HR Insights • 9 MIN READ
What Is Succession Planning and Why Is It Important?
MAR 22, 2026
Succession planning ensures your organisation can weather unexpected departures and grow future leaders from within. Here is how to build a programme that works.
Why succession planning gets neglected
Succession planning is one of those activities that most HR leaders agree is important but few organisations do well. The reasons are predictable: it requires difficult conversations about performance and potential, it involves thinking about leadership change at a time when current leaders feel secure, and the benefits are only visible when something goes wrong. The cost of neglect, an unplanned departure in a critical role leading to an expensive external search and a productivity gap of six months or more, is usually what finally motivates action.
The three building blocks of succession planning
Identify critical roles: those where an unplanned vacancy would have a material impact on the organisation's ability to deliver. Map current talent: assess who in the organisation has the potential to step into each critical role, and what development they would need to be ready. Build development pipelines: put concrete plans in place to develop identified successors, including stretch assignments, mentoring, and leadership development programmes. Review the talent map at least annually, since both roles and people change.
Distinguishing performance from potential
A common mistake in succession planning is equating high current performance with high future potential. The skills that make an excellent individual contributor are often different from those required to lead a team or function. Use a structured potential assessment that evaluates learning agility (the ability to learn from experience and apply that learning in new contexts), leadership behaviours, and motivation for broader responsibility, not just current performance ratings.
Communicating succession plans
A frequently asked question is whether to tell identified successors that they are on a succession list. The answer depends on context. In general, telling high-potential employees that they are valued and that the organisation is investing in their development (without making specific promises about roles or timelines) increases retention and motivation. Making overly specific succession promises creates risk if plans change. Transparency about the development investment is valuable; specificity about succession outcomes is not.
