It is a mystery to me why some companies choose to separate succession planning discussions from talent review. I am further baffled when other organizations choose to engage in either activity, but not in both. The practice of Talent Management, in my view, is a simple three part process.
STEP 1 of talent management involves assessing the business needs for the upcoming 12 - 18 months. Leaders assess the organization's business imperatives and critical needs as the basis for identifying critical talent needs and key roles. The process of defining and identifying "business critical" roles is an often missed opportunity in talent review. It takes discipline to maintain this business discussion without considering people. Leaders must prioritize the why and the what before considering the whom.
STEP 2 becomes a succession discussion and requires balanced consideration between the employee and leaders. Employees put their best foot forward via their employee profile, their past year's performance and demonstrated (or assessed) potential. Leaders may now use organizational priorities to match critical roles with key talent in the pipeline. This principle should prevail: right job, right time, right person. Organizations would do well to consider (a) who is ready now, (b) who could be ready in 12 - 18 months, and (c) what experiences do those identified need to prepare them for additional responsibilities? Step 2 becomes the succession planning component of Talent Management. Further, if the pipeline isn't adequately populated, this is the time to partner with Talent Acquisition to formulate a strategy to begin sourcing qualified candidates.
STEP 3 is a drill-down discussion of part (c), above, or development planning. Talent Management is not a complete process without this step. As there is no "one size fits all" for development, this should be a rich discussion to determine whether those successors identified need exposure to other parts of the business (to prepare them for general management roles), to learn a new skill (so that they may become more valued contributors as utility players), or whether they need to become more self-aware through assessments, mentoring or coaching. Step 3 becomes very tactical at the end of the discussion. For each person identified during succession discussions, leaders should have a clear understanding and be able to articulate "who is responsible for developing whom in what measurable ways, by when, and how will that success be measured and reported?"
For organizations that have progressed beyond year one of a holistic talent review, Step 2 should begin with an accounting of the prior year's progress. Not only does this formula bring closure to last year's process, it also builds accountability for developing talent at the highest levels in the organization. You do want leaders to be accountable for developing talent, right?
As a Talent Management leader, the most important question you can ask yourself right now is "how can I simplify this process for my leaders, my HR business partners and for myself?" Over-engineered talent reviews with multiple levels of accountability, confusing tools and unclear procedures are a death knell to an otherwise healthy and value-added function. Simplify yours today! (Need help? Contact me!)
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