Preparing Your Organization for
Succession Planning
2012 Annual Convention
Community Action
Partnership
August 2012
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Cornerstone Consultants
◦ Established in 1992
◦ Focus primarily on nonprofit and foundations
◦ Areas of expertise:
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Strategic planning
Talent management and succession planning
Organization development and evaluation
Project management
◦ How we work:
 We step into the flow – listen – offer insights
 Work with the client to design a project that fits their
organization’s culture and values
August 2012
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Ruth Roemer
◦ Areas of expertise:
 Organizational Consultant
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Strategic Planning
Talent Management
Organization Design
Individual and Team Effectiveness
 Executive and Life Coaching
◦ Nonprofit and Government Sectors, Pharmaceutical
Industry
August 2012
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Mary Virtue
◦ Founder of Cornerstone Consultants
◦ Has worked for years with community action
agencies and the national associations as well as
foundations and nonprofits in the US and overseas
◦ Areas of expertise:
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Strategic planning
Evaluation
Organizational Development
Social Enterprise and Earned Revenue Projects
◦ We team up on Succession Planning and Talent
Management projects – one on one and cohort
August 2012
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What types of organizations do we have
represented here today?
What is the relative size of your total staff?
◦ Under 50 employees?
◦ Between 50 and 100?
◦ Over 100?
August 2012
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By a show of hands:
◦ How many have an Executive Director/President
who is over 50; over 55?
◦ Of your existing department heads/managers:
 What is the average age of that group?
 55+
 50 - 55
 40 - 50
 30 - 40
August 2012
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To identify steps needed to prepare an
organization for Succession Planning
To enable participants to conduct a brief
assessment of areas within their organization
needing attention
To prioritize next step actions on the path
toward establishing a robust Succession
Planning process
August 2012
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Where will the agency be in 10 years?
Macro business trends
◦ External business/industry trends
◦ Business opportunities and market shifts
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What are the threats most anticipated?
What opportunities may be
possible/emerge?
What will be the organizational impact?
August 2012
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What kind of leadership capability will you
need as a result?
What are your core values?
◦ Have they been defined behaviorally?
◦ Are they a part of your performance management
system?
◦ Can you develop and/or recruit for these
capabilities?
August 2012
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Recruitment
Orientation & Training
Performance Management
Employee Development
Employee Relations & Employment Law
Salary Administration
Others?
August 2012
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Does the performance management system align with
and support the mission, business goals, and strategic
plan of the organization?
Identify the beginning and ending steps of the process.
What components are present in the system?
What components, if any, are missing and are needed to
make this a quality system?
Are the components of the system integrated and
complementary to one another?
How much differentiation exists in performance ratings?
What needs to change to improve the system?
August 2012
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What do you have?
◦ Beyond year end compensation??
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Does it drive desired behavior?
◦ How do you know?
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What can you do to drive desired behavior
in the midst of shrinking budgets?
August 2012
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The Standards of Excellence describe thirty-four of the very
best practices of the very best Community Action Agencies.
The Standards are distributed across seven categories, and
represent attributes that distinguish all high-performance
organizations ……
ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP
STRATEGIC PLANNING AND DIRECTION
CUSTOMER, CONSTITUENT, AND PARTNER FOCUS
MEASUREMENT, ANALYSIS, AND PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT
HUMAN RESOURCE FOCUS OVERVIEW
ORGANIZATIONAL PROCESS MANAGEMENT
ORGANIZATIONAL RESULTS
August 2012
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Competencies: AKA Leadership Behavior
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CUSTOMER, CONSTITUENT, AND PARTNER FOCUS
(SOE #3)
What behavior would you expect from your leaders
vis a vis customers?
◦ Customer, constituent, partner acumen, i.e., quickness,
accuracy, and keenness of judgment or insight
◦ Describe the behavior you might observe from someone
demonstrating customer/constituent/partner acumen
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What might be different in terms of the behavior
being observed from an Executive
Director/President versus that of an administrative
assistant?
August 2012
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Must spend time defining what is needed
◦ Start with Standards of Excellence
◦ Agency Mission/Vision/Values
Define in behavioral terms, specifying the
difference between expected behavior on the part
of an executive and that of a lower level employee
Refer to the information provided by Susan Buckley
& Lil Dupree in their June webinar: Creating a
Leadership Bench within Your Agency
August 2012
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1. Strategic Goal Assessment
◦ Trends
◦ Organizational Impact
◦ Leadership Needs
◦ Recruitment & Development Needs
August 2012
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2. Assessment of HR Systems & Processes
◦ Recruitment
◦ Performance Management
◦ Leadership competencies
◦ Orientation & Training
◦ Employee Development
◦ Employee Relations & Employment Law
◦ Salary Administration
August 2012
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3. Identify Gaps & Actions Needed
◦ Quick Wins
◦ Strategic Impact
◦ Internal Capability
◦ External Support Required
◦ Cost vs. Budget
◦ Prioritize an action plan for implementing
a Succession Planning process
August 2012
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Review the preparation steps
What is it you both want and need?
Where do you think your organization really
shines?
Where do you most need to do work
What steps can you take ‘Monday’ morning
when you are back in the office?
August 2012
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Thank You!
www.cornerstoneconsultants.us
ruth.roemer3@gmail.com
August 2012
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