THE INS AND OUTS OF SUCCESSION PLANNING Association of Catholic Publishers September 4, 2014

Carol Fowler (Cell)

What is succession planning? A process for identifying and developing internal people to fill key leadership positions in an organization. Replacement planning for key roles in a narrow sense is at the heart of succession planning Broadly, it is a process that ensures staff is recruited and developed for ongoing staffing purposes.

WHY BOTHER? Small and medium organizations are often not adequately prepared for business succession. We rely on staff to make the mission happen Baby boomer reality!

DISCUSSION Given your personal experience and experience in your publishing organization, what are the key competencies for major leadership roles in your organization? What could be some helpful developmental experiences for those who might be slated for significant leadership positions in your organization?

KEY PROCESSES Choosing the right employees Developing employees for key roles

PROCESSES AND PRACTICES Identify key roles Define competencies and motivational profile Assessment with a future orientation Identify pools of talent Develop staff CANDOR Differentiation

Related processes of planning Business Exit Planning Integration of performance management and succession planning Planning in family businesses

STEPS IN SUCCESSION PLANNING Capacity and needs assessment Develop and implement the plan Monitor and manage the plan

SUCCESSION STRATEGIES (OPM.gov.) Identify recruitment strategies Identify retention strategies Identify development/learning strategies Link to HR practices of performance management, compensation, recognition, recruitment and retention, workforce planning

EFFECTIVE SUCCESSION PLANNING HAS CLEAR OBJECTIVES (Kesler, 2002) Identify those with potential for greater leadership Provide critical development experiences Engage leadership in supporting such experiences Build a good database to make better staffing decisions

FIRST STEPS Reasonable financial stability of the organization is in place Strategic plan and articulated mission, vision and values are in place CEO is engaged, supportive and involved Performance management system is in place (Compass Point)

EMERGENCY SUCCESSION PLANNING Identify critical executive functions and responsibilities Document key relationships, contacts and processes Readily available file for key documents, strategic plans, operational plans, calendars, activitiesd, etc. Create policy and procedure for immediate implementation when necessary Good succession planning should reduce the number of times an emergency succession plan needs to be implemented.

Legal Note: A succession plan is not a guarantee of future employment but rather a developmental plan to prepare staff for possible opportunities and organizational needs.

DISCUSSION: Can you think of some examples of times in your current organization or a different organization when lack of succession planning created a major problem? For example: perhaps there was an untimely death of a leader or unexpected long term illness in which that person had key processes and knowledge “in her head?”

BENEFITS OF SUCCESSION PLANNING Aligns staff and staff development with strategic plans of the organization Builds leadership capacity of staff Aligns staff development with Board and C-Suite goals (The Fogarty Group)

HOW LEADERS DEVELOP Coaches, mentors and bosses Peer groups including professional organizations Formal training and leadership development programs Topical workshops (Nonprofit Leadership Development: A Model for Identifying and Growing Leaders. Bonner and Obergas)

DISCUSSION: What are some key challenges to effective succession planning?

BIBLIOGRAPHY A Succession Planning Checklist – Compass Point Nonprofit Leadership Development: A Model for Identifing and Growing Leaders. Bonner and Obergas Emergency Succession Planning Template Leslie Bonner, Bonner Consulting Gay Fogarty, The Fogarty Group Office of Personnel Management opm.gov

Bibliography cont. Succession Planning – HR Toolkit, HR Council of Canada hrcouncil.ca Leading Organization Design by Gregorgy Kesler GOOGLE Winning by Jack Welch Advantage by Patrick Lencioni