Succession Planning and Management Guide for Organizations

This assessment task consists of preparing a written report on successful succession planning and management in an organisation. Read the provided document on Succession Planning and Management (SPM) and answer the given questions. Learn about the importance, best practices, benefits, and strategies of professional development for successful implementation of succession planning and management in organizations.

Assessment Task 3 BSBLDR802 Lead the strategic
planning process for an
organisation
Written Task: Succession
Planning
Submission details
The assessment task is due on the date specified by your assessor. Any
variations to this arrangement must be approved in writing by your
assessor.
Submit this document with any required evidence attached. See
specifications below
for details.
Performance objective
The candidate will demonstrate the skills and knowledge required to lead
the development of high-level strategic plans that serve the vision and
mission of an organisation. They will also show their ability in analysing the
environment, identifying risks and opportunities, planning staffing
requirements, succession planning, and establishing and monitoring
financial and non-financial performance indicators.
Assessment description
This assessment task consists of preparing a written report on successful
succession planning and management in an organisation. Refer to the
document provided “Succession Planning and Management Guide”
available on:
http://www.exec.gov.nl.ca/exec/hrs/publications/
succession_planning_and_management_guide.pdf
Read the document and answer the questions given in the section
procedure below.
Procedure
1. Read the given document on Succession Planning and Management
(SPM). You may consult with your trainer/assessor if you are not clear
of the questions being asked.
2. Answer the questions in the space provided.
3. You may provide additional documents if required.
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Assessment Task 3 BSBLDR802 Lead the strategic
planning process for an
organisation
4. Complete all the questions and submit all documents as required.
5. Ensure you keep a copy of all work submitted for your records.
Specifications
You must:
● meet with your assessor to clarify the questions if required
● provide suitable examples where necessary
● give reference to information you have gathered from any additional
sources
● submit your notes.
Your assessor will be looking for your ability to:
● facilitate processes to develop an organisation-wide strategic plan
including:
 consulting with decision makers and other stakeholders
 planning and budgeting for human, financial and capital resources
and implementing staff development and succession plans
 identifying and analysing information about the organisation and
its environment including research about industry trends and
practices, an environmental and organisational scan, existing
organisational strategic planning documents, a strengths,
weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis and
identifying risks to achieving the organisation's goals
 aligning the strategic plan to the vision, mission and key goals of
the organisation
 identifying performance indicators
 communicating with and engaging stakeholders in the
development, sign off and implementation of the plan
● harness resources, staff and stakeholder commitment to ensure
implementation of the strategic plan by consulting and engaging with
them throughout the process
● implement and evaluate the strategic plan including developing
tactical or operational annual plans and refining the plan to respond
to changed conditions.
Adjustment for distance-based learners
● No variation of the task is required.
● Documentation can be submitted electronically or posted in the mail.
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Assessment Task 3 BSBLDR802 Lead the strategic
planning process for an
organisation
Answer the questions in the space
provided
Answer all the questions. You may attach any additional documents if
required.
1. Discuss the importance of succession planning and
management (SPM) for an organisation in today’s context.
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Assessment Task 3 BSBLDR802 Lead the strategic
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organisation
Succession planning is something that is extremely important in today’s context as
it prepares an organization or enterprise for the retirement of senior executives and
partners by ensuring that they are succeeded by talented individuals who are well
suited to meet the organization’s goals and objectives. Success planning
management constitutes an important way by which employees in an organization
can be identified, who are well qualified, who possess current skill sets and who
have all the potential necessary to take the organization to new heights and great
heights. Changes in leadership such as promotions and retirement are something
that an organization can prepare itself for quite successfully with the help of an
SPM. What succession planning management can be taken to mean is a process of
identification that helps an organization to zero in on individuals or groups of
individuals who have the skills, the talent, the business acumen and the willingness
to lead the organization. More often than not, the retirement of senior members and
executives can leave an organization quite shaky in terms of leadership, in which
event, succession planning management proves to be very useful. Succession
planning management provides a ready pool of manpower or skilled human
resources who have the competence needed to take upon leadership duties and
responsibilities when senior executives either retire or get transferred.
2. What are the best practices that can be used during SPM?
Some of the best practices that can indeed be put in place in order to make sure that
succession planning management takes place in the best possible way are aligning
the process of succession planning management with business strategies, assessing
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Assessment Task 3 BSBLDR802 Lead the strategic
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organisation
the potential and the performance of employees, integration the entire process of
succession management with selection, recruitment, performance management,
development as well as rewards, managing the political, emotional as well as
irrational dynamics of succession and finally, making a serious commitment
towards the development of resources and time. Out of all of these practices,
assessing the performance and potential of employees proves to be the most
important. This is largely due to the fact that the goal of succession planning
management is to select persons in a job or organization who are most suited to lead
the organization in the future. Such persons need to be ready to take over the
company in the event that an existing leader or senior member of the company
retires or gets promoted to another company. Hence it is absolutely imperative to
identify individuals who have the highest potential and who are also performing
well for the company at the moment, when selecting successors as part of the
succession planning management process.
