As Career & Succession Management grows in maturity, it is no surprise to see the processes closely align to, and integrate with, other Talent Management processes. In fact this is now becoming a key feature, as much of the information that we gather either crosses over with, or can be used to enhance, other processes such as Strategic Workforce Planning, Performance Management and Learning & Development. Initially we see a clear link with Performance Management. Relevant performance data can help identify high potential employees, as well as shed light on the development progress of other employees. It can also help identify who is ready and capable of taking on a new challenge. In addition, the performance cycle is often used to gather extra information around employees’ career preferences or managers’ assessment of the employees’ potential.
New approaches in Performance Management involve continuous, ongoing dialogue between employees and their managers, helping encourage individuals to take a greater sense of ownership of their own performance. Similarly with Career & Succession Management, we see the employees assuming greater ownership of their career development, as ongoing performance-coaching is used as a platform to explore wider career perspectives (such as potential internal opportunities, and new areas for development and progress), thereby strengthening the link between the two processes.
In addition we see a link between Career & Succession Management and Learning & Development, as areas for personal and professional development, and knowledge transfer, are identified.
These learning and development needs then help to shape individual development plans, which in turn may have a longer-term influence on Leadership Development initiatives (see the Top Employers report on Leadership Development). They help support both formal or informal learning programmes on an individual level, and help to identify potential investment in specific development programmes for a larger, more strategic employee group.
With Strategic Workforce Planning identifying future needed capabilities and capacity, a close link with the Career & Succession Management process can ensure that these are fed back into it, helping to prepare for future gaps. Furthermore, most of today’s organisations use competency models to help assess performance and guide development. If this is seen in the broader perspective not only of the current role, but also related to potential future roles (either following from employee preferences or organisations’ needs), these competency models can be of even greater value. We increasingly see that organisations use integrated technology (Talent Suites) to support all of these processes. This makes sense as it can create a uniform user
experience, ensuring accuracy and full visibility of all relevant data.
The most common Career & Succession Management practice supported by technology is an online personal development plan (87% of participants have this), followed by competency models (85%), employee profiles (83%), and talent identification & talent pool management (78%).
Four key trends
'Integration with other talent management processes' is one of the four key trends we have identified in the Career & Succession Management report. These four trends are shaping the way we approach Career & Succession Management.
Each trend signals a move away from using the process purely to identify future leadership and senior management ipelines, and towards one that helps to underline and enhance the organisation’s efforts to retain, develop and engage their employees.
Download the full Career & Succession Management report to learn all about the current trends in Career & Succession Management and how organisations deal with these trends in their business processes.
