If your top performing employees left, how would your organisation fare?

Do you know who your top performing employees are? What are you doing to retain and develop your top performing employees?

Before jumping in to creating a succession plan, you should consider:

• What is the objective of succession planning/talent development in your organisation?
• Which are the critical roles that require a succession plan?
• How does your organisation define high potential?
• How will you identify high potential employees?
• What are the expected outcomes of talent development initiatives?
• How will you know if your talent development initiatives have been successful? (establish pre and post-programme measures)
• How regularly are the critical roles in your organisation vacated each year? (this will determine the number of employees required in your talent pool)

Exit interviews: Exit interviewing is an important part of succession planning. Develop an understanding of who is leaving – if it’s your talented employees that are leaving, you’ll need to understand why and be prepared to make changes accordingly.

High potential development: Rather than taking a one size fits all approach to high potential development, identify the development needs of each individual.

By taking a collaborative approach to development planning, you can monitor progress and take advantage of coaching moments. Regular development planning discussions should act as a catalyst for self-directed development.