SUCCESSION PLANNING

Jonathan P. Ruff, P.E.

Environmental Manager
City of Plattsburgh, NY

ruffj@cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov
518-536-7519
 Agenda
What is Succession Planning?

Why is it important?

How do we do it?

Case Study
Houston, weve got a problem.
 Crisis Background
78 million Baby Boomers turning 65 in 20 years

16% of workforce is over 55.

25% over 55 by 2020.

Retiring en-masse.

Insufficient replacements available.

Employees Leave They always do
Preparation for that day is Succession Planning
 I understand that most of you are from relatively
small organizations.

Im going to lay out the traditional approach

that large organizations typically use and then
come at it with a modified approach that tries to
account for the needs/constraints of smaller
organizations.

Disclaimer
 Succession Planning
Introduction/Definitions
Context
Developing the Plan
Implementation
 Succession Plan

The process of developing a systematic approach

to building replacement workers to ensure
continuity, by identifying potential successors in
critical work processes.
 Succession Management

The integrated approach to workforce

recruitment, development, and retention to
ensure that the organization has candidates
whose present and future potential contribute to
their individual success and the success of the
organization.
 Knowledge Transfer

Processes and strategies that allow an

organization to:
Document key data and policies for critical work
processes
Exchange key process data and information from
one individual or group to another
Define how vital and important information will
be retained within the organization despite
attrition
 Context
Employer Ensure a sufficient supply of talent
for key roles and tasks.

Employee Provide clear opportunity to grow,

learn, evolve, advance.

Customer Results. Employees who are reliable,

knowledgeable, and meet their expectations.
 More Context
Civil Service

Leaders need to prepare in advance to create

smoother implementation and more options.

Create a partnership with Civil Service in

advance
Identify key personnel who can help
Share your goals with them
Get them involved in your planning process.
 Developing the Plan
Basic Steps
Institutionalize the process and capture
stakeholder support
Conduct assessments of organizational needs
Develop the succession planning model
Implement succession planning strategies
Continuously measure, evaluate, and adapt
Step 1

Institutionalize the process and capture stakeholder support

Gain commitment from decision makers

Demonstrate why its needed and benefits
Gather resources
Senior leadership
HR/Civil Service
Union representative
Employees groups
Identify the strategic vision and goals of the organization
Make succession planning a priority
Strategic plan will determine # future employees and skills
needed
What will succession program look like? What will it do for
organization?
Incorporate succession planning into your organizations values
Clearly define the objectives for the program
 Step 2 Assess Organizations Needs
As is
To Be
Gap Analysis
Step 2A As Is Assessment
Collect and analyze organization and demographic data
Retirements?
New leaders being developed?
Are you identifying new leaders?
What is average age and tenure of current employees?
What are attrition and vacancy rates?
Identity and prioritize key work processes/positions
Which are most critical?
Which have the least amount of resource depth?
Which processes are documented?
Are future leaders prepared?
Identify condition and availability of resources and systems
What items are needed to do work? Maps, policies/procedures, training
guides?
Are they accessible and up to date?
What technology systems are currently in use?
Step 2B To Be Assessment
Analyze future requirements for services
Future demand
Customer expectations
Regulations
What are the goals of the Strategic Plan
Demand placed by SP
How will SP change workforce/leadership
requirements
What are upcoming changes in the industry?
What demands will technology place on
organization?
Step 2C Gap Analysis
How does as is organization fall short of to
be?
 Workforce
Do current organizational demographics look like the
future ones?
Are you prepared to handle shifts in demographics?
Do we have the people skills to keep up with the change?
Processes
Which ones are most susceptible to changes in personnel?
Where are we most susceptible to losing essential
knowledge?
Systems/Resources
What info will we need or not need in the future?
What information needs to be more accessible?
How will technology change our resource needs?
Determine the talent needs on the long run
Identify the core leadership KSAs to bridge the gap.
What will future leaders look like?
What skills and behaviors will make them successful?
Step 3 - Develop the Succession
Planning Model
Determine which employees or levels of employees will be
involved in program.
Build leadership pipeline.
Identify internal talent with critical competencies (KSAs).
Analyze external sources of talent.
Identify training and development strategies.
Formal professional development.
Coaching and mentoring.
Use cross training/multi-skilling.
Job shadowing.
Identify career paths.
Develop retention strategies.
Create knowledge management and transfer strategies.
 Model
Page 28 Model.
Step 3 outlines the model.
Not one size fits all. Adapt to your organization.
Step 4 - Implement Succession
Planning Model
Determine resource needs for implementation.
Identify barriers to implementation.
Update or develop job descriptions.
Prepare organization for change.
Establish communication plan.
Connect with stakeholders and get their buy in.
Identify and establish peer and leadership champions of change.
If needed, implement strategies on pilot basis.
Link succession strategies with HR.
Recognition
Workforce planning
Assessment strategies
Recruitment strategies
Train staff as necessary.
Step 5 - Continuous Measurement,
Evaluation, and Adaptation
Define measures of program success
Determine how frequently the program will be
evaluated.
Design the reporting process.
Track progress, communicate and celebrate program
success.
Get stakeholder feedback on strategy success.
Adjust or adapt programs based on evaluative results.
Ensure top management stays engaged and provides
support and attention to program.
Make 3 to 5 year succession plans part of organizations
strategic planning process.
 IMPLEMENTATION
Develop pilot program in one department.
Track and measure how its working:
Turnover
Employee survey results
Participant satisfaction
# Individuals promoted vs. outside hires
# ready now candidates
Diversity of talent pools
Size of talent pools
Communicating Program
Share with everyone how its going.
Use multiple methods
 Costs/Benefits
Costs highly variable and hard to quantify
Consultant, in-house time, lost production.
Employer Benefits
Stabilize performance
Ensure continuity of leadership
Develops pool of skilled workers
Minimizes disruption during change
Enhances knowledge transfer
Makes employer of choice gets you the better workers
Employee Loyalty/Commitment
Opportunity for skills development/training
Increased organizational resiliency/capacity
Employee Benefits
Improves communication and morale
Improved effectiveness
Improve working relationships
Personal/Professional growth
Customer Benefits
Improved staff knowledge
More efficient service
Increased staff responsiveness/pride
Better run organization
 Common Pitfalls
Keeping it a secret
Underestimating talent within
Narrow minded thinking too old/young, rough,
different
Focusing exclusively on hard skills
Not offering training/development opportunities
Expecting employees to self-identify help them
see what they can be.
Not holding managers accountable for succession
planning.
Considering only upward succession. Lateral?
One size fits all program.
Producing too many candidates for too few spots.
 Program Participation
Recruit and develop bright career minded
individuals who appreciate recognition.
Voluntary opt-in.
Provides self-directed careers.
 Leadership Competencies

