Identifying Hi-Potentials for Succession Planning

Again, we’ve turned to BLR’s newly-published Top 10 Best Practices in HR Management for 2012 for guidance.

Identifying Key Positions and Skills

A critical step in the process is to specifically identify the key positions that will be targeted in the succession plan. This usually includes management-level positions. It may also include highly specialized jobs that are essential to the company’s ability to meet current or future goals.

Once the positions are identified, clarify what knowledge, experience, training and education, skills, personality traits, and other requirements are for these positions. Then, look at current employees and identify individuals with the potential to fill these key positions. Identify gaps in the skills and experience of current employees and then make a concerted effort to fill those gaps when hiring employees from outside the company.

Set that keyboard aside! Your job descriptions are already written. See why 1000s of managers have a permanent place in their offices for BLR’s classic Job Descriptions Encyclopedia. Plus for a limited time receive a FREE HR report. For more information Click here.

Identifying High-Potential Employees

Also critical to the succession plan is the process of identifying employees that will be targeted for training and mentoring so that they will be ready to step into key positions when openings occur. It is helpful to consider these criteria:

• Work history, including progression into more responsible positions, and past experience that might be helpful in a future position
• Job performance over time
• Education and training
• Demonstrated willingness to take initiative on new projects and to suggest new ideas
• Employee’s own interests and career goals
• Personality profile if the company uses this type of assessment
• Ability to get work done and to meet deadlines
• Ability to work as part of team and to motivate others
• Understanding of the company’s products and customers
• Training needs of the employee in order to be ready for more responsible management positions

Once an employee is identified through this process, the next step is to develop an individualized plan for the employee. The best development plans include a mentor relationship with a successful senior manager, cross-training, and project work that provides leadership opportunities for the employee. Even though some classroom training may be appropriate, managers generally learn more relevant skills through observation and practice.

Key Element? Job Descriptions

What’s the basis for all your strategic succession planning? Job descriptions. Current descriptions that clearly specif\y the current and future requirements of the position. What’s the status of your job descriptions? Are they ready to help with planning? Are they ADA-compliant? Are essential skills delineated?

If not—or if you’ve never even written job descriptions—you’re not alone. Thousands of companies fall short in this area.

It’s easy to understand why. Job descriptions are not simple to do—what with updating and management and legal review, especially given the ADA requirement of a split-off of essential functions from other functions in the description. Wouldn’t it be great if your job descriptions were available and already written?

Actually, they are. We have more than 700, ready to go, covering every common position in any organization, from receptionist right up to president. They are in an extremely popular BLR program called the Job Descriptions Encyclopedia.

First created in the 1980s, the “JDE” has been continually refined and updated over time, with descriptions revised or added each time the law, technology—or the way we do business—changes.

700+ prewritten job descriptions in the Job Descriptions Encyclopedia now come with pay grades already attached. Click here to try the program at no cost and receive a limited time bonus.

Revised for the ADA, Pay Grades Updated

There was a major revision, for example, following the passage of the ADA. In fact, BLR editors reviewed every one of those 700 descriptions to ensure they were ADA-compliant.

Another enhancement was the updating of pay grades for each job. According to our customers, this is an enormous time-saver, enabling them to make compensation decisions even as they define the position. You can see a sample job description from the program by clicking here. (Yes, it is the one for HR Manager—Pay grade: 37.)

The BLR Job Descriptions Encyclopedia also includes an extensive tutorial on setting up a complete job descriptions program, and how to encourage participation from all parts of the organization. That includes top management, the employees, and any union or other collective bargaining entity.

Quarterly Updates, No Additional Cost

Very important these days, quarterly updates are included in the program as a standard feature—key at a time of constantly changing laws and emerging technologies. We’ll send you new or revised descriptions every 90 days. And the cost is extremely reasonable, averaging less than 43 cents per job description … already written, legally reviewed, and ready to adapt or use as is.

You can evaluate BLR’s Job Descriptions Encyclopedia at no cost in your office for up to 30 days. Get more information or order the Job Descriptions Encyclopedia.

Download product sample
Download list of job descriptions included