The purpose of SAP Succession Management is to ensure a steady supply of high-performing talent in critical job roles.
Historically, Succession Management focused on figuring out who would replace top executives, but the increasing importance of human capital combined with advances in talent management technology is leading organizations to implement Succession Management for more and more roles across the company. Succession Management is no longer limited to the boardroom, and in some cases, extends all the way to frontline employees.
A robust Succession Management program enables organizations to know their talent, to identify talent gaps, and to close talent gaps with development plans. Organizations can move employees to positions aligned with employee expertise and career aspirations. A loss of a key employee may be less stressful to the organization because a successor has already been identified.
Different organizations will have different goals in their usage of SAP Succession Management; therefore, the company must analyze their business goals, resources, and characteristics of the organization to determine how they will utilize the SAP SuccessFactors Succession module. Common Succession Management goals might include:
- Identifying candidates for key roles
- Improving accuracy of staffing decisions
- Filling positions rapidly
- Accelerating employee development
- Increasing employee engagement
- Tracking potential and key talent
- Collaborating across functions and sharing knowledge
- Retaining critical organizational expertise during workforce transitions
- Building an employment brand
These goals are typically discussed during implementation so that the SAP SuccessFactors system can be configured to best meet the company’s Succession Management needs.
In addition to understanding and evaluating its Succession Management goals and needs, a company must also decide how they would like to evaluate Succession candidates. The system can be configured during implementation to track many criteria related to an employee’s performance and potential in order to make informed decisions on their readiness to move into a new position.
Typical evaluation criteria include:
- Documented facts which may include an employee’s previous work experience, accomplishments, and qualifications
- Subjective ratings such as job performance ratings from goal management, performance management or 360 reviews, and future potential ratings
- Commitment criteria, which may involve looking at the candidate’s personal attributes, career goals, retirement age, and demonstrated support for the company mission and goals