Defines attributes desired.

What an employee must achieve to show
proficiency at each level.
Effectiveness, communication, ethics,
knowledge, developing people,
flexibility/adaptability, strategic initiative,
effective decision making, customer orientation,
achievement orientation, team orientation.
Knowledge Transfer and Retention
Strategies
Document processes and records.
Hire new person before old one leaves.
Rehire retirees part time.
Make videos of people doing work.
SOPs, standardized record keeping formats,
archiving and data retrieval systems.
Cross training existing staff.
Whats a small organization to do?
Create organizational chart.
List age, years of service.
When do you expect people to leave?
Where do you expect to get replacements?
If theyre abundant and readily available, ok.
If not, where will they come from?
Need to develop in advance?
Recruit for exam?
Trade schools, military, minorities?
 Mission Critical
Identify Mission Critical positions/tasks.
If this skill set, expertise, license, person is
suddenly unavailable, we cant function or
something really bad can happen.
 It might be something thats not readily
apparent.
Payroll, IT, pesticide applicators license, CDL.
 How many positions/people can perform this
task?
If only one, Houston, you have a problem.
You need to plan for back up or when they leave.

Try to figure out when they plan to leave.

You need to develop a plan for that event.

In the meantime, you still need to provide back

up for while theyre there.
 Some Possibilities
Cross training

Multi-skilling

Retiree/Part timer

Outside sources of talent

Contractors
 Contracting Possibilities?
Electrical

I&C

Payroll

Retirees
Redundancy, training, transition, sick/vacation.
 Institutional Knowledge
SOPs:
Have employees write down how to perform MC
tasks from the perspective of someone who knows
nothing and needs to be able to do it.

Have them create a video that demonstrates and

it.
Case Study City of Plattsburgh WPCP
WPCP
16 mgd
23 Employees
Compost Plant
140 wtpd
7 Employees
Now
No Compost
WPCP 11 Employees
 2000 Many retirements looming

Significant system changes

 Developing the Plan
Basic Steps
Institutionalize the process and capture
stakeholder support
Conduct assessments of organizational needs
Develop the succession planning model
Implement succession planning strategies
Continuously measure, evaluate, and adapt
 Assessment
Staffed 24/7
7 Operators
6 Maintenance Workers
6 Lab Technicians

Flows dropped
Loads dropped
Revenues dropped
WPCP Organizational Chart
CPO

Storekeeper Water Resources

Lead/Process Operator
Typist Chemist

6 Maintenance Staff 7 Operations Staff 6 Lab Staff

 Saw retirements coming.
Stepped back and looked at the work.
Had everyone list what they did all day and how
long it took.
Evaluated whether all of the work actually needed
to be performed.
Were able to eliminate much of the work and
reorganize how it was done.
 Dont have as much work
Only needed 8/7.
Significant lab reduction.
Not as much actual maintenance as we thought.
Still needed operators for required certified
coverage.
Decided to go operator heavy and maint/lab
light.
 Plan
Keep operators.
Cross train/certify maint/lab staff to transfer as
operators retire. Eliminate their old position.
Now:
6 Operators
2 Maintenance
No lab techs
SOPs
 Act
Created draft plan
Shared with employees and union
Got their feedback
Modified plan
Conveyed that plan was dynamic
Created schedule for implementation
Created schedule for review and revision
 Now Looking at Management
All 3 managers plus admin gone in 5 years.
140 years of experience.
Identified all mission critical tasks and licenses.
Scary list.
Compliance sampling and reporting.
Industrial pretreatment.
Decision making.
Scheduling
Payroll
Process control
Data management
Computers
Project management, bid specs
4A Certification
 Developed Progression/Succession Program.

