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    Welcome!

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    Welcome to this course on Succession Planning! This course will introduce you to the principles and practices of succession planning and show how a proactive approach can strengthen workforce sustainability, support employee development, and ensure continuity of essential public health services during staff transitions.

    The course also contains downloadable templates and resources to guide you through each step of the succession planning process. Throughout the course, you will apply what you learn using a fictional case study that demonstrates the six steps of successful succession planning in practice. We hope these tools help you build a sustainable talent pipeline and strengthen your organization's workforce for the future.

     To navigate through the course modules, open the side panel menu by selecting the list icon in   the top left corner of the screen under "Email," or select a topic from the list below.

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    Introduction to Succession Planning

    What is Succession Planning? 

    "Succession planning is the process of identifying very important positions in the organization and creating a talent pipeline by preparing employees to fill vacancies in their organization as others retire or move on. A successor is an employee with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to fill a vacant position until a permanent replacement can be identified." (NIH, 2021) 

    SOURCE: Office of Human Resources, National Institutes of Health. (2021). Succession planning: A step-by-step guide.

    Succession planning is both a workforce planning and business continuity strategy that helps health departments maintain essential services during staff transitions while preparing employees for future opportunities. It ensures work continues in the event of a staff departure while also providing a way to mitigate workforce shortages. Succession planning is simply a way to make sure the work keeps going, even if someone retires, change roles, or leaves the organization. It is not just about picking the “next person in line”.  Succession planning is about thinking ahead, having open conversations across the organization, and helping individuals on your team grow so they are ready for future opportunities. Succession planning is important for all employees, not only for leadership roles. It is a strategy for keeping the whole workforce strong and stable.  

    Why is Succession Planning Important?

    Succession planning helps prevent workforce gaps. When someone retires, takes a new role, or leaves the organization, their knowledge and skills go with them. That loss can affect both strategy and day-to-day work. By putting succession planning into practice, organizations can hold on to valuable expertise (known as knowledge transfer), reduce turnover, and boost employee satisfaction. Succession planning can help health departments create an actionable roadmap for career advancement among all employees. Creating a pipeline of future leaders is a foundational goal of succession planning. At its core, it identifies the people who have the potential to succeed, then places them in necessary training and mentorship positions, cultivating their leadership skills. 
     

    What Are the Advantages of Success Planning?

    Succession planning brings a lot of benefits for health departments. Some of the key advantages include: 

    • Building workforce sustainability – ensures the department can keep moving forward, even during staff changes. 

    • Preparing for staff transitions – equips both frontline and leadership positions. 

    • Aligning people with organizational needs – connects talent development directly to the department’s goals. 

    • Strengthening recruitment – guides how the department attracts and develops new staff. 

    • Supporting public health accreditation efforts– demonstrates proactive planning and stability. 

    And there may be others specific to your organization. 

    • More on the Advantages of Success Planning Page
    • The Six Steps of Succession Planning Page
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        Case Study: Prairie Valley Health Department

        To put your new skills into practice, you will follow along with a fictional case study that illustrates each of the six succession planning steps as you learn them.  

        Throughout these modules, you will follow the fictional Prairie Valley Public Health Department (PVPHD) as it implements each of the six steps of succession planning.  Each module builds on the previous one, allowing you to follow Prairie Valley's succession planning journey as it unfolds. Rather than viewing each step in isolation, you'll see how decisions made early in the process influence later discussions, ultimately resulting in a practical succession plan. 

        Although Prairie Valley is fictional, the situations, challenges, and decisions reflect those commonly faced by public health departments. As you work through the modules, consider how each step could be adapted to fit your own organization.

        COMING SOON: Case Study Intro Video

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    Step 1: Prioritize Critical Positions

    Overview 

    Succession planning is a team effort. It makes sense then that Succession Planning begins with the formation of a Succession Planning Committee. This committee kicks off the process by brainstorming performance metrics and analyzing the job positions in your health department to identify the vulnerable and critical positions. This helps health departments think through different ways to manage vacancies and make staffing decisions. The goal is to systematically identify the highest priority positions to begin succession planning for, enabling focused succession planning efforts.

    Target with an arrow in the bullseye In Step 1 You Will: 

    • Assemble a Succession Planning Committee   

    • Identify what metrics will be tracked in order to gauge effectiveness 

    • Inventory all positions in your department   

    • Identify Vulnerable and Critical Positions   

    • Plot each position on the risk matrix to prioritize those at “high risk” 

    • Develop a short list of positions requiring immediate succession planning focus 

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    Step 2: Define Role Requirements

    Overview 

    Building on Step 1, this step helps your organization prepare for future staffing needs by documenting the knowledge of key staff members through Staff Transition Plans, clarifying the responsibilities and expectations of prioritized positions, and identifying the knowledge, skills, and abilities that contribute to success in each role. 

    The information gathered in this step serves as the foundation for developing future successors by defining what successful performance looks like before identifying potential successor candidates. It can also help update job descriptions to reflect current organizational needs and align them with public health workforce standards. These tools help ensure candidates are prepared to manage both the day-to-day responsibilities and the strategic priorities of the position. 

    In Step 2 You Will:

    • Complete the “Key Duties and Activities” template for high-risk positions  

    • Develop a Succession Planning Profile to outline success factors for the role 

    • Prepare for the talent assessment process used in Step 3 

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    Step 3: Assess Workforce Talent

    Overview 

    Your Succession Planning Committee is now ready to identify potential successors.  In this step, successor candidates are categorized by their performance plus their potential. This process helps you better understand your organization's talent pool, bench strength, and succession readiness. Through a structured Talent Pool Review and the use of the 9-Box Grid tool, leaders assess employees based on both current performance and future potential. This process creates a shared understanding of workforce strengths, development needs, and succession readiness across the organization.  

