Succession Planning in the Library

Prof. Rhea Rowena U. Apolinario (UP SLIS)

Learn from these companies!  Jim Cantalupo

 Sam Walton

 Dave Thomas

 Millard Fuller

 Steve Jobs

The Present Scenario . . .

Challenges to the Library Profession            

Demographics / Ageing The Boomers vs Generation X The Impact of Generation X Lack of Middle Managers Amalgamation Funding Lack of Qualified Candidates Convergence within the library and information profession Competition from outside Salaries We won’t replace them anyway! Our associations (Whitmell, 2002)

Trends  Ageing  More ethnic diversity  Increasing lifestyle/life-stage variety  Tightening labor markets  Shortages of skills and experience  Shortages of workers  Shortages of educated candidates  Pressure on training and development  Tension around HR policies and

practices  Strain on organizational coherence (Singer & Griffith, 2010)

How should LIC’s respond to these challenges and trends?

Succession Planning

What is Succession Planning?  It is about developing talent, so

that individuals have the capacity to assume greater responsibilities, do their jobs better, and take on an expanded management or leadership role in their work

 Every time a manager makes a work

assignment, s/he is preparing the employee for the future by building on her ability.

(Singer & Griffith, 2010)

What is Succession Planning? (cont.)  A systematic effort by the library to

ensure continuity in key positions, retain and develop intellectual and knowledge capital for the future, and encourage individual advancement  Designed to be ongoing, owned by leadership  Encourages a focus on aligning staff and leadership with the library’s strategic goals and objectives (Singer & Griffith, 2010)

Why the need for Succession Planning? REASONS

Provide source of in-house replacements Retain key talent

Prepare individuals for future challenges Increase library’s human capital by providing for critical/timely knowledge transfer

Accelerate development of key individuals Provide challenging, growth-oriented, and rewarding career opportunities

Ensure continuity of management culture Avoid lost productivity (new person’s learning curve)

Control costs—developing internal talent is less expensive than hiring from the outside Make organization more attractive to job candidates

Support diversity goals

IMPORTANT?

IMPACT

Goals of a Succession Plan  To attract and retain the people

and skills that the organization needs now and in the future  To assist in retention by sending a clear message to those looking for upward movement that they will receive the encouragement and support they need within the organization  To also look at issues like compensation, staff evaluation, training and staff development (Whitmell, 2002)

Seems a very good idea… but how do we make one?

Succession Planning Tool Kit: The Right Ingredients  Commitment from top management  Ownership  Vision of what the organization will need

 Snapshot of present conditions  Openness to nontraditional sources of talent  A well documented training and development program

(Singer, Goodrich & Goldberg, 2004)

Succession Planning Tool Kit: Know where you’re going

(Singer, Goodrich & Goldberg, 2004)

(Singer & Griffith, 2010)

1. Review your library’s strategic direction  Where is your library heading?  From your library’s strategic

plan and your knowledge of human resource and library trends, you should know what skills and competencies are needed for the next three to five years

2. Identify critical positions  What are the key and critical positions in the library?

 Once you have a strategic plan and know where the library is

heading, you can look at the key work, key positions, and key employees

2. Identify critical positions (cont.)  Some questions that can help in identifying these

positions  What is the role of your department in

implementing our strategic plan?  What are the key areas in the library system that require continuity and development of employees? Why?  Who are the key people we want to develop and nurture for the future? Why was each mentioned?  Do the high-potential employees in your department believe they have a career path? What do you—and they—see as their future here?

3. Create a profile of these positions and the competencies that will be needed  What skills do the next

generation of leaders and other critical or hard-torecruit positions need?  If you had to write a job description of the library’s next-generation leader, what skills, knowledge, abilities, and experiences would you list as critical for sustained organizational performance?

4. Identify competencies common to key positions  Review the profiles you

have created and look for trends and themes  Which competencies are required for all (or most) of the positions?

5. Develop or update the performance management system  Does your performance

management system link employee performance to the library’s strategic goals?  Do performance reviews provide an adequate assessment of your employees’ ability to do the right work?

6.Project future vacancies and identify development pool  You have an existing staff of employees at all stages of their

careers.You need an inventory of these employees.  Entails looking at who are your current staff, how much longer you expect them to stay (they may retire, take a break, move to another location, or change careers), and what their capabilities are, given growth and development opportunities.  Do you have the employees who, with proper mentoring and assignments, can provide the critical skills, abilities, and knowledge identified in the previous step?

7. Diagnose development needs  With your potential leadership pool identified, the next step

is ensuring that they have the skills, knowledge, abilities, competencies, and experience to take on the mantle of leadership  Reviewing your candidates against the job specifications, including competencies, should result in clearly identified developmental gaps.

8. Create development plans for your high potential employees  Plan to close the

developmental gaps you have identified by carefully selected training programs, special assignments, leadership opportunities, and other means.

9. Implement development opportunities  Your high-potential candidates need

care and cultivation to amass the skills still needed.  Provide that lead time (two years is a good time frame), and develop several high-potential candidates in parallel to prepare for the alternatives.  Ideally, prepare several people to become strong candidates for promotion.

10. Review progress and update plans  Inform your high-potential candidates that

you are giving them developmental opportunities for future leadership positions.  Tell them what their gaps are and how you see these specific opportunities helping them bridge the gaps.  Provide plenty of feedback on how they are progressing. If they are not progressing or meeting expectations, lay the cards on the table.  If they are meeting expectations, provide additional assignments to challenge their learning. The more experience they have before they have to take on the leadership role, the greater the likelihood of success.

Effective Succession Planning Strategies should include…

 Formalized managerial and



  

supervisory training Job rotation and regular movement between departments and positions Greater funding and support for external training and education A strategy for individual career movement Formal and informal feedback as well as formal evaluation periods (Whitmell, 2002)

 A formal mentoring program  Creation of a climate that

encourages greater individual input and contribution  A clear indication from management that employees will have support to achieve their career goals  Increased communication among all levels in identifying the goals of the institution and of individual (Whitmell, 2002)

We must remember that . . .  Succession planning cannot be dealt with

successfully vacancy by vacancy or individual by individual  We must be prepared for what the future holds  Let us plan now! 

Thank you! Prof. Rhea Rowena U. Apolinario (UP SLIS) [email protected]

References  Singer, P.M. & Griffith, G. (2010). Succession planning in the

library: Developing leaders and managing change. Chicago, Ill: ALA.  Singer, P., Goodrich, P. & Goldgerg, L. (2004).Your library’s future. Library Journal. October 15, 2004.  Whitmell, V. (2002). Library succession planning: the need and challenge. APLIS. (15)4: 148-154.