Staff can volunteer to learn mission critical tasks.

Once proficiency developed, recognition and pay
bump.
Provides:
Back up/Redundancy
Pipeline
Continuous learning environment
Excitement/Competition
Organizational capacity/resiliency.
Step 1

Institutionalize the process and capture stakeholder support

Gain commitment from decision makers ME!

Demonstrate why its needed and benefits less$
Gather resources CPO, Lab Manager, ME!
Senior leadership CPO/Lab Manager
HR/Civil Service Talked to both
Union representative Pulled in shop steward/Prez
Employees groups
Identify the strategic vision and goals of the organization
Make succession planning a priority Yes.
Strategic plan will determine # future employees and skills needed
Looked at actual work.
What will succession program look like? What will it do for organization?
More cross trained operators, less maint/lab
Incorporate succession planning into your organizations values Imposed.
Clearly define the objectives for the program fit # workers to actual work.
Step 2A As Is Assessment
Collect and analyze organization and demographic data
Retirements? Many coming, across titles.
New leaders being developed? Huh?
Are you identifying new leaders? Round 2/3.
What is average age and tenure of current employees? Old/Forever.
What are attrition and vacancy rates? Nil.
Identity and prioritize key work processes/positions
Which are most critical? Operators.
Which have the least amount of resource depth?
Which processes are documented? None.
Are future leaders prepared? No, round 2/3.
Identify condition and availability of resources and systems
What items are needed to do work? Maps, policies/procedures, training
guides? All.
Are they accessible and up to date? Some accessible, not up to date.
What technology systems are currently in use? Old ones.
Step 2B To Be Assessment
Analyze future requirements for services
Future demand - Lower
Customer expectations Controlled costs
Regulations always getting stricter
What are the goals of the Strategic Plan
Demand placed by SP less staff, 8/7, cross train
How will SP change workforce/leadership
requirements move to ops, develop decisions
What are upcoming changes in the industry? - ?
What demands will technology place on
organization? More computer savvy, IT
Step 2C Gap Analysis
How does as is organization fall short of to
be?

Wanted mostly operators. Progress from

Lab/maintenance to operations.
Develop critical thinking/decision making skills.
Develop Lead Operator training.
Cross train Ops to maintenance and lab.
Develop technology skills.
Step 3.1 - Develop the Succession
Planning Model
Determine which employees or levels of employees
will be involved in program.
Lab/Maint
Build leadership pipeline.
Identify internal talent with critical competencies
(KSAs).
IDs specific people with promise.
All ops got turns as Lead Operator
Analyze external sources of talent.
Reviewed Civil Service lists in advance.
Recruit for exams.
Step 3.2 - Develop the Succession
Planning Model
Identify training and development strategies.
Formal professional development.
Certification classes, in-house, proficiency
program, NYWEA.
Coaching and mentoring. Trainees teamed up.
Use cross training/multi-skilling. Lab/maint,
project management, decision making.
Job shadowing. Interns.
Identify career paths. In progress.
Step 3.3 - Develop the Succession
Planning Model
Develop retention strategies.
Not an issue.
Create knowledge management and transfer
strategies.
Inventory documents, plans, reports.
Develop/Update SOPs.
Some videos.
Step 4 - Implement Succession
Planning Model
Determine resource needs for implementation.
Managers.
Identify barriers to implementation. Staff/Union, Civil
Service, DEC, MUs, alarms.
Develop or update job descriptions. Reviewed. Ok.
Prepare organization for change.
Establish communication plan. Meetings to explain
what/why.
Connect with stakeholders and get their buy in. DEC,
MUs, EOs.
Identify and establish peer and leadership champions
of change.
IDd ambitious employees, existing leaders and did
one on one.
 If needed, implement strategies on pilot basis.
Too small.
Link succession strategies with HR.
Recognition Stars, acknowledgement at staff
meetings, personal thanks.
Workforce planning Looked at actual work,
what can we reduce/eliminate, practice/dry
runs on tasks.
Assessment strategies
Recruitment strategies
Train staff as necessary.
Step 5 - Continuous Measurement,
Evaluation, and Adaptation
Define measures of program success. Compliance/safety
Determine how frequently the program will be
evaluated. Routine staff meetings.
Design the reporting process. Informal.
Track progress, communicate and celebrate program
success. Monthly.
Get stakeholder feedback on strategy success. ?
Adjust or adapt programs based on evaluative results.
Yes!
Ensure top management stays engaged and provides
support and attention to program. Managers.
Make 3 to 5 year succession plans part of organizations
strategic planning process.
 Questions/Comments?
Jonathan P. Ruff, P.E.
Environmental Manager
City of Plattsburgh, NY

ruffj@cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov
518-536-7519