The ongoing subprime mortgage meltdown means the drumbeat of CEOs being pushed out the door at some of the world’s largest financial firms is getting faster. The struggles of these companies to find new leadership highlights an issue that’s already been getting a lot of attention lately: the crisis in succession planning.
Just in the last week two studies have come out raising the alarm that there aren’t enough people in the leadership pipeline. One, from the Society for Human Resources Management, found that three out of four c-suite executives said “succession planning” was their most significant challenge for the future. Wayne Cascio, chairman of the Board for SHRM, commented:
“This is a wake-up call for every organization, regardless of size or type of business. The shortage of skilled executives who are being groomed to succeed existing ones is real and it may threaten the ability of many firms to achieve their long-term strategic objectives.”
Meanwhile, Aberdeen Group’s “The Looming Leadership Void: Identifying, Retaining, and Developing Your Top Talent,” found that while only 48% of all organizations surveyed are pursuing succession planning, 84% of Best-in-Class organizations were engaged in succession planning, compared to only 19% of Industry Average and 0% of Laggards.
If you’re worried about the issue, the good news is not only are their alarm bells to wake those slumbering toward a crisis, there are also plenty of resources for those interested in getting succession planning at their company on track. Among them:
