Succession planning for top executives is very time consuming and expensive to initiate, so many organizations do not have one in place

Question

Also, it is suggested that all the time preparing excellent candidates only results in them leaving the organization if they are not selected for the promotion, which means you helped groom an executive for your competition. Explain why, even given the above, it is a good idea to have such a program in place.

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Succession planning is a huge and costly undertaking, but there
are a number of reasons why it is important to have one.
• The faster you replace a senior executive, the better off you are.
• Having a succession plan keeps talent as you are developing them. If you do not have one, employees will likely be looking elsewhere.
• The pool of available managers to fill executive positions is shrinking.
• Recruiting costs for high-level executives is increasing.
• Turnover of executives is going to remain high.
• When you do choose a candidate to replace an executive, you often lose some employees who thought they should have gotten the job. However, you got first choice from among the candidates, so those that leave are second best. Also, you got your replacement almost immediately. The organization that got your second-place person likely searched for 6 months at a great expense. You are still way ahead in terms of being effective in this regard.