William J. Rothwell - Effective Succession Planning (2005)(3-e)(en)

168	L AYI NG T HE FO UND AT ION FO R A SUC CES SI ON PL A NN ING AN D MANAGEM EN T PROG RA M

Exhibit 7-2. (continued)

Outline—Session 2

‘‘Conducting Effective Employee Performance Appraisals for Succession Planning and Management’’

I.Introduction

A.Purpose of the session

B.Objectives of the session

C.Organization (structure) of the session II. Defining Employee Performance Appraisal

A.What is it?

B.Why is it important generally?

III. Relating Employee Performance Appraisal to SP&M

A.Approaches

B.Current method

C.Relationship between appraisal and SP&M

IV. Reviewing the Organization’s Performance Appraisal Procedures

A.Overview

B.Step-by-step description of procedures

V. Conducting Effective Performance Appraisal Interviews

A.Overview

B.Using the form to structure the interview

VI. Role Plays (practice appraisal interviews)

VII. Conclusion

A.Summary

B.Action planning for on-the-job action

C.Session evaluations

Outline—Session 3

‘‘Conducting Effective Employee Potential Assessment for Succession Planning and Management’’

I.Introduction

A.Purpose of the session

B.Objectives of the session

C.Organization (structure) of the session II. Defining Employee Potential Assessment

A.What is it?

B.Why is it important generally?

III. Relating Employee Potential Assessment to SP&M

A.Approaches

B.Current method

C.Relationship between potential assessment and SP&M

Refining the Program	169

IV. Reviewing the Organization’s Potential Assessment Procedures

A.Overview

B.Step-by-step description of procedures

V.Conducting Effective Potential Assessment

A.Overview

B.Using existing forms and procedures

C.Gathering individual career planning information for use with potential assessment

VI. (Optional) Role Plays (practice potential assessment interviews) VII. Conclusion

A.Summary

B.Action planning for on-the-job action

C.Session evaluations

Outline—Session 4

‘‘Conducting Effective Individual Development Planning’’

I.Introduction

A.Purpose of the session

B.Objectives of the session

C.Organization (structure) of the session II. Defining Individual Development Planning

A.What is it?

B.Why is it important generally?

III. Relating Individual Development Planning to SP&M

A.Approaches

B.Current method

C.Relationship between individual development planning and SP&M IV. Reviewing Approaches to Individual Development Planning

A.Overview

B.Step-by-step description of approach

V. Facilitating Effective Individual Development Planning

A.Overview

B.Approaches to individual development planning

C.Relating individual career planning to individual development planning

VI. Conclusion

A.Summary

B.Action planning for on-the-job action

C.Session evaluations

170	L AYI NG T HE FO UND AT ION FO R A SUC CES SI ON PL A NN ING AN D MANAGEM EN T PROG RA M

the attendance of the targeted training participants. They will also attend themselves—and perhaps help deliver the training—and thereby demonstrate hands-on interest and support. Their participation and involvement will exert a powerful, but subtle, inducement for others to attend. But if they are unwilling to be involved, no amount of cajoling or threatening is an effective substitute. Moreover, they must set the example and follow the policies established for the organization.

Here are a few tips for securing attendance at group training on SP&M, assuming that adequate top management commitment exists:

▲Draft a memo for the chairman or CEO to initial to go out with training invitations. Stress who will be in attendance, what issues will be discussed, and why the training is important.

▲Pick an opportune time. Check dates to make sure that the dates chosen for training do not conflict with other, predictable dates.

▲If possible, tie the training on succession planning to other events— such as strategic planning retreats—in which the targeted participants are already scheduled to attend.

▲Field-test the training materials on a small, handpicked group of supportive managers. Be sure that all time is effectively used and that every training activity relates directly to SP&M practices in the organization.

▲If possible, videotape a well-rehearsed practice session and share it before the session with the chairman, CEO, or other key management personnel. Ask for their suggestions about revision before the session.

Other Approaches to Training Management Employees

There will always be some management employees who will be unable to attend group training on SP&M, even when vigorous steps are taken to ensure attendance. They will have legitimate reasons for not attending. But that will not alter the fact that they missed the training. They are the group most likely to operate in a way inconsistent with organizational policy because they missed the opportunity to learn about it firsthand.

