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In an increasingly difficult hiring market, what are you doing to keep your internal pipeline flowing?
I have recently worked with a few companies that did not know what succession planning was or how it was a benefit to both the company and the employee. Do you know?
The Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) defines Succession planning as: a focused process for keeping talent in the pipeline.
Some people think it is only about management and leaders and moving up. Which, the majority of succession planning will focus on that, but it can also entail giving your employees a reason to stay.
As employees who are currently working are the most desired and targets for recruiters (such as myself), what reasons do your people have to stay? Is it just the pay and benefits? Do you have free popcorn Fridays? What about going deeper?
1. Give them a career path. For the up-and-coming talent that you do not want to lose, set them on a path to promotion. Give them more than a paycheck, give them development and a path they can see.
2. For those who aren’t yet close to a promotional path, give them education and mentoring to lead them in that direction. Or speak with them to see what direction they want to go. I’m not suggesting paying for piano lessons if it will not benefit both them and the company but finding something that does.
3. Some are not made for promotion. You do have to have worker bees that will get the front-line jobs done and done well. Consider cross-training to keep things new and interesting. You also might discover more efficient ways to do things with a fresh set of eyes.
Probably the most important reason for succession planning is for business continuity but career paths and retention are pretty darn important as well.