2010 APTMetrics, Inc.

Succession Planningand Team Re-Building

Robert E. Lewis, Ph.D.November 5, 2010

Presented at the CBIA Mid-year Conference

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About APTMetrics

• Full-service human resource process consulting firm comprised of:• Ph.D. industrial/organizational

psychologists• Human resource professionals • IT specialists

• Diversity provider (certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council)

• What sets APTMetrics apart:• Professional integrity• Industry expertise• Technical skill• Customer service

Global Strategies for Talent

Management

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Our International Reach

Our International Strategic Partners:Europe: Kiddy & Partners, www.kiddyandpartners.comAsia Pac: Human-Scope, Ltd., www.human-scope.com

New York

London:

Chicago

Atlanta

Singapore

Sydney

Kuala Lumpur

Delhi

Shanghai

Stockholm

Milan

Cities where we have consultants

Hamburg

Tokyo

Paris

Dubai

Hong Kong:

Lima

Virginia

Seattle

Our International Strategic Partners:

34 U.S.Consultan

ts

20 EU Consultan

ts

17 Asia-Pac

Consultants

www.KiddyandPartners.com

www.Human-Scope.com

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Our Agenda Today

• Top reasons to avoid or put off succession planning

• Key steps to succeeding at succession

• Key questions to ask yourself

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Top Reasons for Avoiding Succession

• We’re too busy right now to think of succession.

• We plan succession every year.

• HR takes care of succession.

• We’ll take care of that later—our folks are happy to be employed right now.

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Problems with Avoidance

• You may be busy, but so are the recruiters• Calls are picking up as businesses hire in anticipation of

growth• Businesses are sitting on a record amount of cash

• Typical succession planning is an event, not a process• You may do plan yearly, but do you implement

continuously?• How often do you refer to the succession plan

• HR driven succession is often not business driven• Constrained by budgets and an overreliance on

development or training programs• Not framed by a thorough understanding of where the

business is going

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Why Manage Succession?

• Prepare for the business you’ll face in the near term future.• Launch or acquisition of new businesses or

technologies• The need to manage outsourced

technologies• Determine the depth of talent pool for

critical roles• to mitigate risk and to drive strategic

improvements• for smaller businesses, to create a

continuity plan to ensure lines of credit, business operations

• To reinforce the loyalty of strong performers

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Key Steps to Successful Succession Management

• Develop a culture of development and succession—motivate the company to think about succession

• Develop a pipeline of potential successors by driving development intelligently through the organization

• Know the key roles—and demands the business will make on them—in depth

• Know the people who are possible candidates for the roles

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a. Articulate why it is important to you and the company

b. Challenge everyone to find opportunities to learn, stretch, and add skills as part of their everyday work.

c. Teach and encourage managers to ask about learning.

d. Leverage your performance management process to ensure managers are appraised on developing people

e. Promote from a healthy pool using transparent and valid selection procedures.

Develop a Culture or “Mindset” of Development and Succession

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Questions That Drive a Succession “Mindset”

For Executives• What will we gain out of stronger succession and

development?• Do I know who produces strong talent in the

organization?• What have I done to reinforce a focus on succession and

development today? This week?

For HRa. What do changes in the business imply for our

talent/skills profile?b. Does our performance management and reward system

deliver strong data and development?c. How am I facilitating development in the company to

meet future needs?

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1. Weave development into everyday roles and work activities; hold managers accountable for ensuring projects and goals yield development in addition to performance outcomes.

2. Broaden perspectives and experiences through ad hoc or virtual teams rather than churning people through jobs.

3. Cast a wide net.

Develop a Pipeline of Successors…

…by driving development intelligently through the organization

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For Executives• Are we delegating work that stretches people

in the direction we need them to stretch?• Am I setting a good example by focusing on

the development of my direct reports? On a daily/weekly basis?

• Do I frequently articulate the value of development and ask people where they’re growing or what they need to grow?

Questions That Drive an Organizational

Focus on Development

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For HR• Am I depending too heavily on training courses

(butts in seats)? Too little on stretch or targeted assignments?

• Are we training/encouraging managers to address development on an everyday basis? As a regular part of project reviews? In how they assign work?

• Do I frequently prompt my partners in the business to implement task forces/virtual teams/etc. as a development vehicle? To cast a wide net when they nominate people for those teams?

Questions That Drive an Organizational Focus on Development

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a. Determine key business needs and implications for jobs/roles.

b. Perform a work analysis to identify the work demands of key roles and critical experiences, knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to succeed

c. Analyze where in the organization these critical skills can be obtained

Know the Key Roles—and the Demands the Business Will Make on Them—in Depth

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Business Challenges and ContextOutcomes

JOB

Business Challenge and Context

Business Outcomes

• Identify new sourcing needs

• Change/redesign jobs to meet new demands

• Determine organizational development needs

• Create selection/promotion standards

• Tasks performed• Scope and Work

Output• Technical Skills

Required• Competencies

Required• Education Required• Experience Needed

WORK

ANALYSIS

JOB

JOB

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For Executives• Can I identify the key roles in the company?