Deal with this audience through a form of ‘‘guerrilla warfare.’’ Make sure that it is clear who they are. Then use any of the following tactics to train them:

▲Meet with them individually, if their numbers are small enough to make that practical and if they are not so geographically dispersed that traveling to their locations is prohibitively expensive. Deliver training personally.

▲Videotape a practice session of the training and send it to those unable to attend. Then follow up with them later for their questions and reactions.

Refining the Program	171

▲Ask another manager who did attend—such as the CEO—to describe to them the key lessons of the training in his or her own words. (That should reinforce the importance of the message.)

Training Participants in Succession Planning and Management

Training for participants in SP&M will be greatly affected by the organization’s communication strategy. If decision-makers do not wish to inform individuals of the organization’s SP&M practices, then no training will typically be given; on the other hand, if the organization adopts a policy of openness, then training on SP&M may be offered.

There are three general ways of offering such training: (1) direct training;

(2) training integrated with other issues; and (3) training tied to career planning.

Direct Training

In direct training, employees are informed of the organization’s SP&M policy and procedures. They are briefed in general terms, usually without specific descriptions of how the program is linked to existing organizational strategy. They learn how the SP&M program is linked to defining work requirements and job competencies, appraising present employee performance, assessing future individual potential, and establishing individual development plans.

Training Integrated with Other Issues

When training on SP&M is integrated with other issues, employees are told how their training, education, and development efforts factor into qualifying for advancement. No promises are made; rather, the value of planned learning activities is stressed as one means by which the individual can take proactive steps to qualify for leadership positions.

Training Tied to Career Planning

Organizational succession planning and individual career planning represent mirror images of the same issue. Succession planning and management helps the organization meet its HR needs to ensure that it is equipped with the talent needed to survive and succeed. On the other hand, individual career planning helps the individual establish career goals and prepare for meeting those goals—either inside or outside the organization.

When training on SP&M is tied to training on career planning, individuals are furnished with information about work requirements at different levels and in different functions or locations. They also learn about performance requirements in different job categories and about future success factors. With this information, they can establish their own career goals and take active steps to prepare themselves for advancement by seeking appropriate training, education, and development experiences.

172	L AYI NG T HE FO UND AT ION FO R A SUC CES SI ON PL A NN ING AN D MANAGEM EN T PROG RA M

Counseling Managers About Succession Planning Problems

in Their Areas

Succession planning and management coordinators should make a point of meeting periodically with managers to discuss SP&M issues in their work areas and to offer individualized counseling about how to deal with those problems. If that counseling is requested, it indicates that executives have accepted SP&M, they value advice about people management issues, and they are making honest efforts to meet the SP&M needs of their organization.

The Need for Individual Counseling Sessions

Executives sometimes have need of third-party advice. In some cases they will be reluctant to share those problems with anyone—including the CEO—for fear that they will be perceived as unable to manage tough-to-handle management situations. Individual counseling with these executives by the SP&M coordinator can serve an invaluable purpose for improving SP&M practices. For this reason, the CEO and other decision-makers in the organization should actively encourage such sessions.

Who Should Conduct the Sessions?

The SP&M coordinator should arrange to meet with senior executives to conduct individual counseling sessions on a regular basis. However, the coordinator must first seize the initiative to arrange the meetings until the coordinator has gained sufficient credibility to be sought out for help by executives.

The SP&M coordinator should call each senior executive periodically and ask when they can meet. Although these individual meetings can be timeconsuming, they are the best way to demonstrate commitment to the effort— and get real payoffs from it. Individual meetings are usually best timed sometime ahead of periodic SP&M meetings, such as those held quarterly in many corporations. By meeting ahead of time, the SP&M coordinator and the executive in charge of that work area can discuss sensitive personnel issues that executives may be reluctant to bring up in group meetings—or share over the phone or by mail.

Essential Requirements for Effective Counseling Sessions

To conduct effective counseling sessions, follow these general guidelines:

1.Send questions in advance, making the purpose of the session clear.

2.Tailor the questions to issues that will be treated in regularly scheduled group meetings with the CEO so that their relevance is immediately apparent.

Refining the Program	173

3.Keep the meeting short and on target unless asked to offer advice on specific issues.

4.Always assume that everything is said in strictest confidence. (This point deserves strong emphasis.)

5.Be alert to casual remarks or questions that may indicate problems, probing with additional questions to learn more as appropriate.

