Talent is a scare resource, yet in many cases it can be the key difference between success and failure in the business world. Talent is required at all levels of an organisation, particularly when found in dynamic and ambitious individuals who want to drive the business forward in order to achieve their own personal goals. However in such a competitive marketplace it can be difficult to retain and attract the right personnel and the fast changing business environment makes it difficult to plan effectively for the future needs of the business. Uncertainty about the future is leading to reluctance to communicate with employees, for fear of raising expectations that it may not be possible to meet, which is why many workers are worried that their careers may stagnate in their current roles.
Most business leaders would agree that it would be ideal to have people willing and able to take on the key roles within the organisation waiting in the wings, learning and contributing to the company culture in the meantime, rather than taking on risks and additional costs bringing in people from outside when the need arises. Many would also agree that issues around motivation and focus might be addressed if employees genuinely believed that such a career path existed and that other issues, such as time to competence and loyalty, as well as cost, would make them prefer an internal candidate to be successful in a recruitment process.
And yet, in recent surveys approximately ¾ of businesses have no succession management plan in place, a figure which increased significantly amongst smaller businesses which, most observers agree, would have the greater need and more to gain from introducing one.
Realistically there are probably a number of reasons why this situation exists, but if one was to take a step back and look at the major challenges facing any business, chief amongst them would be having the right people to perform the required roles to the required standard. Almost everything else becomes secondary – you will struggle to deliver on any aspect of your business strategy if those that you rely on to do so are, for whatever reason, not up to the task. Fortunately, talent strategies and succession planning do not have to be huge, unwieldy processes that take up lots of time, or raise employee expectations to levels that cannot be fulfilled, and often all that’s required is a few tweaks to existing systems.
For example, does your appraisal system have a section that asks the employee if there are other areas of the business or industry that interest them? This information could then be used to select the right person to help out if a particular department needs an extra pair of hands, or to attend a meeting or conference alongside people working in a role, or simply encourage along the right lines. If that employee then demonstrates aptitude, a plan can be put in place to eventually train them up to the desired standard, whilst they still cover their current role. It might be a bit more work for a few people but the benefits such a ‘good news’ story would bring to the business (as well as the benefits outlined above) should easily outweigh any inconvenience.
Business leaders have to establish two pieces on information about their organisations:
· Which roles are the most critical in achieving the organisation’s long term goals?
· Who within the organisation would be suitable for developing so that they could assist in achieving those goals?
Once this information has been gathered a strategy will become clear very quickly. It may involve removing obstacles to growth (or ‘dead wood’ as it is sometimes referred to…), it may involve targeted training. Most likely it will spark communication about exactly what those long term goals are and the strategies developed to achieve them, and if that conversation is widened to include employees outside the Senior Management Team, one might be surprised at the wealth of good, practical ideas that get aired.
