Preparing Next Year's Execs:
How to make a succession plan
making_a_succession_plan.pdf |
Preparing for when you will leave your club doesn’t begin a few months before the end of your graduating year, it starts now. Making a succession plan will help you:
What is succession planning?
Succession planning is the answer to the question “what would we do if this key person were to leave the club suddenly?”
When a key person leaves they have the potential to take a lot with them:
Identifying what each candidate already has
Ask each of your key people to make a list of what they would be leaving with. They could make this list by asking themselves the following questions.
Skills: What do I do for the club that nobody else does?
Relationships: Who do I talk to that nobody else does?
Information: What documents are stored on my computer or in my personal email? What information haven’t I written down anywhere?
Once you have a list from each person, this will give you a sense of what successors will have to have to complete the transition.
A Succession plan takes stock of who might replace this key person and how ready they are to do so.
A succession plan does not have to be complicated. It just needs to contain the following:
With a succession plan in hand you can then start to think about how to get those potential future execs ready. Go to lesson 2 for more on that.
- Identify your needs
- Identify potential candidates
- Figure out what you need to do to get them ready
What is succession planning?
Succession planning is the answer to the question “what would we do if this key person were to leave the club suddenly?”
When a key person leaves they have the potential to take a lot with them:
- Skills (e.g. book rooms, make posters, etc.)
- Relationships (e.g. with external organizations, club coordinator, members, etc.)
- Information (e.g. meeting minutes, posters, membership list, budgets, cheques, etc.)
Identifying what each candidate already has
Ask each of your key people to make a list of what they would be leaving with. They could make this list by asking themselves the following questions.
Skills: What do I do for the club that nobody else does?
Relationships: Who do I talk to that nobody else does?
Information: What documents are stored on my computer or in my personal email? What information haven’t I written down anywhere?
Once you have a list from each person, this will give you a sense of what successors will have to have to complete the transition.
A Succession plan takes stock of who might replace this key person and how ready they are to do so.
A succession plan does not have to be complicated. It just needs to contain the following:
- Position to be replaced: Include description of position
- Incumbent: Who is occupying the position today
- Candidates: Who is likely to replace them?
- Readiness Rating: How ready is each candidate to assume the position
- Willingness Rating: How willing is each candidate to assume the position
- Top 3 Development Needs: What would each candidate need to learn to be ready?
With a succession plan in hand you can then start to think about how to get those potential future execs ready. Go to lesson 2 for more on that.