. Self-appraisal forms from the employees will help in such evaluation.
Conclusion
Delegation permits comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of subordinates, which is the first step to succession. Above all, it leaves the superior more relaxed and tension-free.
From India, Delhi
Hi I think the scenario may be completely different in Family Business Setups .. Wherein you have to forcefully fit in ur clan as ur successor... Dheeraj :roll:
From India, Calcutta
From India, Calcutta
Dear Jawaid,
May I add a few additional comments specific to succession planning;
Main features of modern succession planning
Definition
Succession planning can be broadly defined as identifying future potential leaders to fill key positions. Wendy Hirsh defines succession planning as 'a process by which one or more successors are identified for key posts (or groups of similar key posts), and career moves and/or development activities are planned for these successors. Successors may be fairly ready to do the job (short-term successors) or seen as having longer-term potential (long-term successors).'
According to Hirsh, succession planning sits inside a very much wider set of resourcing and development processes called 'succession management', encompassing management resourcing strategy, aggregate analysis of demand/supply (human resource planning and auditing), skills analysis, the job filling process, and management development (including graduate and high-flyer programmes).
Coverage
Organisations differ in size, scope and type, so it is difficult to point to any single model of succession planning. However, it is most common for succession planning to cover only the most senior jobs in the organisation, plus short-term and longer-term successors for these posts.
The latter group are in effect on a fast-track, and are developed through job moves within various parts of the business. This focus on the most senior posts - perhaps the top two or three levels of management - means that even in large organisations, only a few hundred people at any given time will be subject to the succession planning process. It also makes the process more manageable, because it is much easier to concentrate on a few hundred individuals rather than (say) several thousand. That said, however, many large organisations attempt to operate devolved models in divisions, sites or countries where the same or similar processes are applied to a wider population.
Balance between individuals and organisations
The old succession planning was purely about organisational needs. The modern version takes account of the growing recognition that people - men as well as women - increasingly need to make their own career decisions and to balance career and family responsibilities. So the emphasis is about balancing the aspirations of individuals with those of their employing organisations, as far as possible customising moves to meet the needs of employees, their families and the changing skill requirements of the organisation.
Broadening experience by lateral moves
Traditionally, people would have gained experience by upward moves, with accompanying increases in status and salary. Nowadays that may not be possible, because organisations are less hierarchical, with fewer management layers. A sideways move into a different job may be all that is available, without any extra cash. Traditional fast-tracking created expectations of upward progression, and if status and money are thought to be motivators, different methods of generating commitment may have to be found.
Roles, not jobs
In the past, people would move up to specific, often specialist, jobs. Now (although some jobs will always require specialists) the main focus is on identifying and developing groups of jobs to enable potential successors to be identified for a variety of roles. So jobs might be clustered by role, function and level so that the generic skills responsible for particular roles can be developed. The aim is to develop pools of talented people, each of whom is adaptable and capable of filling a number of roles. Because succession planning is concerned with developing longer-term successors as well as short-term replacements, each pool will be considerably larger than the range of posts it covers.
Hope this will of help in clarifying the isuue
Cheers
Prof.Lakshman
From Sri Lanka, Kolonnawa
May I add a few additional comments specific to succession planning;
Main features of modern succession planning
Definition
Succession planning can be broadly defined as identifying future potential leaders to fill key positions. Wendy Hirsh defines succession planning as 'a process by which one or more successors are identified for key posts (or groups of similar key posts), and career moves and/or development activities are planned for these successors. Successors may be fairly ready to do the job (short-term successors) or seen as having longer-term potential (long-term successors).'
According to Hirsh, succession planning sits inside a very much wider set of resourcing and development processes called 'succession management', encompassing management resourcing strategy, aggregate analysis of demand/supply (human resource planning and auditing), skills analysis, the job filling process, and management development (including graduate and high-flyer programmes).
Coverage
Organisations differ in size, scope and type, so it is difficult to point to any single model of succession planning. However, it is most common for succession planning to cover only the most senior jobs in the organisation, plus short-term and longer-term successors for these posts.
The latter group are in effect on a fast-track, and are developed through job moves within various parts of the business. This focus on the most senior posts - perhaps the top two or three levels of management - means that even in large organisations, only a few hundred people at any given time will be subject to the succession planning process. It also makes the process more manageable, because it is much easier to concentrate on a few hundred individuals rather than (say) several thousand. That said, however, many large organisations attempt to operate devolved models in divisions, sites or countries where the same or similar processes are applied to a wider population.
Balance between individuals and organisations
The old succession planning was purely about organisational needs. The modern version takes account of the growing recognition that people - men as well as women - increasingly need to make their own career decisions and to balance career and family responsibilities. So the emphasis is about balancing the aspirations of individuals with those of their employing organisations, as far as possible customising moves to meet the needs of employees, their families and the changing skill requirements of the organisation.
Broadening experience by lateral moves
Traditionally, people would have gained experience by upward moves, with accompanying increases in status and salary. Nowadays that may not be possible, because organisations are less hierarchical, with fewer management layers. A sideways move into a different job may be all that is available, without any extra cash. Traditional fast-tracking created expectations of upward progression, and if status and money are thought to be motivators, different methods of generating commitment may have to be found.
Roles, not jobs
In the past, people would move up to specific, often specialist, jobs. Now (although some jobs will always require specialists) the main focus is on identifying and developing groups of jobs to enable potential successors to be identified for a variety of roles. So jobs might be clustered by role, function and level so that the generic skills responsible for particular roles can be developed. The aim is to develop pools of talented people, each of whom is adaptable and capable of filling a number of roles. Because succession planning is concerned with developing longer-term successors as well as short-term replacements, each pool will be considerably larger than the range of posts it covers.
Hope this will of help in clarifying the isuue
Cheers
Prof.Lakshman
From Sri Lanka, Kolonnawa
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Succession planning.pdf
SUCCESSION PLANNING.ppt