Succession planning in a fast‐changing world

Abstract

Two things happen every time an employee retires, is made redundant or leaves to join another company. The experience acquired at the company’s considerable expense literally walks out of the door and the company has to replace the individual, often from outside. For organizations, job change, which has always been continuous, has been accelerating over the past decade as individuals switch their employer every six years. Even though most professionally managed companies run induction courses, most new managers will readily admit that the components that most inhibit their early passage to full productivity relate to understanding and accommodating their new employer’s individual corporate culture, management and communication styles, and the detail of recent events. Because of the difficulties of imparting such information, companies generally leave individuals to assimilate these intangibles as best they can, usually by osmosis. The evidence suggests that it can take 12 months ‐ and often much longer ‐ to become fully productive. Lack of continuity has an insidious effect on productivity and competitiveness. Outlines a cost‐effective solution to high job mobility.