What Tools and Apps Can Help Your Company With Succession Planning?

Succession planning tools help to identify future leaders, bridge skill gaps, and streamline the transition process when key positions become vacant. These tools equip organisations in the UK with the foresight to proactively prepare for leadership changes, mitigating the risk of disruption and knowledge loss. 

Why is Succession Planning Necessary in Today’s Business Landscape?

At Auxesia, we believe that succession planning is very important, especially for businesses in the UK. The corporate landscape is currently facing some unprecedented challenges. 

Europe is currently facing a "silver tsunami,” with workers aged 55 and older comprising 16% of the European Union workforce. Some European countries even have nearly 1 in 5 workers at or near retirement. This demographic shift underscores the need for comprehensive succession strategies to prevent potential knowledge gaps.

In response to these pressing workforce dynamics, the Auxesia Academy offers specialised courses and programs designed to equip aspiring leaders with the skills and mindset needed to navigate the complexities of leadership in the UK, including succession planning.

The High Cost of Poor Succession Planning

Failure to adequately plan for succession can result in substantial financial losses for businesses. Harvard Business Review states that the expense of replacing an unsuccessful executive can amount to ten times their salary. This calculation encompasses recruiting fees, onboarding expenses, lost productivity during the transition, and the impact on employee morale.

Addressing the Skills Gap

Besides demographic shifts, rapid technological advancements also necessitate proactive upskilling and reskilling initiatives within the workforce. Data from the 2018 Future of Jobs report by the World Economic Forum indicates that approximately 54% of all employees will require competency updates or retraining within the next couple of years to remain competitive. 

Succession planning tools can be instrumental in identifying and bridging these skill gaps. These tools help you create a strategy to train, prepare, and retain employees to take on new roles.

Benefits of Using Succession Planning Tools

This is why succession planning tools are essential in this constantly evolving work landscape. They can provide companies with a structured way to identify high-potential employees, track their progress, and help prepare them to take on leadership positions when they become available. Organisations can use succession planning tools to maintain business continuity.

Reducing Ramp Time Through Knowledge Transfer

Succession planning tools aid businesses in getting ahead on knowledge transfer. They facilitate a smoother handover of responsibilities from outgoing employees to their successors. 

Organisations can capture and retain critical expertise within their teams with efficient succession planning. This strategy leads to a more informed and better-prepared workforce, capable of sustaining performance even amidst personnel changes.

Retaining Your Best Employees

Robust leadership is needed for employee retention, a critical aspect often overlooked. High-quality leadership plays a key role in retaining your best employees, as confirmed by McKinsey research findings. 

Succession planning actively contributes to talent retention by offering professional development opportunities, clearly defined career paths, and a structured approach to growth within the company.

Key Features of Effective Succession Planning Tools

The right succession planning tools should enable you to develop and implement your succession plans effectively and seamlessly. Some vital features to consider:

Talent Identification & Assessment

Talent identification is the cornerstone of any successful succession plan. However, talent pools should extend beyond senior management, encompassing high-performing individuals across all organisational levels. 

Many effective succession planning tools feature a 9-box grid system that plots employee performance on one axis and potential on the other. A 9-box grid is a valuable tool for any organisation's succession planning process.

Performance Management & 360-Degree Feedback

The integration of performance management with succession planning is necessary. It helps evaluate employee performance consistently and fairly. Integrating performance data, you gain deeper insights into individuals' strengths and areas for improvement.

The best succession planning tools facilitate 360-degree feedback mechanisms to gain a comprehensive understanding of each employee's capabilities from peers, supervisors, and even themselves through self-assessments. 

Learning Management & Development Planning

Effective succession planning extends beyond just identifying potential successors — it's also about preparing them with the right skills and experiences. 

Modern succession planning tools simplify the creation and management of personalised development plans for your future leaders, mapping out specific training programmes, mentoring opportunities, or challenging assignments tailored to an individual's growth trajectory.

This targeted approach allows individuals to bridge existing skill gaps and evolve their capabilities in alignment with future roles. Using these succession planning tools, organisations can conduct regular talent reviews to evaluate internal talent's skills and potential.

Reporting and Analytics

Look for succession planning tools that give insightful reporting and analytics features. This helps in evaluating the effectiveness of your programme and making data-driven decisions.

Talent Pool Overview

A critical feature to look for in succession planning tools is a talent pool overview. This feature gives you a comprehensive visual representation of your company's talent pool, allowing you to evaluate the depth and breadth of potential successors. 

With this insight, you can proactively develop and groom future leaders to ensure a smooth transition when the need arises.

Readiness Assessments

Effective succession planning requires determining how prepared individuals are for their next roles. Look for tools that offer readiness assessments, which help to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of potential candidates for critical positions. 

This can help you develop training and mentoring programs that bridge any skill gaps, better preparing your talent pool for upcoming transitions.

Succession Planning Dashboards

Real-time metrics on critical roles, potential vacancies, and other essential factors enable you to monitor the effectiveness of your succession plan. Succession planning dashboards allow for proactive planning and adjustments as needed, ensuring your company's smooth transition from one generation of leaders to the next. 

With this feature, you stay informed on all aspects of your programme, empowering you to make data-driven decisions that further your company's success.

Selecting the Right Succession Planning Tool

Selecting suitable succession planning tools from numerous options can be overwhelming. Some key considerations can streamline your decision-making. 

Tailoring your tool selection to your business’s specific requirements and existing systems will guarantee a seamless integration process. Organisations can benefit from implementing a well-defined succession plan.

Cloud-based or On-premise

The deployment method can affect both cost and accessibility. Cloud-based solutions provide convenient remote accessibility and simplified maintenance. But on-premise solutions, where software resides on a company’s servers, might be preferred for organisations prioritising data control and customisation.

Integration with Existing HR Systems

Your succession planning tool must integrate seamlessly with current human resources platforms and data management systems. Compatibility will guarantee a unified workflow across HR operations, facilitating smoother implementation and efficient data flow between departments.

Budgetary Considerations and ROI

Succession planning tools vary significantly in pricing, with a range of plans catering to diverse business sizes and needs. For instance, pricing can vary from pay-per-user models to tiered subscription plans based on the number of employees or the features included. When assessing affordability, weighing a tool’s return on investment is vital.

The cost-effectiveness can be gauged by factoring in long-term advantages. Reduced recruitment expenses and the benefits of streamlined talent development contribute positively to the ROI of robust succession planning tools. With proper planning and the right tools, you can successfully navigate your organisational needs.

Best Succession Planning Tools for UK Businesses

There are several tools and apps available to support succession planning in larger organisations. Some of the best options for succession planning include:

SAP SuccessFactors

SAP SuccessFactors is an integrated HR software system that offers a comprehensive suite of tools for succession planning, talent management, and workforce analytics. With its user-friendly interface, you can easily identify and develop future leaders within your organisation. 

The platform's rich features allow you to create talent profiles, conduct potential assessments, and design development plans for a seamless succession planning process.

Oracle Talent Management Cloud

Oracle Talent Management Cloud provides an all-in-one solution for succession planning, talent profiles, and development plans. Its intuitive interface allows you to streamline the identification and grooming of potential successors within your workforce. 

With Oracle Talent Management Cloud, you can efficiently manage succession pipelines, conduct readiness assessments, and align individual development plans with organisational goals.

ADP Workforce Now

ADP Workforce Now offers robust succession planning features within its broader HR management platform. With this tool, you can seamlessly integrate succession planning with other HR processes, ensuring a holistic approach to talent management. 

Its intuitive dashboard provides visibility into talent pipelines, potential vacancies, and individual readiness for key roles, enabling you to proactively address succession challenges.

Cornerstone Succession

Cornerstone Succession is a specialised platform that focuses on providing robust succession planning capabilities. Its features include talent pool management, readiness assessments, and succession planning dashboards. 

This tool empowers you to visualise your talent pipeline, assess the preparedness of potential successors, and monitor the effectiveness of your succession plan in real-time, enabling data-driven decision-making.

TalentGuard

TalentGuard is a great example of a tool with an efficient and flexible talent management system. This helps you gain valuable insights into individual potential that a traditional top-down approach might miss. This tool makes talent management and identifying high-potential employees simple.

Succession Planning Templates

While not exactly a succession planning tool, using succession planning templates can streamline the succession planning process by providing a structured framework for identifying key positions, assessing potential successors, and developing tailored development plans. 

These templates serve as a guide to ensure that all essential steps in succession planning are addressed systematically and efficiently. With succession planning templates, UK businesses can enhance their organisational readiness for leadership transitions and proactively nurture talent to meet future challenges.

Invest in Succession Planning For Your Business

Forward-thinking leadership necessitates a proactive stance. To help you with succession planning, Auxesia’s executive mentorship and coaching services in the UK can contribute to succession planning, emphasising the development of future leaders and the nurturing of talent for long-term organisational success. 

With leadership development in the UK, you can significantly impact succession planning and foster a pool of capable and adaptable leaders for your UK company. For inquiries, feel free to reach out to us. Invest in succession planning for your business today!