3. Discuss how SPM is related to the employee life cycle.
The employee life cycle refers to the different stages of growth that an individual is
seen to go through in the course of his working life. The succession planning
management process is one that entails selection of employees with high potential
and good performance for taking over the leadership of the company some day. As
far as the employee life cycle is concerned, succession planning management for an
employee takes place at a time when an employee is in the middle of this cycle, or
rather, at a time when an employee has been working with the organization long
enough and has adequately proven his or her strengths and abilities to the top level
management. Succession planning management is not something that can ever take
place for individuals who are in the initial stages of the employee life cycles.
Workers have to have sufficient experience, skills and expertise and will have to
have demonstrated their ability to use such skills, expertise and experience to meet
the goals and objectives of the company, if they are to be considered for selection as
future leaders of the company. A novice or someone who has recently joined the
organization and is at the early stage of the employee life cycle cannot be included
in the succession planning management process.
4. How would you measure the success of SPM?
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Assessment Task 3 BSBLDR802 Lead the strategic
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organisation
There are a number of ways by which the success of SPM implementation can be
measured. For instance, how independent workers at an organization are of any
assistance provided by the IT department is a significant way of understanding
whether SPM implementation is going well or not. If workers and those in
administrative positions in particular are able to carry out all their duties and
responsibilities without requiring any help or assistance from the IT department it is
an indication that the organization is being served by competent individuals who are
well suited to hold positions of power currently or someday. Another way by which
the success of SPM implementation can be measured is to see how disciplined and
organized the workers are in doing their jobs. The most competent and skilled of
individuals are those who get their tasks done on time and without having to be
prodded for doing so. Hence if an organization is served by individuals who are
well organized and disciplined and efficient in the modes of functioning, and who
are also in positions of power at the organization, it implies that the organization is
being led by those who are most aptly positioned for the job.
5. What are the major benefits of successful implementation of
SPM?
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Assessment Task 3 BSBLDR802 Lead the strategic
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organisation
There are a number of important benefits associated with the process of succession
planning. Firstly, succession planning lowers the expenses of an organization by a
considerable degree. Recruiting new employees to an organization always involves
an additional expense or investment. If existing employees are identified and
promoted to higher positions in the organization without recruiting new people to
hold the same positions, then the organization saves quite a bit of money. Employee
retention and boost in performance are two other important benefits that are
associated with the succession planning management process. If employees at an
organization know that they may get promoted to higher levels of the management
if they work hard enough, then they will have the incentive to stay on at the
organization for the long term. Simultaneously this also enhances their performance
and makes them want to be as good as their jobs as possible. Fourthly, succession
planning management helps the company to save time in selecting new leaders for
the organization in the event that existing or old ones retire. Fifthly, succession
planning management ensures that the productivity or business outcomes of the
organization are not hampered by changes in leadership.
6. Discuss how SPM helps in managing staffing risk.
If succession planning management is something that is carried out in a
proactive manner, then it will help an organization to avert the negative impact
that is brought on by employee turnover. It is a fact well established that an
organization suffers when employees resign and that too in large numbers.
Succession planning management prevents employee turnover by giving
workers the incentive and purpose needed to do their jobs well while ensuring
that changes in leadership are well substituted for. Hence the ill effects of an
employee turnover are something that can definitely be averted with the help of
succession planning management. The risks that are associated with promotions
of employees or transfer of employees as well as the risks of hiring people who
are not too well suited for a particular job can also be averted to a great extent
by succession planning management. This is because succession planning
management entails identification and selection of employees who are most well
suited to take over the company at some point of time or other, by virtue of their
skills, abilities and potential in general. There is no way in which the company
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Assessment Task 3 BSBLDR802 Lead the strategic
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organisation
can go wrong in identifying the people who are most qualified and skilled for a
job when succession planning management takes place.
7. Outline strategies of professional development to support the
implementation of a succession plan.
The implementation of a succession management plan is something that can be
supported by a number of important professional strategies. For one, if the
organization is a global business or enterprise, then employees can be encouraged to
take part in foreign language classes to boost their skills and communicate with
foreign clients better. Employees should be made to attend workshops and refresher
programs on a regular basis as well if they want to be selected or identified as
potential leaders of the organization that they are working for. The more well
trained and qualified an employee is, the better suited he or she is going to be for
taking over the company leadership someday. Exposing the employees of the
organization to rigorous training programs for the development of IT skills is
necessary if succession planning management is to be supported. The most
competent individuals at the workplace today are not only people who are well
versed with their jobs but who can also function independently without requiring
any form of assistance from the IT department. Having a separate IT department is
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Assessment Task 3 BSBLDR802 Lead the strategic
planning process for an
organisation
always an additional expense for any company or business enterprise, hence if
employees are well versed in IT skills and can do IT related work on their own, they
will definitely be viewed favorably for selection to leadership positions. They
should be able to do as much IT related work on their own as far as possible.
Finally, professional programs on stress management are something that the
employees of the organization need to be subjected to as well, if they are to be
considered for leadership positions someday. It is imperative for employees, both
experienced and otherwise to be able to work calmly in stressful situations as such
situations can arise on any given day, especially for those who hold leadership
positions and are responsible for steering the organization in the right direction.
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