A well planned and executed succession process plan is one of the key elements to assuring diversity in your organization. As too often seen in a number of companies, succession planning does not represent the diversity of global markets, customers, or the employee population. For example, women and professionals of color may appear in a succession plan as "ready in three to five years," but they seldom advance to the "ready now" status in a plan.

Succession Plans Kept Secret

A survey conducted by Novations/J. Howard & Associates found 45.8 percent of companies don't share with executives whether they are included in the plan. For many companies, succession planning is a closed process. Respondents cited several reasons for this secrecy. Some do not want to make an implied promise, while others do not want to harm the morale of those not included in the plan. Others want to watch to see how the executives will develop.

Among the study's other findings:

  • most employers (60.9 percent) do not encourage executives to nominate themselves for inclusion in the succession plan most organizations (47.8 percent) do not permit self nomination
  • few employees (16.7 percent) make the criteria for inclusion on their succession plan known throughout the organization
  • about 1/5 (22.7 percent) of the respondents indicated that their companies always complement their succession plans with development programs so designated executives are prepared to move up within a certain time frame.

The corporate secrecy associated with succession planning has its down side. If employers truly seek to develop their leaders, criteria for advancement - what the necessary qualities, skills, and experiences are - must be made clear.

Opening Up the Succession Process

To retain and develop top talent, companies need to understand that succession planning must be an open process in order to be successful. Senior management needs to be keenly aware of their reactions to differences and to broaden the pool of people from which they select.

Managers also need to be conscious of their own biases, especially the tendency to support those most like themselves. They must look at their people objectively, getting to know them as individuals. In addition, companies should encourage and reward learning. It must be made clear that individuals are valued on the basis of their willingness to engage in continuous learning and improvement, not on the basis of their membership in any "favored" group.

Personal responsibility is the next step to build a diverse succession plan - individuals within an organization must take ownership of their own development. The company should do whatever it can to help grow the confidence of all employees for example, by providing regular feedback and coaching to help refine employees' efforts and build their capabilities. Individuals need to be encouraged to focus on results and competency development not just on hard work - effective effort on their part is the key to career success.

The final component of a succession plan is to develop a "career roadmap," which spells out the needed competencies for each individual within a succession plan and provides a detailed road map about how to develop the needed competencies. Using this map, in conjunction with the organization's succession plan, company leaders can focus on results and outcomes in a more objective manner. This model will help leaders more accurately assess people's talents and skills.