Academy of Leadership Exploration and Preparedness (ALEAP)

Succession planning establishes a process to develop leadership skills and abilities in employees that will increase their effectiveness in their current positions and help them build their resume and prepare them to interview for other positions within the agency to which they may aspire.

Succession planning involves:

• Understanding the organization's long-term goals and objectives
• Identifying the workforce's developmental needs
• Determining workforce trends and predictions

In the past, succession planning typically targeted only key leadership positions. In today's organizations, it is important to include key positions in a variety of job categories. With good succession planning, employees are ready for new leadership roles as the need arises. In addition, succession planning can help develop a diverse workforce, by enabling decision makers to look at the future make-up of the organization as a whole.