Untitled - Saigontre

What Is Succession Planning and Management?
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everyone was willing to relocate geographically whenever asked to do so. Such
assumptions are no longer safe to make: not everyone is willing to make the
sacrifices that go with increased responsibility; not everyone is willing to sacrifice
work-life balance; not everyone is willing to relocate due to the complexities
of dual-career families and situations where elderly parents require care.
Mandated succession planning and management ignores individual career
goals. Decision-makers identify the best candidates for jobs, regardless of
individual preferences. Whenever a vacancy occurs, internal candidates are
approached first. While given right of refusal, they may also be pressured to
accept a job change for the good of the organization. Verified succession planning
and management appreciates the importance of the individual in SP&M.
Decision-makers identify desirable candidates for each job and then verify
their interest in it by conducting career planning interviews or discussions.
When a vacancy occurs, internal candidates are approached, but decision-makers
are already aware of individual preferences, career goals, and interests. No
pressure is exerted on the individual; rather, decision-makers seek a balance
in meeting organizational succession needs and individual career goals.
Ensuring Leadership Continuity in Organizations
There are two main ways to ensure leadership continuity and thereby fill critically
important positions. These may be generally classified as traditional and
alternative approaches. Each can have important implications for SP&M.
Hence, each warrants brief review.
Traditional Approaches
In 1968, Haire noted that people can make only six types of job movements in
any organization: in (entry), out (termination), up (promotion), down (demotion),
across (lateral transfer), or progress in place (development in the current
position). 34 Any one—or all—of these traditional approaches can, of
course, be used as a means to meet succession needs for key positions.
Moving people into an organization (entry) is associated with recruitment
and selection. In short, ‘‘hiring off the street’’ is one way to find successors for
key positions. However, people hired from outside represent a gamble. They
have little stake in the organization’s status quo, though they may have valuable
knowledge in which the organization is otherwise deficient. They may
generate conflict trying to put new ideas into action. That conflict may be
destructive or constructive. Top managers may be reluctant to hire more than
a certain percentage of outsiders for key positions because they do represent
a gamble. Their track records are difficult to verify, and their ability to work
harmoniously in a new corporate culture may be difficult to assess. If they fail,
outsiders may be difficult to terminate both because managers can be reluctant