What does succession planning involve?

Succession planning is a strategic approach used by organizations to ensure that they have a ready pool of qualified candidates for key positions that may become vacant due to retirement, resignation, or other reasons. This process typically involves identifying and preparing individuals within the organization who can fill these roles in the future, thus maintaining continuity and stability. By recognizing potential successors, organizations can create development plans to equip these individuals with the necessary skills and experience.

While assessing current employees' performance and developing employee skill sets are certainly important components of talent management and employee development, they are not the core focus of succession planning. This process is primarily about looking ahead and planning for future leadership and critical roles, rather than just evaluating the current state of the workforce or responding to immediate hiring needs. Analyzing market trends can inform hiring strategies but does not directly pertain to the succession planning process of identifying and preparing internal candidates.