What do you do if your team's performance evaluations aren't aligning with succession planning goals?

When your team's performance evaluations are not in sync with your succession planning goals, it can be a red flag indicating that your current appraisal methods might not be capturing the full potential of your employees or that your succession strategy requires refinement. Succession planning involves identifying and developing future leaders in your company, whereas performance evaluations assess an employee's job performance and compliance with company goals. Aligning these two can be challenging, but it is crucial for the long-term health and competitiveness of your organization.

1 Align Goals

To address misalignment, start by ensuring that your performance evaluations and succession planning goals are aligned. This means revisiting the criteria used in performance evaluations to include competencies and potential leadership qualities that are critical for succession. If your evaluations focus solely on current job performance without considering an employee's capacity for growth, they may not identify those with the potential to advance. Realign the evaluation metrics to reflect not only what is important now but also the skills and attributes that will be needed in future leadership roles.

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Sanjay Bokadia

CFO & Strategic Finance Professional | Healthcare | Copper Alloys | Construction & Real Estate | Telecommunication | Pharma | Paper
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One of the biggest challenges in succession planning is ensuring a smooth transition of talent from one generation of leaders to the next. This involves identifying and developing individuals with the right skills and capabilities to fill key roles in the organization, while also addressing potential gaps in leadership pipelines. Additionally, navigating issues such as resistance to change, internal politics, and ensuring diversity and inclusion in succession plans can pose significant challenges for organizations. - Assess the root causes. - Re-evaluating the criteria used in performance evaluations. - Adjust succession planning goals to better reflect the team's capabilities and potential.

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2 Review Process

Take a closer look at your performance evaluation process. Is it thorough and objective, or could biases be affecting the outcomes? Ensure that the process is standardized and that all managers are trained to assess employees consistently. Performance evaluations should be comprehensive, taking into account multiple aspects of an employee's work and potential. If necessary, introduce 360-degree feedback mechanisms to gather a more holistic view of an employee's performance from peers, subordinates, and superiors.

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Stephen Bailey

Co-Founder and CEO of ExecOnline
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The capabilities of potential successors should be assessed against the critical capabilities identified for the targeted leadership roles. In addition to performance reviews, implement these additional assessment methods to understand potential successors strengths, capability gaps, and growth potential: Standardized assessments to quantify leaders’ capabilities with data-based aptitude & leadership assessments. Invite peers, managers, cross-functional collaborators, and direct reports to provide constructive feedback about a leader's potential for executive leadership. Hold informal conversations with leaders who possess a strong foundation of capabilities aligned with those needed to succeed in a particular role.

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3 Develop Talent

If you find a gap between performance evaluations and succession planning, consider implementing targeted development programs. These programs should be designed to bridge the gap by honing the leadership skills of high-potential employees. This could involve mentorship opportunities, leadership training, or stretch assignments that allow employees to demonstrate and develop the necessary skills for future roles. By investing in your employees' development, you can better prepare them for advancement and ensure they align with your succession planning goals.

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Stephen Bailey

Co-Founder and CEO of ExecOnline
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Each potential successor will need to develop different capabilities. Therefore, each will also benefit from unique development programs that suit their individual needs, learning styles, and preferences. Comprehensive leadership development should include a variety of experiences that complement each other and reinforce the acquisition of critical capabilities. Offering a variety of experiences and modalities also helps ensure that leaders have the chance to engage with development opportunities that fit their individual learning style. A comprehensive leadership development program for successors includes: leadership coaching, immersive, credentialed leadership courses, project-based learning opportunities, and on-demand learning.

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4 Communicate Clearly

Clear communication about how performance evaluations impact succession planning is vital. Employees should understand what is expected of them if they aspire to move up within the organization. This transparency will motivate them to work towards the necessary competencies and help them see a clear path for growth. Regularly communicate the succession planning process and how performance evaluations contribute to it, so there's no ambiguity about the criteria for advancement.

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5 Adjust Strategy

If misalignment persists despite aligning goals and reviewing the process, you may need to adjust your succession planning strategy. This could mean redefining the roles you're planning for or reconsidering which positions are critical for succession. Sometimes, the issue lies not with the performance evaluations but with an outdated or misdirected succession plan that doesn't reflect the current or future needs of your organization.

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6 Monitor Progress

Finally, continuously monitor the progress of both performance evaluations and succession planning. This involves regularly reviewing the outcomes of performance evaluations in the context of succession goals and adjusting as necessary. Use this data to fine-tune your approach, ensuring that both systems are working harmoniously to identify and develop future leaders within your company. Effective monitoring will help you stay on track and make informed decisions about your talent management strategies.

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7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

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What do you do if your team's performance evaluations aren't aligning with succession planning goals?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Align Goals

2 Review Process

3 Develop Talent

4 Communicate Clearly

5 Adjust Strategy

6 Monitor Progress

7 Here’s what else to consider

Team Management

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What do you do if your team's performance evaluations aren't aligning with succession planning goals?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 Align Goals

2 Review Process

3 Develop Talent

4 Communicate Clearly

5 Adjust Strategy

6 Monitor Progress

7 Here’s what else to consider

Team Management

Rate this article

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