Succession Planning – 2 of 8

January 25th, 2011

It is difficult, if not impossible, to do a “good” job,
if you don’t know what “good” is supposed to look like!

Introduction

Succession planning starts with clarity about the job expectations.  Once you see the usefulness of every job having a succession plan to assure an uninterrupted workflow, the Job Book is the first step in creating a succession plan.

Step One: Create the Job Book

A Job Book would be useful for any job that is important to the organization (and what job isn’t?). It can be compiled over time with as little as 15 minutes a week invested OR you can delegate or hire it out. One of the greatest benefits of a job book is a job clarity that paves the way for high performance.

It takes deliberate effort to create a succession plan, but the return on investment is significant.  Consider that a person cannot perform his or her job due to a health problem. What happens back at work is often chaos as people scramble to fill in for the absent worker. The cost is significant and may include: time lost, frustration, morale, customer service, diminished reputation, lost opportunity, time spent to train someone else, and more. It is shocking to realize that these costs can add up to tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars.

And, the return is also high if you are one of those people who have been promoted and then are responsible for your new job and your old one because there is no one to replace you. While not immediately apparent, there is a cost for this.

Here is a suggested table of contents:

A key for success here is to just get it started. It doesn’t start out perfect – and, in fact, may never get there. The job book is something you can refine as you go and as things change. Start with a 1.5 to 2-inch binder with at least eight sections and proceed to sections 1, 2, and 3.  (NOTE: Along with an electronic copy, I recommend a hard copy of the job book; it is the most useful in some circumstances.)

Table of Contents:

1. .   Job Description
2. .   Reporting Structure
3. .   Additional Structure Information
4. Key Accountabilities
5. Job Report (Created in Step Two: Create a Job Template)
6. Talent Assessment and Gap Report (Created in Steps Three: Assess Talent and Four: Do a Gap Analysis)
7. Individual Professional Development Plan (Created in Step 5: Create a Development Plan)
8. Miscellaneous 

Below is an outline for the first three sections:

)   Job description
       a)   Title
       b)   What does the organization count on this job to accomplish? What
              does it add to the mission of the organization?
       c)    What are the potential consequences if this job is not done well?

)   Reporting structure
        a)   Who reports to whom?
        b)   Reporting watch outs – e.g., dotted line accountabilities; the dual
               boss  syndrome, etc.
       c)    Locations and contact information for all key connections

)   Additional structure information

        a)   Vendors
        b)   Tools and resources
        c)    Key information related to the above. 
                i)     Create a “vault” of key information related to the job, e.g., 
                        passwords, contact information for key people, and other
                        information that is essential to get the job done.
                ii)   Research the many available programs that make   
                       documentation and updating easy.
                iii) Create a secure way for another person to access this
                       information as necessary. 

Next

Start identifying Key Accountabilities.

Be thinking about the answer to 1-b: What does the organization count on this job to accomplish? What does it add to the mission of the organization? Revisit the mission, vision, and strategy of your organization.

Entry Filed under: Succession Planning