Succession Planning in Biotech: A Strategic Tool for Future Challenges

Running head: SUCCESSION PLANNING IN BIOTECH 1
Succession Planning in Biotech
Student’s Name
University

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Succession Planning in Biotech
Executive Summary
Succession planning is a contingency planning strategy that organizations use to prepare
themselves for strategic challenges. This entails aligning the human resource teams to succeed
the existing leaders in the organization. As an organization Biotech needs to develop strategic
thinking to ensure that it meets future challenges that it may face. This report highlights how
successive planning can be used as a strategic tool for Biotech by aligning it to its mission, vision
and strategy. It further suggests recommendations that management can use to achieve its needs.

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Table of Contents
Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................2
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Leadership competencies important for Biotech.............................................................................4
Succession planning as part of Mission, Vision, and Strategy.......................................................4
How strategic thinking should be aligned to the organization and planning process......................6
Recommendations............................................................................................................................7
Appendix one: Upcoming Open Positions at Biotech.....................................................................9
Appendix two: Succession Planning Table...................................................................................11

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Succession Planning in Biotech
Introduction
Succession planning is the identification and developing of leaders who are capable
replacing the existing ones when they leave or retire. The process allows management to increase
availability of experienced and capable employees to fill existing positions. This is thus narrowly
defined as replacement planning for key roles in the organization (Nemethy, 2011). By
developing a replacement plan, Biotech narrowly identifies specific candidates that meet the
needs of the existing positions when they will be open. By recruiting and developing employees
to fill future positions, Biotech strategically aligns its human resource to the future needs that
arise. This process is regarded as a contingency plan for the organization since employee gaps
can arise from different reasons.
Leadership competencies important for Biotech.
Trapp (2014) suggests that leadership competencies form the essential skills that the
organization requires in an individual. Despite the fact that the position exist in different
countries and locations, there are key leadership attributes that cut across all the leadership
position. Two common competencies are required, that is leadership and communication skills
(Gilmore, 2007). Leadership is the ability of an individual to influence followership and guide
others to achieve organizational goals. There are different types of leaders but all of them have
the ability to achieve results by determining the strategic direction that the organization needs to
take and harnessing the support of subordinates. On the other hand, communication skills are
used in relaying information between different levels of the organization to achieve the required
needs. Since most organizations operate on a top-down approach, then the leader requires
communication skills to relay information. Other competencies include cultural intelligence,