Building an Effective Executive Succession Plan
Effective succession strategies maintain business continuity during periods of leadership transition. How do HR professionals build effective strategies? Where can they improve?
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Organizations prioritize strategic thinking, decision-making and communication skills when sourcing new leadership
HR professionals report dissatisfaction with their organizaitons’ ability to develop future leadership
Most organizations include DEI in their executive succession planning, or plan to in the future
Look for strategic thinkers within the organization when succession planning
When sourcing new corporate leadership, respondents note their organization prioritizes strategic thinking, decision making and effective communication above other competencies.
Which three competencies does your organization prioritize most? Rank three (3).
Technical subject matter expertise | Collaboration | Adaptability | Empathetic/Emotional intelligence | Data-driven | Influence/persuasion | Team building | Integrity
n = 59
When sourcing new corporate leadership, does your organization look to primarily promote internal candidates or hire externally?
42% of HR professionals report their organization primarily looks to promote internal candidates when sourcing new corporate leadership. Just 15% report looking outside the organization.
n = 59
Note: May not add up to 100% due to rounding
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Question: What advice would you give to organizations who have just started their executive succession planning?
Integrate succession planning with the entire employee experience, and a commitment to deliberate development for all managers.
For an effective succession strategy, focus on leadership development
HR professionals are most satisfied with their organizations’ strategy for identifying potential future leadership (80%). Respondents are least satisfied with their organizations’ ability to develop selected leadership (17%).
How satisfied are you with the following aspects of your organization’s executive succession strategy:
Note: May not add up to 100% due to rounding
n = 59
Question: What advice would you give to organizations who have just started their executive succession planning?
Maturity takes time. Be patient. Set clear guidelines/criteria. Invest in the identified development.
Include DEI in your strategy
Does your organization include DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) as criterion in your executive succession strategy?
Over half (56%) of HR professionals report their organization includes DEI as a criterion in their executive succession strategy. An additional 24% reportedly plan to include DEI in the future.
n = 59
Note: May not add up to 100% due to rounding
Question: Do you have any final thoughts to share about including DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) in your executive succession planning?
Varied brains help develop global corporations.
Value it, but don't over prioritize it at the expense of making the best decisions.
In their own words...
Question: What advice would you give to organizations who have just started their executive succession planning?
It is always better to start this process sooner than later. It is quite rewarding if you have a proper succession plan in place. Time to fill the position reduces drastically, and it helps [the] organization in maintaining business continuity better.
Question: Do you have any final thoughts to share about including DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) in your executive succession planning?
Start early, align succession planning with business strategy, involve key stakeholders, identify critical positions, assess current talent, provide development opportunities and create a talent pipeline to ensure a smooth transition in leadership.
Consider DEI and representation (gender and racial/ethnic) when succession planning, however be careful just focusing on improving representation or setting DEI goals that exist in a vacuum from business or organizational priorities. Try, as much as possible, to consider broad dimensions of diversity when assembling or planning for effective teams
Respondent Breakdown
