A succession plan names who can take over each key role. It also says when that person is ready. This post shows how to find your key roles in one hour. It gives you a readiness grid to fill in with your managers.
Learn these skills in the course Human Resources (BL-HR), module 3.
Who This Is For
HR managers and department heads with roles that only one person can do. Also owners of family companies who plan the next generation of managers.
Find Your Key Roles
A key role is a role that stops important work when it is empty. Ask three questions for each role. Does the work stop without this person? Is the role hard to fill from outside? Does only one person know the work? Two “yes” answers make it a key role.
The Readiness Grid
Write each key role and its possible successors. Choose one readiness level for each successor.
| Key Role | Person Now | Successor | Ready Now | Ready in 1 to 2 Years | Not Yet | Development Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finance manager | Puan Aminah | Senior accountant | X | Lead the budget process next year | ||
| Plant supervisor | Encik Lim | Senior operator | X | Act as supervisor during leave | ||
Plan for Emergency Cover Too
A successor who is ready in two years does not help next month. For each key role, also name an emergency cover. This person keeps the work going for up to three months. Write down where the key files and passwords are kept.
How to Build the Plan
- List the key roles with the three questions above.
- For each key role, ask the manager to name one or two possible successors.
- Mark each successor on the grid: now, in 1 to 2 years, or not yet.
- Agree one development action for each successor, for example a project or a course.
- Talk with each successor about the plan and the action. Do not promise the role.
- Review the grid every six months, and after each resignation or promotion.
Example: A Property Developer
Take a property developer with 80 staff. Four roles are key: finance, sales, projects and contracts. Contracts has no successor, so the risk is high. The company pairs a quantity surveyor with the contracts manager for six months. The grid now shows a successor who is ready in one year.
What Good Looks Like
- Every key role has at least one successor.
- Each successor has a readiness level.
- Each successor has one development action with a date.
- The grid is reviewed every six months.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Naming only one successor for every key role. One resignation then breaks the plan.
- Choosing successors by friendship, not by results and readiness.
- Promising the role to the successor. Plans change, and trust drops.
- Writing the grid without a development action. A name alone builds no readiness.
Try It This Week
Ask the three questions for each role in your department. Write down your key roles. For one key role, name a successor and one development action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should we tell people they are successors?
Tell them about the development action and the reason. Do not promise the role, because plans change.
Where does the course teach this?
Module 3 of Human Resources (BL-HR) covers succession planning and career development.
Next Step
Read the full outline of Human Resources (BL-HR). All class dates are on the Training Calendar. For a group from your company, get a quote for in-house training. More HR Work Tips are in the skill area HR. Read also:
