Succession Planning Leads to World Class (and Championship) Outcomes

Every organization needs a way to identify and develop talent for the long-term. One of the best examples of how this works is in baseball. Professional baseball teams have development league teams, commonly referred to as ‘Farm Teams.’ These are teams that play at lower levels than what we know as the ‘Major League.’ Teams use these farm teams to harvest talent from high schools and colleges so they can identify and develop young talent for future growth into the professional team. The idea of having a process for early identification and then careful development over time doesn’t have to be just for baseball or other sports teams; it can work for your business as well.Imagine what it might look like if you hired a new entry-level associate for your business. In the interview, you could already see some raw talent. You believed that this could be someone that would contribute at a very high level in the coming years. They would need to learn about your business. You would need to provide plenty of coaching and day to day operational experience. However, in time you sense that they could be a stand out performer. Ensuring that you have a process for identifying talent is an essential first step.Succession Planning is an often talked about but rarely well-implemented practice for business. If it were solidly in place, few positions would require outside searches or recruitment beyond the entry level. Succession planning is a long-term process and something that needs to be worked on continuously. It cannot be a start and stop program that is utilized only when you need to hire someone. It requires ongoing attention and support at each of the levels within your organization.Two great examples of how long-term commitments pay off can be seen in the Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros baseball teams. Utilizing our initial analogy of the Farm Team, both the Cubs and Astros invested in young talent back in 2012 and 2013. They brought in some experienced talent to help support the to-under players. They both had very young talent in their farm clubs that would be specifically developed to fit into their systems and needs over the course of the next several years. Each team had a goal of utilizing this process to get to the playoffs and hopefully the World Series within the next 3-5 years. The leaders of the team, namely the coach and general manager, were fully bought into the strategy and managed as such. This would include some behind the scenes changes as well as on the field adjustments, such as bringing in young, not quite ready for pro leagues players into pro experiences earlier than they might ordinarily have. That gave them experience at the highest level in situations where they could learn for the future. They may return to their minor league teams later, but would eventually be ‘called back up’ when they were ready for full-time rotation in the pros. Ultimately this strategy paid off. The Chicago were World Champions after a 108-year drought in 2016 and the Houston Astros won their first World Series ever in 2017. Both can trace their success back to the plans and succession planning they put in place almost four years ago.Here are three things you can do to replicate the same process for your business.

Look Multiple Levels Down

Succession planning that only looks one level down will be doomed to fail in short order. A couple of unexpected open positions and you are tapped out of ‘ready now’ players and everyone gives up on succession planning. You will need to look multiple levels down and see who will be up and coming talent in 24, 36, and even 48 months from now. Identifying that high potential, raw talent person in an entry-level position is critical to the long-term game. Having this in place at each level will ensure that you always have a ‘ready now’ individual to step into any open position above the most entry-level positions. While it still may be a good idea to hire the occasional external talent at higher levels, that becomes a luxury you can choose to do versus being the only option because no one within the organization is ready for that next level.

Dedicated Coaching to Talent

You will need to have dedicated mentors and ‘coaches’ to help the budding talent maximize their learning opportunities. These individuals need to provide a balance between providing theoretical learning and ‘game time’ experiences to round out their learning in the current roles. How will these situations look at the next level up? How would they handle this type of situation if they had to make the decision? By having a dedicated coach for their development, there will be continuity in their learning. The coach will be able to see their areas of strength as well as the opportunity areas that will need further development. A long-standing relationship will allow for more open conversations and mutual trust to develop between the two. This will likely become a life-long bond between the two.

Pro Learning Opportunities

Your developing talent will continue to learn theory and practice what they have been learned in their current positions. But the best way to ensure their success in the next level up is to give them opportunities to practice at that higher position. Look for interim positions or special projects that will provide exposure to the work at the level they are being readied for. This provides the ‘real life’ experience they need while providing a safety net for learning and fall back as needed. This will provide their coaches with information on where further development is needed. Then, when the next open position arises, they will be better suited for the full-time promotion. They will be more confident in the move up and be able to make a meaningful impact more quickly for your business.These benefits of growing your talent from within are numerous. It will build engagement at all levels of your organization. Development and personal growth will be seen as part of your culture and can even be used to attract new entry-level talent in the future. More importantly, these individuals will have an excellent understanding of your company, the customers it serves, and the specific aspects of your industry. There are substantial cost benefits due to this as well. Any new external hire would require ramp-up time to learn the new business and then the role they play within your organization. Much of that goes away with a robust succession planning process within your company. All of this combined leads to long-term success and a world-class organization capable of winning multiple championshipsWhat are you doing to plan long-term for your talent needs? Share your ideas in the comments section.Join other retail leaders in continuing their development journey with Effective Retail Leader.com. SUBSCRIBE today to receive leadership tips directly to your inbox and monthly newsletters that provide many tools to help further develop your leadership skills. JOIN NOW!No spam ever - just leadership goodness.