Talent and Succession Planning
Is your pipeline ready for a rock star employee to leave?
I once knew a rock star.
No, not the guitar-and-microphone-bearing kind of rock star (as much as I wish I could say that), but the great-leader-of-great-work-and-people kind of rock star. I worked with him frequently, relied on him for many things — given the various projects he and I were a part of — and knew of his reputation throughout the organization.
He was everywhere, had his hand in or authority on everything, and was known to everyone. He attended a lot of meetings and preferred to handle a multitude of tasks on his own accord. He always held himself accountable to a great many deliverables and met every single one. You know, a rock star.
However, this big man on campus seemed to be overworked and over-utilized. Was this something that was being overlooked? Or even worse, ignored?
Then it happened. The organization lost him, and in the worst possible way, as he suddenly passed away. This high potential, high performer, who had just recently been promoted to an executive leader and awarded “Leader of the Year” in his organization, was gone and severely missed by his colleagues, teammates, superiors, direct reports, family, and friends.
I recently had a conversation with a current employee of this organization. “We are working through everything he did and divvying it up to different leaders on the team,” she said. “We are still discovering things that he did that we didn’t even know about.”
“I know it’s hard to even fathom, and may be too soon, but is there any progress on identifying his backfill?” I asked. “Promoting someone? Hiring externally?”
“No one could take on all he did and do his job. We literally could not replace him,” she said. “We are evaluating how we redesign the role and maybe it’s not just one person or a single role anymore. He singlehandedly ran much of operations, and we are discovering much, much more than that.”
In hearing this, I thought of the members of that leadership team who are not only missing an essential piece of the organization, but an even bigger piece of their hearts. They were trying desperately to repair their business while also attempting to mend their spirits after losing a cherished colleague. The immensity of the situation had me feeling broken for several days — all I could think about was the tightrope they were walking as they try to keep the organization afloat (“business as usual,” as they say) while mourning a loved one.
This is a position that no company should have to be in. While the circumstances might not be as ominous or severe, too many organizations are facing a risk with over-utilized staff that could step away at any moment.
Succession planning problems
There is a belief in some circles that some talent — top talent — is just plain irreplaceable. And while that may or may not be true, the real problem is that not many of the organizations who may believe it are doing anything to change it.
That perception — that there are two, three, or maybe a handful of team members who would be irreplaceable — becomes a huge problem if the organization’s talent planning strategy is like those surveyed by i4cp. Nearly 40 percent of the organizations surveyed reported that decision makers only meet on an ad hoc basis to discuss people in the succession pipeline and make sure they are armed and ready with a suitable back up.
So, who is a rock star?
Like the rock star I knew, these employees have been around the block, seem to be good at everything they do, and have been given endless awards for their spirit, determination, and innovation. They epitomize the organization’s core values, have influence both up and down the ladder, and have built long-lasting relationships with both colleagues and customers. It’s difficult to identify a gap in their performance and hard to imagine the organization without them. They are — to put it simply — the unicorns of the corporate world.
Except for one small thing: they do too much.
They are all too often the sole resource and “go-to” for all high-priority projects, business processes, and standard operating procedures. They are the owner of more institutional knowledge than anyone could find the time to write down and therefore the primary provider of information, answers, and decisions. In essence, they are the lifeblood of the organization.
Now imagine that this rock star employee wins the lottery and leaves the organization (or, more likely, jumps ship for a higher paying role with a competitor), never to be heard from again. Suddenly, that “one small thing” mentioned earlier becomes a really big thing.
While the organization may or may not have developed and supported this employee, they most likely have done little to prepare the next round of rock stars. Unfortunately, approximately 75.4 percent of organizations don’t have a consistent, system-wide process aimed at identifying and developing successors for key roles.
The lighter side of this very heavy story is coming, and it begins with identifying and deploying a strategic succession plan. If parts of this story are sounding all too familiar — you can identify the rock star(s) within your organization, but not a succession plan to backfill the role — it’s not too late to mitigate the risk for your organization.
Creating a succession management plan
The first step is to identify and name those rock stars (keeping in mind that it could be you). Does your organization hold talent planning sessions? Are you all on the same page about who your top talent is?
Find out how top talent is defined at your organization, identify the unicorns, and talk to them. What do they do? How do they get it done? What are their strengths? How can they share the workload? Are they open to mentoring others? Who are their closest colleagues that they trust the most with important responsibilities?
While conducting this quest, keep in mind that high-performance organizations are transitioning from “talent management” toward “people management.” This means that organizations are starting to shift the focus from solely finding and rewarding top talent to empowering and improving performance everywhere with strengths-based coaching.
Maybe your rock star is good at a lot of things (hence being a rock star!), but you probably have team members with niche skills who are just waiting for their chance to shine. Investing in these individuals is the healthiest way to ensure that an unexpected absence doesn’t leave an unfillable vacancy.
The next step is to work with an HR business partner, talent management, or organizational effectiveness professional to create a strategic succession plan (or, as some organizations are now calling it, succession management). In a way, it’s similar to the first step —start by getting to know all of your talent.
Another article by i4cp shares some best practices for succession management at high-performance organizations, including building succession “pools” versus emphasizing single successors and maintaining company-wide skills directories. These succession pools and skills directories help create a talent pipeline full of individuals who are ready to hit the ground running.
Developing and rewarding rock stars
After a talent planning team comes together, it’s important to ensure that great leaders and top performers in your organization are not only rewarded, but also help nurture talent through coaching and mentoring. Allowing this to become an integral part of your organization’s leadership culture is the best way to make sure everyone shares the success of the organization.
This piece by the Talent Strategy group states that organizations that are good at growing talent “have a consistent company approach to managing talent and managers are clearly accountable to execute that approach.” It also states that “managers make finding and growing great talent the core of their business agenda.” Additionally, in an i4cp checklist for talent planning, it’s suggested that identifying and developing a diverse slate of talent for succession roles should be a performance requirement for leaders.
Building a culture of trust
Finally, find ways to support team members so they feel comfortable saying “no” — “no” to that additional project, “no” to taking on that extra task or responsibility, and “no” to being over-utilized. They are, after all, still a rock star in your eyes. Instead, find ways to encourage and reward trust, delegation, and teamwork.
With a sound succession plan, if the worst were to happen or a rock star jumps ship, your organization can focus on the most important things: celebrating life and supporting changes to keep the business moving in the meantime.
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Slalom is a global consulting firm focused on strategy, technology, and business transformation. Learn more and reach out today.
