Succession Planning and Management: A Guide to Organizational Systems and Practices

Introduction

If we consider succession processes along a continuum, replacement planning would be on one end, succession management would be on the other end, and succession planning would be in the middle. As the table below indicates, replacement planning focuses on the identification of replacements for key positions, usually at the top two or three levels of an organization. Basically, it is a forecast. It does not include the deliberate development and preparation of identified successors. If development occurs, it is ad hoc, or perhaps a manager will coach and guide the person he or she believes would be a good replacement. This strategy is based on the assumption that the current manager is also the model for future managers—not necessarily ...