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 called Farm Teams. These teams play at lower levels than what we know as the Major League. The Professional level clubs use these farm teams to harvest talent from high schools and colleges to 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 also work for your business.

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 this could be someone who would contribute at a very high level in the coming years. They would need to learn about your business. Your contribution is to provide plenty of coaching and day-to-day operational experience. However, in time, you sense they could be a stand-out performer. Ensuring 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, fewer positions would require outside searches or recruitment beyond the entry level. Succession planning is a long-term process that requires continuous work. It must be actively engaged versus utilized only when hiring someone is needed. It requires ongoing attention and support at each level within your organization.

Two great examples of how long-term commitments pay off are evident in recent Chicago Cubs and Houston Astros baseball teams. Utilizing our initial Farm Team analogy, the Cubs and Astros invested in young talent in 2012 and 2013. They brought in some experienced talent to help support the undeveloped 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 next several years. Each team aimed to utilize this process to get to the playoffs and, hopefully, the World Series within the next three to five years. The leaders of the organizations, namely the coach and general manager, were fully bought into the strategy and managed as such. The strategy would include some behind-the-scenes changes and on-the-field adjustments. They were bringing in young, needing more time to be 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 to the plans and succession planning they implemented almost four years prior.

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 fail in short order. A couple of unexpected open positions reduces your ready-now players, and everyone gives up on succession planning. You will need to look down multiple levels and see who will be future talent in 24, 36, and even 48 months. 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. Hiring the occasional external talent at higher levels may still be a good idea. But with a good succession process, that becomes a luxury you can choose versus being your only option.

Dedicated Coaching to Talent

You must have dedicated mentors and coaches to help the budding talent maximize their learning opportunities. These individuals need to provide a balance between theoretical learning and “game time” experiences to round out their knowledge in their 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 and opportunities for further development. A long-standing relationship enables more open conversations and mutual trust to develop. That connection 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 taught in their current positions. But the best way to ensure their success at the next level is to give them opportunities to practice at that higher position. Look for interim assignments or special projects that will expose the work you are readying them for. These projects provide beneficial real life experiences while providing a safety net for learning and fallback as needed. With these learnings, coaches will have the information on where further development is required. 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.

The 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, its customers, and your industry’s specific aspects. 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 their role within your organization. Much of that goes away with your company’s robust succession planning process. All of this combined leads to long-term success and a world-class organization capable of winning multiple championships.

What are you doing to plan long-term for your talent needs?

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