Common Succession Planning and Management Problems—and

Possible Solutions

Succession planning and management coordinators who meet to counsel managers on ‘‘people problems’’ unique to their areas should be prepared to deal with complex problems. Many events may derail the progress of otherwise high-potential employees, and an SP&M coordinator should be prepared to offer advice on what to do about those problems. Reclaiming high-potential employees on the verge of derailing their careers is an important role, and one that is often informally loaded on the SP&M coordinator.

Over the years I have been asked to offer executives advice on how to counsel high potentials experiencing the following problems that threatened to derail their futures:

▲An executive engaged in a high-profile extramarital affair with a subordinate

▲An executive accused of blatant sexual harassment—but where the accusation could not be substantiated

▲An executive, slated for the CEO spot, who was recognized as an alcoholic by everyone except himself

▲A male executive who was grossly insubordinate to his female superior

▲An executive renowned for her technical knowledge who was notorious for her inability to work harmoniously with her peers

▲An executive who experienced a major personality conflict with his immediate superior

These are merely samples of the problems about which the SP&M coordinator may be asked to offer advice.

Although few SP&M coordinators are trained psychologists or psychiatrists, they should be able to apply the following steps, which I have found helpful when advising executives about ‘‘people problems.’’

Step 1: Ask for information about the present situation. What is happening now? Where is the executive obtaining information? When and how was this information revealed? Was the information obtained firsthand, or is the

174	L AYI NG T HE FO UND AT ION FO R A SUC CES SI ON PL A NN ING AN D MANAGEM EN T PROG RA M

executive relying on intermediaries, rumors, or speculation? What steps have been taken to separate fact from fancy?

Step 2: Ask for information about corrective actions already attempted.

What efforts, if any, have already been made to correct the problem? What were the results of those actions? What efforts have been made to alert the affected individual to the problem or to clarify desired behavior or performance?

Step 3: Determine the problem’s cause, if possible, and assess whether it can be solved. What does the executive believe is the cause of the problem? Does the person who is experiencing the problem know what to do? (If not, it may indicate a training need.) Is the person engaging in undesirable behavior deliberately and maliciously? (If so, it may indicate a disciplinary problem.) Has anyone asked the person experiencing the problem to identify its cause and possible solution(s)? Can the individual avoid derailing his or her career, or have matters already gone so far that others have lost all confidence for improvement?

Step 4: Establish an action plan. Emphasize the importance of properly managing the organization’s human resources to the executive who is receiving the counseling. Express strong confidence in the executive’s ability to deal with the problem. Offer to help in any way possible. Suggest such steps as these: (1) Put the problem in writing and meet with the person having the problem so as to make it as clear as possible; (2) encourage the executive to clarify, in writing, what needs to be done, how it should be done, and what will happen if it is not done.

Step 5: Follow up. After meeting with the executive who has had a problem, the SP&M coordinator should make a point of following up later to see how the problem was resolved or is being managed.

By following the five steps outlined above, SP&M coordinators should be able to identify and resolve most ‘‘people problems.’’ That is a valuable service in its own right to an organization, and it can help people who are in danger of derailing get ‘‘back on track.’’

Summary

This chapter focused on refining the succession planning and management program. It summarized what was needed to prepare a program action plan, communicate the action plan, and counsel managers on succession planning and management problems—particularly those having to do with ‘‘people problems’’—unique to their areas of responsibility.

To be successful, however, any succession planning and management program should be based on systematic analyses of present job requirements or

Refining the Program	175

competencies, future job requirements or competencies, present individual performance, and future individual potential. Conducting such analyses is not for the faint-hearted, the ill-prepared, or the uncommitted. These processes require hard work and diligence, as the next section of this book will show.

This page intentionally left blank

P A R T I I I

ASSESSING THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE

Part I

Background Information About

Succession Planning and Management

Part IV

Closing the “Developmental Gap”:

Operating and Evaluating a Succession

Planning and Management Program

Part II

Laying the Foundation for a Succession Planning and Management Program

•Identify key positions.

•Use approaches to determine work requirements in key positions. •Use full-circle, multirater assessment.

•Appraise performance. •Create talent pools.

Part III

•Identify key positions for the future.

Assessing the Present and the Future

•Use approaches to determine future work requirements in key positions.