COURSE OVERVIEW:
Succession planning and management (SP&M) and leadership development figure prominently on the agenda of many top managers. Yet, despite senior management interest, the task often falls to human resource management (HRM) and workplace learning and performance (WLP) professionals to spearhead and coordinate efforts to establish and operate planned succession programs and avert succession crises. In that way, they fill an important, proactive role demanded of them by top managers, and they ensure that SP&M issues are not lost in the shuffle of fighting daily fires.
Succession planning and management should support strategic planning and strategic thinking and should provide an essential starting point for management and employee development programs. Without it, organisations will have difficulty maintaining leadership continuity—or identifying appropriate leaders when a change in business strategy is necessary.
While many large blue-chip corporations operate best-practice SP&M programs, small and medium- sized businesses also need them. In fact, inadequate succession plans are a common cause of small business failure as founding entrepreneurs fade from the scene, leaving no one to continue their legacy and as tax laws exert an impact on the legacy of those founders as they pass away. Additionally, non-profit enterprises and government agencies need to give thought to planning for future talent.
This course begins with the importance of succession planning and management (SP&M) through dramatic vignettes illustrating typical and a few rivetingly atypical—problems in SP&M. Then defines succession planning and management. It also distinguishes it from replacement planning, workforce planning, talent management, and human capital management. Then goes on to emphasise its importance, explain why organisations sponsor such programs, and describe different approaches to succession planning and management.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of this course, you will be able to understand:
- What is meant by succession planning and management?
- How to solve succession problems?
- How to distinguish succession planning and management from replacement planning?
- How to distinguish succession planning and management from workforce planning?
- How to distinguish succession planning and management from talent management?
- How to distinguish succession planning and management from human capital management?
- How to make the business case for succession planning and management?
- The reasons for a succession planning and management program
- Why contribute to implementing the organisation’s strategic business plans?
- The five different approaches that may be used to integrate strategic plans and succession plans
- How to identify ‘‘replacement needs’’ as a means of targeting necessary training, employee education, and employee development?
- How to increase the talent pool of promotable employees?
- How to provide increased opportunities for ‘‘high potential’’ workers?
- How to help individuals realise their career plans within the organisation?
- How to encourage the advancement of diverse groups?
- How to improve employee morale?
- How to improve employees’ ability to respond to changing environmental demands?
- How to cope with the effects of voluntary separation programs?
- How to cope with the effects of downsizing?
- How to decide which workers can be terminated without damage to the organisation?
- How to reduce headcount to essential workers only?
- Best approaches to succession planning and management
- The direction and timing approaches
- The planning and scope approaches
- The degree of dissemination approach
- The amount of individual discretion approach
- How to ensure leadership continuity in organisations?
- The traditional approaches
- The alternative approaches
COURSE DURATION:
The typical duration of this course is approximately 2-3 hours to complete. Your enrolment is Valid for 12 Months. Start anytime and study at your own pace.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
You must have access to a computer or any mobile device with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free PDF Viewer) installed, to complete this course.
COURSE DELIVERY:
Purchase and download course content.
ASSESSMENT:
A simple 10-question true or false quiz with Unlimited Submission Attempts.
CERTIFICATION:
Upon course completion, you will receive a customised digital “Certificate of Completion”.