Transition planning for a company's entire enterprise

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Transition planning is something every leader at every business level should be thinking about on a regular basis.

For each position, companies should have a strategy in place for transferring duties from one employee to another. Unfortunately, this topic is typically only discussed for leadership positions. Even more unfortunate, even at the leadership level, companies often have no plan.

Many studies have been done to quantify the cost of no succession plan at the CEO level, and a few have addressed the cost at the mid-level or general staff position level. For any position, the consensus is that the cost is high. But even if that cost were low, why lose any money at all for lack of something as simple as planning?

For most companies, it’s not an issue of not wanting to do it, but how to get started.

Key Players

The two main people involved in this process are the person doing the job and the one planning to take over. The person in the role is obvious; the person taking over might not be.

It may also be unclear which positions will see turnover in the next three to five years. Many employees don’t think about transition planning because they don’t realize how long the process takes if it’s done correctly. When you ask someone if they have considered their replacement, the answer is often no. But if you ask the same employee if they plan to exit their position in the next five to 10 years, you might get a lot more affirmative answers.

This conversation should be taking place at each employee’s annual review, especially for team leaders. Once you have a ‘yes,’ you can start working with that person to determine if there is a potential replacement internally or if you need to make a hire. Then you can move on to the transition plan.

Transition Planning Partner

Transition plans often fail because the involved parties don’t stick to the plan. In my experience, transitions are most successful when an objective partner guides the process and helps people develop and stick to that plan. This can be a member of the human resources team, another member of the leadership team, or an outside consultant.

Employees have day-to-day responsibilities in their current roles, and executing tasks that impact strategy over five years can be relegated to the back burner. A third-party partner sets check-in meetings and ensures that tasks get done. That partner also provides the employees involved with a resource for alleviating bottlenecks and concerns about the process.

Timeline

An article in the Harvard Business Review said that most successful CEOs start transition planning their first day on the job. That might seem aggressive, but I agree: It’s never too early to start thinking about it.

I would allow two to three years minimum for a thorough and effective transition. As you move up the org chart, allow more time for the exercise. Top-level leadership transitions can take five to 10 years.

Activities and Milestones

Transition planning is about having an executable list of tactics and measurable milestones mapped out on a timeline.

This is typically why companies pursue consultant support. Consultants are trained in developing activities suited to the business and industry that will prepare new leadership to take over.

Personal development in business is no different than any other activity. The best athletes work on fundamentals and drills day in and day out. They study plays and condition continuously. Leadership development works the same way. It’s about identifying the right drills and fundamentals and having the discipline to stick to the plan.

Execute and Manage to Completion

A transition plan must have an end date.

I recently worked with a company that had a CEO replacement ready to step into the role, only to watch him quit because the incumbent CEO took too long to step down. That’s a costly mistake—finding a new candidate and starting the entire transition process over can be very expensive.

Establishing an end date up front gives the replacement confidence in the promotion and gives the incumbent a deadline for his or her own personal planning. It also gives the company time to communicate the handoff to the rest of the workforce. After all, a good transition plan and new leadership is something that will impact the entire organization. Transparency keeps everyone on the same page and comfortable with the process.