Succession planning is one of the most important career development tools used by organizations. This is done to determine the backups for each senior position by identifying and training the executives who are at the next-lower levels. This is an important process as most organizations rely on it to find their next CEO and other top notch executives. This includes an overall development of lower level employees to make sure that they can effectively handle the responsibilities that they will be handed over in next few years. Formal succession planning is an examination of organization’s long range plans and strategies and HR forecasts. It also offers several other benefits and has a positive impact on organizational culture and efficiency.

Benefits of Formal Succession Planning

• Formal succession planning is a systematic approach for preparing employees at lower levels to handle the responsibilities of next higher levels in the coming years. The process involves a lot of serious planning and careful HR forecasts in identifying the capable employees who have the potential to be promoted to next level in the hierarchy.
• It provides a logical approach for succession of top notch positions by the next lower-level employee. It is all about identifying the skills and competencies and potential of an employee so that he or she can be deployed at different jobs in the time of crisis.

• Succession planning gives the answers to all the questions regarding preparing an individual for the next level in the organizational hierarchy. It helps HR specialists in knowing and understanding why a specific individual should be developed and trained to promote to the next level.

• It reduces the randomness in organization’s processes and managerial development movements and establishes formal steps and actions, policies and procedures to support the process of selecting the CEO and other top management executives.

• A formal succession planning process is a proactive approach to fill a top position. It helps HR professionals to anticipate problems in the process before they get started. This is very important to avoid negative and dysfunctional situations.

• It fosters cross-functional development and facilitates the integration of HR planning components, processes and procedures. Not only this, it supports connecting formats, guidelines, analyses, judgments and discussions at their front.

• Formal succession planning helps in further exploitation of computer systems, HRP software applications, HR tools and techniques in order to support the identification, development and training of the individuals.

• It helps HR managers in overcoming the limitations of reactive management approaches and fosters pro-active management approaches to make organization a better place to work.

• It establishes a logical basis for making choices among qualified candidates. Who should be selected, why they should be selected and what skills and competencies they own and what needs to be developed in them are critical factors while identifying the employees for succession planning.

• The process establishes a specific connection between the business objectives and HR strategic planning. Along with this, it also increases internal promotion opportunities.