Can I readily identify the expectations, goals, and requirements of key roles in the organization?

• Do we have solid understanding of the chain of positions people must have in order to be prepared for a key job?

• Can I articulate the talent implications of the changes we’re driving in our business? Am I confident we’re tracking and building key skill sets?

Questions That Drive a Focus on Key Business Demands and Role Implications

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For HR• Am I funding development programs based on

clear job specifications so I know where and how those skills will be used?

• Do we have a common framework for linking selection and promotion processes to development and career planning?• If a legal challenge was made today can I

defend how we’ve selected and promoted people? How

we’ve allocated development opportunities?

Questions That Drive a Focus on Key Business Demands and Role Implications

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Identify the pool of possible successors• Develop strong assessments of performance and

potential• Capture individual motivations and values

through conversation and structured assessment• Capture experiences identified by the work

analysis and business• Schedule regular sessions to have structured

and in-depth discussions.

Know the People Who are Possible Candidates for the Roles

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CANDIDATE COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT (Sample)Production Services OrganzationPosition: Manager IMC Operations

Rating Scale: 5=Extremely Competent / 4=Very Competent / 3=Competent / 2=Somewhat Competent / 1=Not Sufficiently Competent

Candidate Competency Ratings

Competencies & Professional Skills Weight Can

dida

te 1

Can

dida

te 2

Can

dida

te 3

Can

dida

te 4

Can

dida

te 5

Can

dida

te 6

Can

dida

te 7

Team Comm itment 10 2 3 4 4 4 4 4Self Confident Integrity 10 1 2 3 3 3 4 4Developing Others 5 3 1 2 3 5 3 5Learning from Experience 15 1 2 2 4 5 3 3Budget Preparation and Financial Management 10 2 3 3 3 3 2 3Operations and Services Management 30 2 1 3 2 3 4 4Technical Knowledge of MF, Networking, Client Server 20 2 2 2 4 3 4 5

Weighted Score: 36 37 54 63 70 72 80

Candidate Overall Ratings

36

37

54

63

70

72

80

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Candidate 1

Candidate 2

Candidate 3

Candidate 4

Candidate 5

Candidate 6

Candidate 7

CANDIDATE COMPETENCY ASSESSMENT (Sample)Production Services OrganzationPosition: Manager IMC Operations

Rating Scale: 5=Extremely Competent / 4=Very Competent / 3=Competent / 2=Somewhat Competent / 1=Not Sufficiently Competent

Candidate Competency Ratings

Competencies & Professional Skills Weight Can

dida

te 1

Can

dida

te 2

Can

dida

te 3

Can

dida

te 4

Can

dida

te 5

Can

dida

te 6

Can

dida

te 7

Team Comm itment 10 2 3 4 4 4 4 4Self Confident Integrity 10 1 2 3 3 3 4 4Developing Others 5 3 1 2 3 5 3 5Learning from Experience 15 1 2 2 4 5 3 3Budget Preparation and Financial Management 10 2 3 3 3 3 2 3Operations and Services Management 30 2 1 3 2 3 4 4Technical Knowledge of MF, Networking, Client Server 20 2 2 2 4 3 4 5

Weighted Score: 36 37 54 63 70 72 80

Candidate Overall Ratings

36

37

54

63

70

72

80

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Candidate 1

Candidate 2

Candidate 3

Candidate 4

Candidate 5

Candidate 6

Candidate 7

Name of position and organization

Name of position and organization

Set of critical competencies and professional skills for position

Set of critical competencies and professional skills for position

Set of candidates for position

Set of candidates for position

Candidate ratings on competencies and professional skills

Candidate ratings on competencies and professional skills

Overall candidate assessment scores

Overall candidate assessment scores

Know the People Who are Possible Candidates for the RolesAggregate the data in ways that make sense given your business.

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For Executives• Do we have talent discussions based on

impressions over the last few months or based on data that tracks performance over years?

• Do we trust our “potential” and “readiness” ratings or do we hash over them endlessly? Does our “high potential” list change frequently because we change our mind? Because they leave the organization?

• Can each of my direct reports articulate clearly why someone meets the standards of a high potential? Are they all defining “high potential” in the same way?

Questions That Drive a Focus on Knowing Your People

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For HR• As I review development plans do I find them

clear, with accountabilities, and tied to developing valued skill sets?

• Do I use, ignore, or explain away our performance appraisal ratings?

• Am I getting insight into the development gaps or weaknesses that cut across the organization?

• If an opportunity arises quickly do we know who has the specialized skills to fill it?

Questions That Drive a Focus on Knowing Your People

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Summary1. You can move fast

• These steps were presented sequentially but can and should be executed in parallel.

2. Technology helps but so does simplicity• There are systems that can automate data collection

and analysis but much can be done with well thought out spreadsheets.

3. The biggest hurdle is the one you can influence the most (and do so with the least cost)• It’s influencing the mindset. By asking the questions

we’ve outlined (both of yourself and your direct reports/clients) you’ll prompt greater and deeper thinking about the value of preparing people to take on important organizational roles.