Succession Planning & Talent Management
Overview
When a key leader leaves suddenly, organisations without a succession plan lose time, knowledge and momentum. This succession planning and talent management course shows how to identify critical roles, assess potential fairly and prepare capable successors before vacancies arise. A structured talent process protects continuity, reduces costly external hiring and gives ambitious employees a visible path to grow within the organisation.
Participants learn to map critical positions, use performance and potential assessments, run talent review meetings, build talent pools and design development plans for successors. The programme suits HR leaders, talent specialists and senior managers in companies, ministries and other public bodies. Participants leave with practical tools, a framework for talent reviews and a personal plan to start or strengthen succession planning at work.
Who should attend
HR directors and managers, talent management and organisational development specialists, senior and middle managers, and leadership development teams in ministries, municipalities and public bodies.
Training methodology
Interactive presentations, practical exercises, case studies, group discussions, role-plays where relevant, and a personal action plan that participants apply in their own work.
Objectives
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify critical roles and assess succession risk
- Assess employee performance and potential with fair criteria
- Run structured talent review and calibration meetings
- Build talent pools and individual development plans
- Monitor succession readiness and programme effectiveness
Course outline
Day 1Talent Management Foundations
- Purpose and scope of talent management
- Linking talent strategy to organisational goals
- Succession planning versus replacement planning
- Common barriers to effective succession
- Roles of leaders, HR and employees
- Review of current talent practices
Day 2Critical Roles and Risk
- Identifying critical and hard-to-fill positions
- Assessing vacancy and knowledge loss risk
- Defining success profiles for key roles
- Competency frameworks for leadership positions
- Capturing knowledge held by key people
- Exercise: building a critical roles map
Day 3Assessing Performance and Potential
- Separating current performance from future potential
- Using the nine-box talent grid properly
- Reducing bias in talent assessments
- Running talent review and calibration meetings
- Communicating talent decisions to employees
- Workshop: conducting a mock talent review
Day 4Developing Successors
- Building talent pools and successor lists
- Individual development plans that work
- Job rotation, stretch assignments and projects
- Coaching and mentoring for future leaders
- Retaining high-potential employees during development
- Exercise: writing a successor development plan
Day 5Sustaining the Talent Process
- Measuring succession readiness and bench strength
- Talent indicators for leadership reporting
- Governance and annual talent planning cycles
- Applying succession planning in public bodies
- Linking talent management to HR systems
- Personal action plan for succession planning
