Career Development and Succession Planning Workshop

Program overview:

Organizations are always faced with alignment juggle—that is, alignment between business strategy and talent management strategy. The question is how to integrate the short- and long-term objectives, values and culture with actual staff profile and development plans in order to come up with the desired staff attributes and profiles. On the other hand, succession planning is the strategic and deliberate effort to develop competencies in potential employees through specific and targeted learning, job rotation and training in order to fill key positions. It’s an effort to ensure leadership continuity, business continuity and risk management.

 For whom:

Senior Leaders, Leaders, Managers and Human Resources Managers, Trainers, Change Management Officers. 

 Learning objectives:

At the end of the program, participants will be able to:

• demonstrate understanding of the basics of career development and succession planning;
• distinguish succession planning and management from replacement planning, talent management, and human capital management;
• compare traditional and career-planning-oriented HR focus;
• explain employee and employer career development roles;
• examine innovative corporate career development initiatives;
• close the developmental gap by operating and evaluating a succession planning and management program; and
• prepare individual development plans and manage career choices.

 Course outline:

Day One: Putting People First

• Employees’ objectives / Organizational Objectives
• Present Top HR Priorities
• HR Activities: Traditional Focus versus Career Development Focus

 Day Two: The Basics of Career Management and Succession Planning and Management

• Careers Today: The Definition and Importance of Development
• Essential Elements in an Integrated Career Development System
• Definition of Succession Planning
• Main Aims and Reasons for Establishing

a Succession Planning and Management System

• Organizational Readiness for Change

 Day Three: Promoting a Development Culture

• Characteristics of a Development Culture
• Career Development as a Change Agent
• Roles and Responsibilities in a Development Culture
• Role of Human Resources, Role of Line Managers
• Role of Top Management, Role of Developees’

Day Four: Identifying High Potentials

• Assessing and identifying Individual Potentials
• Best Practices to Improve the Management of High Potentials

• Qualities of Processes to Spot, Develop, and Retain High Potentials

Day Five: Career Development: Tools and Methodologies

• Competencies: The Foundation for Career Development
• Coaching: An Essential Managerial Function
• Mentoring: A Must Have System for Career Development
• Career Counseling Services
• Developing Internal Successors 
• Making the Business Case for Succession Planning and Management

• Starting the Systematic Succession Planning and Management Program

• Refining the Program
• Assessing Present Work Requirements and Individual Job Performance
• Assessing Future Work Requirements and Individual Potential
• Closing the Development Gap

 Training Methodology

Lectures, discussions, exercises, and case studies will be used to reinforce these teaching/learning methods.