This unit addresses the skills and knowledge required to create and develop a succession strategy and process within an organisation. It covers understanding the organisation’s strategic, people and capability needs and the identification of critical organisation roles.

1. Develop a succession management strategy 

2. Identify critical organisational roles and feeder positions 

3. Manage succession process 

4. Evaluate succession management programme

Learning Outcomes

1. Develop a succession management strategy

• Consult stakeholders to identify their expectations regarding succession management
• Develop strategies for managing succession that is aligned with organisational objectives and needs and other people management/human capital programmes
• Communicate succession management strategies to stakeholders to generate buy-in and build ownership

2. Identify critical organisational roles and feeder positions

• Consult with stakeholders to identify critical roles
• Develop profiles to document the requirements of the critical roles
• Identify feeder positions within the organisation that can provide opportunities to groom successors

3. Manage succession process

• Identify successors for critical positions in the organisation by matching their profiles with the critical position profiles
• Conduct a risk assessment for critical positions and document the outcomes
• Work with managers and identified successors to create and document development and retention plans

4. Evaluate succession management programme

• Identify criteria to evaluate the performance of succession management programmes by defining specific measures to be used
• Support the development of processes and systems to gather measurement data and feedback from key stakeholders
• Monitor internal and external influences and trends that may impact on the succession management programme

• Analyse data to refine the succession management programme