Constantly seeking talented people within your company can help build a pipeline for positions and ensure that gaps get filled quickly, says Emily Saving, vice president of professional and program development for Heating, Air-conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International in Succession Planning: Executing the Strategy.
That means not waiting until the last minute to find a successor but instead being on the lookout for talent at all times, says Savings, who suggests that companies develop a process for assessing its current bench strength and creating a road map to address turnover.
Identifying and grooming internal candidates for C-suite positions should begin early, says Bob Mucciarone, COO of F.W. Webb Company. "It all starts with early training and placing employees in positions where they can excel and move up in the organization," he says.
According to Tom Roberts, president of cfm Distributors, succession planning should include "the development of necessary skills to accomplish the required tasks, learning to listen and communicate with staff, vendors and customers to develop solutions, constantly accessing strategic opportunities and threats, while all the time charting a course to success for all."
Read more about identifying and developing future leaders from within the company in Succession Planning: Executing the Strategy.
