Discuss the pros and cons of informing employees that they have been targeted as part of
the organization’s succession planning process .What particular business condition and
/strategy might make telling or not telling the more advantageous option?
Succession planning is an integral process of the HR strategy and it’s function is to act as
blueprint for all HR activities and it provides way to identify people with the right skills and
positions that may need to be filled .It’s benefits of informing employees include:
1. Opportunities for growth: many employees are motivated by the opportunity for
promotion and movement within a company, and succession planning can be highly
valued by these employees.
2. Transparent succession plans reinforce company’s message to employees that their
skills and experiences are valued and this creates trust between the company and its
workers hence enables the organization to retain its top performers and reduces future
recruitment costs.
Weaknesses of informing employees about succession planning include:
1. One of the drawbacks of informing employees about succession planning is that , by
definition, not all employees can be identified as successors –there are just not that many
key positions to be filled and as result ,there is the potential for some employees to feel
left out and under-appreciated.
2. Corporate politics: instead of promoting employees with the most potential or the best
record of accomplishment, top company executives may use the corporate ladder to
promote their friends and allies and this might cause potential future employees to leave
the organization.
Every organization - regardless of size - should start succession planning as early as possible
because grooming leaders for high-level roles isn’t something that can be achieved overnight. It
can take a long, long time before they are ready to make the switch with a more senior staff
member and for this reason,The ideal time to inform employees that they have been targeted as
part of succession plans is when the business is starting to take off and new employees are hired
and this essential for the survival and success of the business as it identifies and prepares future
leaders and therefore it’s more advantageous to inform employees about future succession plans
at an earlier stage of the business.