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The Importance of Career Planning & Succession Management Within the Workplace: Part 2

In Part 1 of this topic I introduced the concept of succession management and the importance of career planning when it comes to retaining your employees and creating a culture of growth. In Part 2 we’ll dive deeper into the individual needs of your employees and how communication is central to the success of your ongoing succession plan.

Effective succession planning goes beyond a one-time event; it’s important to plan with your team and encourage the continual development of your staff through mentoring, regular check-ins, goal setting and strategic evaluation over time. Career plans are no longer static, and as companies continue to downsize and flatten, traditional career ladders are becoming less prevalent. Instead, helping your employees seek opportunities to grow and having authentic, timely conversations about their personal and professional goals can have a huge influence on how engaged they are, their perception of where or how they work, and how supported they feel on their professional journey.

Particularly when managing a multi-generational workforce, each of these different demographics has varying needs, wants and expectations. Baby boomers, for example, might have typically enjoyed decade-long careers while millennials will seek multiple jobs throughout their lifetime. With this in mind, succession planning then isn’t just about finding the right talent, but also dealing with high rates of turnover within younger generations. Yet in the race to replace older generations and retain the millennials, it’s important you don’t forget about Gen X. This demographic is often next in line to step into leadership roles as older generations move into retirement, but if they’re continually looked over in favour of millennials or sense a ‘grey ceiling’ looming above them, they might leave to follow their career dreams elsewhere.

Once stripped back, the common thread is all about communication. Communicating and planning across the board is essential, not only regarding succession management but planning for growth and being prepared for successions when they arrive. Staying ahead of the curve by understanding each employee’s individual growth trajectory and communicating openly with your team has long-lasting results; effective leadership means less about ruling from the top, and more about identifying if the people who work beneath you are growing and developing.

It’s important to really know your team; we’re all humans after all – each with varying aspirations, attitudes, skills, goals and dreams – and it’s human nature to want to grow, whether that’s learning a new skill to advance your career, embracing new responsibilities, or exploring ways to find happiness and challenges in your day-today that might simultaneously help your company too.

Communication is imperative and working with your team to plan for and execute an effective growth strategy requires the right tools to do so. Inspired by my passion for strategising and deep interest in culture and career development I’m excited to announce the I’ve recently finished working on a customised business planning system that’s finally ready to launch in the market. It’s been built using years of industry knowledge and experience, drawing upon case studies and fervent analysis of the ins and outs of career planning and succession management.

If you’re looking to adopt an innovative and cost-effective approach in the new financial year, I’d love to hear from you.

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The Importance of Career Planning & Succession Management Within the Workplace: Part 1

Driven by an increase in global competition and dramatic changes to workforce demographics, Succession Planning is more than just a plan. Coming of age over the past decade, a successful ‘succession’ goes hand in hand with career development and the weight it carries with both new and existing employees. 

As 2020 fast approaches, establishing an effective succession management strategy alongside career development processes is more important than ever. The evolution of succession starts at the bottom; retaining, motivating and driving employees to consider how their role might extend deeper into the business, and giving them the tools to do so. With talent continuity essential to the evolution of succession planning, what better place to start than with your own team?

What is Succession Management, and why is it important?

Succession Management is, at its heart, a comprehensive and integrated recruitment strategy for positions of leadership. The world of work is changing, and no company can assume that essential talent will always be available. When it comes to the long-range view, finding value in the development and training of future leaders is equally as important as placing weight on technical skill.

Effective succession facilitates a positive impact on performance management, not only in terms of ensuring that key positions are filled with competent performers, but also in terms of saving money on external recruitment and training, which are often significantly more costly than promoting from within.

By encouraging the broader participation of existing employees, it shows your team that they have a future in your organisation; a path to get there, and a reason to stay. It’s vital for creating a culture of growth, which is both positive to the personal and professional development of your staff, as well as an important way to identify which employees have the necessary skills to either replace senior executives, or step into positions of leadership down the track.

Your employees know what’s in it for them; and it’s often the ambitious, talented team members who value the ability to take charge of their own careers that become your future leaders.

Where does HR come in?

In playing a vital role in the process of succession planning, HR leaders are on the front line when it comes to facilitating the smooth and successful transition of critical positions. While on the surface this process appears seamless, the challenges often lie within the integration of both long and short term goals, as well as choosing the right candidate with the best cultural fit.

With the concept of succession planning ever evolving, it’s become clear that an effective program needs to be dynamic and ongoing, multifaceted and further linked to greater collaborative initiatives. It’s a complex process that requires the right people to lead it, and deep investment into a long-term strategy.

In Part 2 of this topic I’ll share some deeper insights into understanding you team, their needs and how effective communication is paramount when implementing succession planning within you company.

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When is the right time to bring in external HR support?

If you’re running a growing small business and are finding yourself spending an increasing amount of time and energy on your staff instead of spending that time on your business then this is the list for you.

If any of the below apply, then bringing a HR consultant on board could be the right choice for the future of your business.

1. You’re out of time

After good staff, the most valuable resource to your business is likely time. You may need a HR consultant if you or your team are consistently short on the number of hours you can devote to day-to-day HR tasks – or if those tasks are fractured among different staff members. Leaving HR as an afterthought can often lead to costly non-compliance or legal issues and dissatisfied employees. A HR consultant also saves you the time that you’d spend training and on-boarding a new in-house HR manager. Plus, a professional’s existing expertise also means tasks are often completed faster.

2. Your business is rapidly growing or changing

During periods of high change in your business, you’ll have enough matters – aside from HR – that demand your attention. And when that change is particularly tumultuous, a specialist can help navigate the stickier side of running an organisation. Especially as they understand the ramifications of changes in pay or roles, down-sizing, restructuring, terminations, investigations, conflict resolution and any disciplinary matters that arise.

3. You just haven’t found “the one” yet

Culture fit is one of the most important factors that nurture a happy workplace. Whether you’re thinking of adding an HR manager to your team for the very first time, or you’re in between HR managers, you want to hire the perfect person. Temporarily partnering with a HR consultant as a stop-gap measure during this time is often more cost-effective in the long run than hurrying the recruitment process. It also ensures your eventual new hire will be seamlessly joining a well-run department. Not to mention, a HR consultant can also assist you in finding the right person to join your team.

4. You need the resources to meet your business growth goals

Do you have big plans to grow your business and need a top-level HR strategy to meet your objectives but don’t know where to start? HR Consultants are experts in providing the framework to ensure you have the right staff and systems to meet your strategic business objectives. On top of this, they can develop an employment strategy in line with your overall business plan to communicate the vision to existing staff, build and motivate your team, drive efficiencies, and inspire individuals to reach their full potential. HR Consultants can also customise strategies to develop the individual capabilities of staff, to enable you to achieve your business goals.

5. You simply don’t need a full-time HR manager

If your business is small to medium in size you may very well not require permanent HR staff. Yet as soon as you hire your very first employee, it’s important to start thinking about your future HR requirements. You probably have an intimate knowledge of what your business offers, who it’s for and what your hopes are for the future, but may not know the finer details of HR. Working with a HR consultant means you can add their wide-ranging expertise to your team, and save on the salary and recruitment costs you’d spend on HR staff. Good consultants are also highly adaptable and flexible; meaning you can hire them on a project-by-project basis or for longer or shorter time periods to suit your business needs.

Still not sure if a HR consultant can assist your particular situation? Get in touch for a chat about how Catie Paterson Consulting can help you.

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