Succession planning, in plain English.

How Succession planning works.

Succession planning identifies which roles carry continuity risk, who could fill them, and at what readiness horizon. It is as much a data exercise as a judgment one, because it depends on position data, performance history, skills, and stated career interest sitting in the same place. Plans decay quickly: the underlying people data changes continuously while the plan is typically refreshed once a year.

Where Succession planning goes wrong.

1. 01 Keeping the plan in a document disconnected from position and performance data means it's stale within a quarter, no matter how carefully it was built.
2. 02 Naming successors for senior roles only leaves single points of failure sitting in specialist technical positions that never make it onto the plan. And recording a readiness rating without recording what would close the gap produces a plan that documents risk but does nothing to develop the people who could reduce it.