    In Step 3 You Will: 

    • Identify a talent pool based on current roles and employees within the organization  

    • Explore the components of the 9-Box Grid Tool 

    • Begin your talent pool review and place employees on the 9-Box Grid based on their agreed upon performance plus potential  

    Building on Steps 1 and 2, this step helps you better understand your organization’s current talent capacity and prepare for future workforce needs. The results from this process help identify employees who may be ready for future advancement, those who would benefit from targeted development opportunities, and those who play important roles in maintaining organizational stability. By taking a broader view of talent, your organization can build a stronger leadership pipeline, make more informed workforce decisions, and ensure continuity for critical public health functions. 

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    Step 4: Identify Successor Candidates

    Overview

    Building on the 9-Box Grid completed in Step 3, this step moves your organization from assessing talent to making succession planning decisions. In Step 3, the 9-Box Grid helped leaders visualize organizational talent, identify workforce strengths, and recognize development gaps. Expanding on those placements, we move forward to confirm talent pool categories and assess succession readiness for prioritized roles.  

    Employees are not nominated as successors because of where they fall on the 9-Box Grid alone. They are nominated because their demonstrated performance and potential align with the specific requirements of a prioritized position.   

    This step applies the 9-Box Grid performance and potential assessments from Step 3 to succession planning decisions. Leadership groups employees into broader categories based on their 9-Box Grid placements and compares those categories with the Succession Planning Profiles established in Step 2. This process helps determine succession readiness, identify bench strength for critical positions, and build a workforce pipeline of prepared talent rather than identifying a single replacement. 

    The outcome of Step 4 is a clearer understanding of succession readiness, talent strengths, and potential successor candidates for prioritized positions. This prepares the organization to develop targeted development action plans in Step 5. 

    In Step 4 You Will: 

    • Translate 9-Box Grid results to determine employee readiness and talent pool categories.  

    • Compare talent pool categories with the Succession Planning Profile role requirements documented in Step 2 to identify potential successors for key positions. 

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    Step 5: Develop Successor Readiness

    Overview  

    Building on the successor candidates identified in Step 4, this step moves the organization from successor identification to successor development. Leadership recommends successor candidates, establishes readiness timelines, and creates talent development action Plans that prepare employees for future roles while strengthening the broader workforce. 

    The 9-Box Grid helps understand the organization and existing talent visually. It also can help see gaps in the talent pipeline as well as create a talent development action plan. This plan can include talent development actions as well as performance management actions and is a key resource for succession planning. 

    At this stage, leaders identify employees who demonstrate alignment with the competencies, experience, and readiness expectations required for prioritized positions. Nominations are based on a combination of demonstrated performance, leadership potential, and role-specific readiness rather than tenure or position alone. Whenever possible, organizations should identify multiple potential successors to strengthen bench depth and reduce risk. 

    For each recommended successor, leadership determines an estimated readiness timeline of the grouping categories and outline development strategies needed to support advancement. Development actions may include stretch assignments, cross-training, mentoring, coaching, acting roles, or formal learning opportunities. 

    Step 5 also addresses the broader talent pool. Leadership identifies development actions for employees who show future potential but are not yet ready for succession, as well as strategies to support core contributors and address performance or role fit concerns where needed. This ensures that succession planning strengthens the entire workforce and not just those identified as successors. 

    Successor nominations and talent development action plans are not guarantees of promotion and should be reviewed regularly. All discussions and documentation related to Step 5 are confidential and intended to support workforce development, continuity, and organizational sustainability. The outcome of Step 5 is a set of clear, actionable plans that align talent development with organizational needs, support equitable growth opportunities, and build a sustainable workforce pipeline. 

    In Step 5 You Will:

    • Nominate successor candidates for prioritized roles 

    • Identify readiness timelines for each candidate 

    • Establish a talent development action plan 

    • Align development strategies with organizational needs 

    • Implement talent development action plan strategies

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    Step 6: Evaluate and Sustain the Process

    Overview   

    Succession planning is an ongoing process that requires regular monitoring, evaluation, and adjustment. Leadership commitment is essential to ensuring succession plans evolve alongside organizational priorities, workforce needs, and employee development. 

    When measuring succession planning implementation efforts, your Succession Planning committee should revisit the list of potential metrics identified in Step 1 and narrow them down to the most meaningful and relevant measures for your organization.  

    In Step 6 You Will:   

    • Evaluate implementation of your succession planning action plan  

    • Communicate implementation progress and evaluation results  

    • Make implementation strategy changes as needed 

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    Course Conclusion

    At its core, succession planning is about people and developing their skills, honoring their contributions, and preparing them for what’s next. Succession planning is an ongoing process that helps keep public health departments strong, stable, and ready for the future. By identifying critical roles, preparing staff for growth, and reviewing plans regularly, your department can reduce disruptions and retain valuable knowledge.   

    Remember that the goal is continuous improvement.  With that in mind, systematically revisit your plan, adjust as needed, and keep the process active. With thoughtful planning and open communication, your department can build a workforce ready to meet today’s needs and tomorrow’s challenges.   

     Creating a succession plan is no small feat. Using a step-by-step guide is a great way to ensure you include all of the elements of an effective program. From identifying critical roles to monitoring your plan's success, each step is crucial to ensuring the health and future of your organization. 

    As you begin applying these concepts within your own organization, remember that every succession planning effort starts with a single step. Use the toolkit, templates, and resources from this course to guide conversations with leadership and staff, adapt the process to your organization's unique needs, and revisit your plan as your workforce evolves. By making succession planning an ongoing priority, you will help build a resilient workforce that is prepared to meet both today's public health needs and tomorrow's challenges.