Building Trust Through Transparent Succession Conversations: A Guide for HR Leaders

Survey data from ASE partner, McLean & Company, confirms that succession planning plays an integral role in effective talent management, with 47% of exiting employees citing “opportunities for career advancement” as having a moderate or major effect on their decision to leave an organization or as their primary reason for leaving. In their new HR resource, the Succession Planning Conversations Guide, McLean & Company emphasizes that simply having a well-designed succession plan is not enough; success also depends on intentional and effective communication.

Building on their Design a High-Value Succession Planning Program blueprint, the new guide has been designed to help HR share the importance of communication for succession planning programs with key players in their organization. HR leaders can also expect guidance on how to prepare communicators to tailor succession conversations for employees not identified as successors, succession candidates at various readiness levels, and candidates not selected for vacancies or whose readiness levels have changed.

“Well-executed communication with succession candidates is critical to program success for a variety of reasons, but most notably because it improves retention of succession candidates and adequately prepares them for the organization’s most critical roles,” says Kelly Berte, practice lead of HR Research & Advisory Services at McLean & Company.

She continues, “Effective succession planning conversations provide the opportunity for the organization to share the rationale behind succession planning decisions. When employees feel as though they understand decision-making, especially around changes that directly impact them, trust is increased and the risk of employees developing their own – sometimes potentially negative – perceptions is reduced.”

In McLean & Company’s new guide, HR leaders will find research-backed guidance to prepare for succession planning conversations through a variety of steps, as outlined below:

1. Identify communicators responsible for facilitating succession conversations, keeping in mind the communicators may vary for succession candidates with different levels of readiness. Communicators responsible for sharing program details often include HR, direct people managers, skip-level managers, or cross-functional leaders.
2. Outline communicator accountabilities. HR leaders should outline the accountabilities and responsibilities of the communicators and share the target level of transparency for the succession planning program. Next, they should encourage communicators to share messages with empathy and to anticipate a variety of reactions. Finally, they should advise communicators on how to proactively spot and address retention concerns.
3. Communicate manager accountabilities. Regardless of whether the succession candidates’ manager is the identified communicator, the manager is accountable for supporting the development of succession candidates on their team. It is important to address common people manager concerns, remind managers to continue to support all employees’ development, and prepare managers to maintain the overall team dynamic.

ASE Connect

To access the full guide, ASE members can visit their ASE member dashboard to access McLean & Company. If you do not see McLean & Company on your dashboard, please contact Dana Weidinger to learn how to get access.

By Heather Nezich, courtesy of SBAM-approved partner, ASE.  Source: McLean & Company

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