The Hindu Business Line : Succession management

Traditionally, the Human Resources Department has been the votary of succession management in the corporate sector. It is natural and logical that with its focus on employees and their efficacy, HR has the onus and ownership of this portfolio in management. However, under the changing paradigms in the 21st century, the effectiveness of any succession planning and management needs a much broader spectrum of ownership.

The new dimensions in succession management warrant the whole-hearted commitment of the chief executive and his top management team. Their identity with the system will send a powerful signal across the entire company that the organisation is dedicated to developing and nurturing talent. Participation by the top managers will have a cascading effect among the lower echelons of management, who are in any case accountable for the actual implementation of the scheme.

Major objectives

Any successful succession management system will have two major objectives. The first is to serve the needs of the organisation by providing a continuous and uninterrupted supply of talent. The good systems not only avoid any talent gaps but also, equally important, help to retain talent. The second objective of a succession management system is to serve the needs of the people. A good programme will provide timely opportunities to potential executives to meet their deserving aspirations, besides augmenting their personal competencies, such that both the individual and the institution will stand to gain.

A good succession management system must contain some essential components and characteristics to deliver the goods. First, the system must be simple and easy to operate. There must be a common and uniform methodology to provide coherence and consistency among the different business units.

Second, the best systems are development-oriented, rather than replacement-oriented. They introduce a culture and discipline into the organisation, which urge and motivate every senior manager to develop leadership attributes and professional excellence. Third, good succession management systems are always quick to identify the key and linchpin positions in an organisation.

The checkpoints

Fourth, the best systems ensure that the right people are moving into the right positions at the right time. They incorporate frequent checkpoints throughout the year. Those checkpoints highlight who is where, and what is the next move for him. While such schemes are expected to have a smooth passage, nevertheless, the purpose of a checkpoint system is to discern the likelihood of any problem, so that it may be nipped in the bud before it snowballs into a crisis.

Finally, the more successful schemes are built on the basis of continuous reinvention. An effective succession management system is a journey, and not a destination. It is a process, and not a product. There is a continuous attempt to refine and redefine the system. This is done on the basis of the feedback from the managers and the candidates. Good systems take care to avoid the danger of becoming bureaucratic and complacent.

The day is not distant when succession management will become more integrated with the daily life of organisations. This degree of integration will be triggered by the acute shortages of skill and talent in the managerial milieu. As organisations begin to operate best practice and benchmarking strategies more and more, the management will perceive the pay off reflected in their functions and business units.

(The author is a Chennai-based freelance writer.)