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Study participants agreed that where successionplanning efforts were patchy, it was vital to establish a basic approach that HR managers can build on over time. Ideally, this should involve setting a minimum standard of what to do to improve, both in terms of coaching for successors and in terms of internal assessment.
Embedding succession planning within company culture Participants also agreed that succession planning works best when it starts early and is treated as a long-term process that allows for conversations about critical transitions to happen over time. If HR has a process in place which goes all the way to the CEO, the HR team, the CHRO (Chief Human Resources Officer) and the board, for instance, it can allow for a constant dialogue about how mentors and potential successors are doing. That way, senior management is better able to think about transition and next steps.
Top tips for executives A lack of adequate succession planning can be a ticking time bomb. To deactivate this, participants suggested HR managers consider the following three steps:
In a number of Bloomberg’s key APAC locations, rather than identify a senior manager from global headquarters for relocation, the company is successfully promoting local talent and taking it from there.
Ulrike Agostin, Technical Services Compliance Manager at Cisco, explained that her approach to succession planning and professional development involves changing mindsets. “Essentially, it’s vital to build a culture where leaders seek opportunities for high potentials to gain experience, and provide them with the necessary support and coaching to be successful”, she said. “It all comes from the top, so if your senior management isn’t setting the right tone, you can’t expect everyone else to follow.” Participants also noted that a range of automated tools to help track employee progress is now
Lelia Lim-Loges Managing Partner, Asia Pacific at Lim-Loges & Masters
available. Some programmes centralise information on employees, their skills and their achievements so that long before a performance review, employees know what skills will be evaluated and receive helpful recommendations on how to improve.
First, begin succession planning early and track progress. Identify promising staff and devote sufficient resources to their development. Embed the plan within company culture – even asking about the status of a succession plan at the end of a board meeting jogs the mind of business leaders and can help facilitate further mentoring and employee development when needed.
Second, create a minimum standard for succession planning so that there are clear goals that everyone can work towards. Members of the board, HR decision makers and business executives should each have a concrete goal and performance indicators to work towards in terms of coaching potential successors and conducting internal assessment. Finally, take risks on employees who have less experience if other indicators seem promising. Rapid development within the APAC region often doesn’t allow for the same experience timeframe that companies rely on in other parts of the world. Locating a new CEO should involve a focus on locating the best successor, not necessarily merely promoting the most senior employee.
Lim-Loges & Masters was created to help companies and their people Lim-Loges & Masters go through transformational change successfully, for the sustainable long term. We are the only ones in Asia Pacific today that offer companies a suite of solutions for Transition Management, Executive Search and Disruption Management. For more information, please email Lelia Lim-Loges at our regional headquarters at LeliaLim@LLMrecruit.com W W W. L I M L O G E S M A S T E R S . C O M
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