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All
organisations,
whether in the
private or public
sectors, need
to be able to
find people
with the right
skills to fill
key and top leadership jobs.
This process
needs to be
managed, and
traditionally,
large blue-chip
companies ran
highly-structured,
mechanistic,
secretive, and
top-down schemes
aimed at identifying
internal successors
for key posts
and planning
their career
paths to provide
the necessary
range of experience.
These schemes
worked reasonably
well in a stable
environment
where structures
were fixed and
careers
long-term.
However
with the growing
uncertainty, the
increasing speed
of change and flatter
structures, in today’s
business environment
this method
of succession
planning is
now
inappropriate.
How can you plan
ahead, for jobs
that might not
exist next year?
The new era of
succession planning
looks quite different
from the old version,
with a broader
vision and far
closer links to
wider talent management
practices.
There is greater
openness and transparency
and greater emphasis
on the individual
and focus on roles
rather than jobs.
Secrecy is being
gradually reduced,
and advertising
of internal jobs
is increasing.
It is now more
widely believed
that employees
need to understand
the succession
process, the
methods used to
judge potential
successors, and
the kinds of jobs
that are considered
suitable for each
individual.
With openness
should go fairness; objective assessments of
all available
candidates need
to be seen to
be made. Those
covered by the
process need to
be able to make an
input about their
own career aspirations,
preferences, and
constraints. They
also need feedback
about how they
are perceived
by their employers
and the sorts
of job moves for
which they would
be considered.
As a growing number
of organisations
recognise the
business case
for diversity,
they are increasingly
aware of the need
to ensure that
the talents of
women and ethnic
minorities are
also properly
developed.
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