Redrawing Your Succession Plans in a World Disrupted by COVID-19 | Gallup

Many HR practitioners continue to help their organizations rebuild and prepare for a return to regular business. As part of this work, HR functions have been evaluating and making changes to their talent processes. One such process is succession planning (SP). Despite SP’s importance to an organization’s long term success, the pandemic may lead organizations to focus their SP efforts exclusively or heavily on short-term and emergency SP. Also, some organizations may make the decision to forgo other talent processes, such as talent reviews, until there is a return to “normal.” And while an organization’s unique situation largely drives these decisions (e.g, some organizations are in survival mode), this article underscores the general importance of conducting longer-term SP and talent reviews despite the uncertainty. For some organizations, this may be an opportune time to reevaluate talent and successors (even in an abbreviated manner) based on how they “stepped-up” or demonstrated leadership during the crisis. In what ways are you modifying or adjusting your SP and talent review process during this time? What is the longer-term impact of those decisions? This article provides a few considerations as organizations make these choices.