Pub. 11 2016-2017 Issue 3

www.nebankers.org 16 Extraordinary Service for Extraordinary Members. S UCCESSION PLANNING IS NOT AN EVENT. SUCCESSION planning is a long-term commitment to organiza- tional fitness through employee development, as well as efficient and effective transitions at all levels. These efforts can help employees, leaders, and staff function at their highest levels and secure continuity for clients and customers. While every company is unique and requires a customized approach, the underlying philosophy should be consistent and answer the question, “What are we attempting to achieve long term?” This dynamic process has been made evenmore so through globalization, the 2007/2008 recession (which reduced both the number of management levels and the gap between them), and the mindset of a new and aggres- sive workforce that wants to achieve success now. Creating a vision for what a company will be five years down the road and then consistently refreshing that vision lays the foundation to identify the leadership characteristics, traits, and experience that will be needed to achieve the evolv- ing vision for an organization, as well as the characteristics of the supporting workforce needed to implement that vision. Providing a positive, flexible, and cutting-edge work environ- ment focused on developing talent at all stages can help ensure successful transitions as a company continuously evolves. Since we are living in the digital age, now more than ever we need to be mindful of what it takes to retain the best tal- ent for organizational growth and success purposes. Lifestyle employment is playing a larger role in the choices made by today’s workforce. The emerging workforce has grown upwith instant communication covering any distance—a digital ap- proach that has driven more choices for a virtual workforce. Greater two-parent involvement in childcare is also driving lifestyle employment choices during child-rearing decades, and a healthier, globetrotting group of boomer workforce participants is driving the need for more flexibility to accom- modate their lifestyle employment as well. A company’s ability to be flexible in its approach to how and where work gets done, how accountability is achieved, and how immediate feedback can be provided to keep careers on track is extremely impor- tant when looking at workforce and employee development. Talent assessment, gap identification, coaching, and group training to fill soft and hard skill gaps all help support the achievement of succession goals. Using tools such as 360° feedback assessments or an organization-wide talent assess- ment tool such as Talent Forward ® can increase the likelihood of identifying opportunities for enhancing performance for individuals and for the organization as a whole. Great feedback COACH’S CORNER Creating a Vision: When Performance Meets Potential Virginia Collins, Ph.D., Managing Principal, SilverStone Group