Where are you getting your talent from?

Consider the facts:

- 40 percent of employers worldwide are having difficulty filling positions due to the lack of suitable talent available in their markets.

- According to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics, the shortage of skilled workers will exceed 10 million by 2010.

- 45 percent of workers say they want to change jobs every three to five years.

- It is estimated that there will be 913, 000 job openings between 2003 and 2015. Currently, there are nearly 680, 000 students in BC schools (K-12). If each of those students accepted jobs within BC, between now and 2015, some before they even graduate, only 74% of the upcoming job openings could be filled. (www.ecdev.gov.bc.ca)

“Most managers are made, not born. There has to be systematic work on the supply, the development, and the skills of tomorrow’s assignment. It cannot be left to chance.”
- Peter Drucker

Questions to ask yourself?

- What is your organization doing to develop its high potential employees?
- What are your competitors offering their employees?
- Where’s your team’s succession planning chart? On the top shelf? Well, dust it off!
- How often should you review your team’s succession plan?

“Top-performing companies allocate 20% of executive incentives to leadership development and assess them on the ability to retain this talent.”
- From Hewitt Associates Inc. 2005. “How the Top 20 Companies Grow Great Leaders", Research Highlights, Hewitt Associates, Toronto, Ontario.

Here are a few tips on how to set-up your succession plan:

1. Align your succession plan with your organization’s business goals. Look at the next 1-3 and 3-5 years and determine whether you have the right structure and individuals to support your business goals.

2. Identify the skills and competencies needed. Understand the difference between Job-Based Approach and Competency-Based Approach:

Job-Based Approach:
- It’s our first impulse.
- Quantitative and qualitative data to support decision.
- Suggests that individuals, who have successfully demonstrated their duties and responsibilities, will be equally successful in leading team, facilitating change, thinking creatively, etc.

Competency-Based Approach:
- Core competencies are extreme capabilities that serve as a source of competitive advantage for a organization over its rivals.
- Core competencies emerge over time through an organizational process of accumulating and learning how to deploy different resources and capabilities.
- Despite effective planning, the future remains uncertain. Skills need to change rapidly. Succession management should focus on the development of competencies.
- Examples include: providing constructive feedback, taking calculated risks, strategic alliances with key stakeholders, etc.

3. Identify high potential employees.

- What is crucial for your business to operate in the next 1-3? 3-5 years?
- Do you need leaders to relocate to other countries in which you will operate?
- Do you need leaders with multi-location supervisory skills?
- Do your leaders need to have strong business acumen and financial planning skills?

Articulate the characteristics, requirements and competencies that will make your organization successful in the future.

4. Provide development opportunities and experiences.

Want to rapidly advance your up-and-coming leaders? Try:
- Assign a mentor with the experiences you want your high potential to learn from.
- Enlist a coach to trouble-shoot with them on their approach with employees, peers and their business partners.
- Provide full-circle feedback so they know where they stand with their key stakeholders.
- Create development experiences, like assigning a “start-up” or “fix-it” project.
- Job rotations take people out of their comfort zone and provide perspectives in other areas of the business.

5. Monitor succession plan monthly. Things can change quickly with your employees (E.g. illness, moving away, going back to school, maternity leave, etc.).

6. Involve others in your plan. Enlist the support of your peers and supervisor in retaining your high potentials and observing their growth.

In conclusion, successful succession management is not a static event. In order to be effective and maximize your return on investment, succession management requires constant attention and readjustment to the changing needs of your business and individual circumstances.