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Create an Employee Dynasty |
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Written by Paul Bacon
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Make your staff feel regal with smooth successions
In ancient times, whenever a Chinese emperor died, the process of succession was relatively simple - he was replaced by his son. This was true for hundreds of years, across several dynasties. Unfortunately, for HR staff, replacing key staff members and senior managers is not such an easy process.
Losing someone of value to your organisation can easily turn into a long and costly ordeal. For this reason, developing a strong succession strategy is essential. Identifying key individuals within your organization and developing them with a view to their advancement will, in the long term, save money and effort. Take, for example, if one of your key staff members is lured away by the temptation of another company offering more money, what do you do?
This is a difficult question. If that key person had been with you for a few years then it is likely they will have a wealth of knowledge and may well have undergone lots of expensive training. Suddenly this all goes down the drain. If you have no contingency plan, then the odds are that you will find yourself panicking and beginning an expensive and time-consuming search. Then, once you find a replacement, you will have to begin the process of training and investing in your new employee all over again. That is clearly not an ideal scenario, but how can you avoid it?
"Once you find a replacement, you will have to begin the process of training and investing in your new employee all over again"
Picking your prize assets
First and foremost you need to identify people with potential. This must begin as early as possible. When you begin the recruiting process for any vacancy your vision should not be limited. Whilst you are questioning your interviewees, you should be doing the same to yourself. You should, of course, ask the following question: "Is this the right person for Position X?" However, do not stop there. Next, ask "Does this person have the talent to progress to positions Y and Z?"
Once you have the people onboard who you feel have the potential to progress within your organisation then you need to monitor their progress and evaluate how you can nurture them and help them to grow into the type of employee who can step into big shoes. Here, identifying clear career paths is vital.
Tending to your talent
The easiest and most obvious way to cultivate talent is through training. Look at the qualifications and skills your employees have and compare these to the requirements for more senior positions. What gaps exist and how can you fill them? Additionally, ensure that from the earliest stage possible you acquaint promising team members with the roles and responsibilities of the senior positions that they, one day, may fill. To do this you could consider the following options:
- Shadowing - Allow your employees with potential to spend one day a month following their superiors to get an idea of what the role involves and the qualities they need to develop in order to fill that role.
- Mentoring - Have the senior members in a department take the employees under their wing and impart their knowledge and insight on them.
- Job Rotation - If you have a management position in mind then job rotation is an excellent idea. Have your manager of the future spend one or two days each month doing different jobs within his or her department, this way they get an excellent understanding of all the roles they will be supervising.
It is imperative you develop a clear and solid careerpath plan that you communicate to your employees. Throughout the preparation process you must ensure that you monitor the progress of each individual and track how that development fits in with the career path. Continue to ask questions:
"Are they making the requisite progress?" "If a higher position became available tomorrow, would they be ready?" "How do they compare to possible external hires?" If they exhibit good progress then, if and when a key-staff member leaves, you have a ready made replacement.
"What they are actually saying when they part company with you is that you haven't given them a reason to stay"
Adding an extra dimension
So far we have taken a somewhat one-dimensional look at succession strategies. Yes, they can save money and make filling key vacancies a much smoother process, but that really is only half the picture. The importance of planning for the future is self-evident, but a good succession strategy can also be very useful in the here and now. Let us take a three dimensional view of things, and see what you can do with an effective succession strategy. We should focus here on two R factors - Rewards and Retention.
After spending weeks checking resumes and applications from hundreds of potential candidates, at long last you sift out the best few and begin a long and strenuous interview process. Eventually, after two rounds of interviews, written assessments and aptitude tests, you find the right person for the job. Finally you can sit back and relax, knowing you have helped give your organization a vital edge.
Six months later and things continue to look good. Your hire is performing well in their role and proving to be an excellent addition to your team. However, this is when the head-hunters come knocking. They have a role available at another organisation, which offers more money and more responsibility - your employee feels tempted.
What does your employee do? Well, if you have not planned for this eventuality and have not shown your employee a clear career-path, then there is a good chance your highly prized staff-member will take the money and run. Why? Even though another company is offering more cash, this is probably not the underlying reason that they would leave you in the lurch. They may feel that the financial benefits - or any other benefits for that matter - are very attractive, but what they are actually saying when they part company with you is that you haven't given them a reason to stay. You must give them that reason.
Show your staff the way to go or the way to stay
A good succession plan works to ensure that they will want to stay with your organisation. Each member of your team will be motivated in different ways. Some may be focused on salary, others on position, and some on responsibility. The beauty of a well executed succession strategy is that it kills all off these birds with one stone. The key factor is to ensure that your succession planning works hand-in-hand with clear and ambitious career path planning.
Let us take the example above. If your employee is being tempted by supposed better offers, then it becomes vital that you show your employee that you can provide everything that is available elsewhere. If another organisation is offering more cash to your prized employee you may not be in a position to match the offer. However, if you can show that employee that they have a future where the potential rewards are far greater than a simple pay-rise, then that staff member is going to think twice about taking shortterm gratification over the long-term benefits of staying with you. This is also true of employees that are ambitious to climb your corporate structure and are keen to find a position of responsibility. Whilst their present role may not offer them the stimulation they crave, if they know they have the prospect of achieving it in the future and are shown the way to get there, they are less likely to stray from the confines of your organisation.
Highlighting the scope for advancement and the rewards that come with that advancement is a cost-effective and efficient way of rewarding your staff. In the short-term it costs you nothing. However, if your employees go on to fulfil the potential you identified within them, then you are already getting a return on your investment and you are rewarding valuable employees, giving them what they want and making them feel fulfilled with their role.
Offering a clear and navigable path to your employees will encourage them to remain, to grow and to provide a return on your investment. This will work to improve your workforce core. You may never be an emperor, but at least you can build an employee dynasty.
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