Succession planning as a business process of talent-management

Abstract

In this globalized and changing world, companies are looking to be more competitive in order to stay in the market and at the forefront. To generate and maintain a sustainable competitive advantage, companies must not only have adequate organizational elements but also with the human capital best qualified to fulfill its responsibilities. Organizations know they must have the best talent to succeed in the hypercompetitive and increasingly complex global economy. It becomes, then, indispensable to ensure the continuity and permanence of the business over time, by identifying, developing and monitoring its staff with better performance and high potential, so that they are in positions strategic, and thus, value is created through people. For all above, succession plan becomes a strategic process of decision and action for the organization. Contrary to popular belief, succession planning is not a new phenomenon. Companies have been wrestling with ways to identify, develop, and retain their talent for decades. Therefore, why is succession planning suddenly popping up on every company’s radar screen? Today’s organizations are facing higher demands in a global market with the retirement of the Baby Boomers and the widening talent gap. The homegrown and paper-based succession planning that companies relied on in the past is no longer meeting the needs of today’s workforce. Companies need to upgrade and redefine their succession planning initiatives to ensure that their process will benefit both the individual and the overall strategy of the company. Talent management could be also defined as a useful term when it describes an organization's commitment to hire, manage, develop, and retain talented employees. It comprises all of the work processes and systems that are related to retaining and developing a superior workforce.