Canadian HR Reporter

on succession on succession on succession on succession FEATURES CEO FEATURES CEO FEATURES s FEATURES s FEATURES TALK 5 CEOs offer tips and insights around successful succession planning Spencer Enright president & CEO, Brookfi eld Real Estate Services Ltd., chairman, Brookfi eld Real Estate Services Inc. The Toronto-based company has 250 employees and oversees a network of more than 16,000 sales professionals F or Spencer Enright, succession plan- ning is part of the fabric of his day- to-day routine. "It's understanding the talent, evaluating the people in the organization, knowing when people are promotable and what de- velopment they need," says the president and CEO of 250-employee Brookfi eld Real Estate Services in Toronto. "Clearly when we've got critical positions... you can't risk having vacancies for any extended period of time. Without a process in place, I think you're just completely fl ying blind." Changes can happen suddenly, whether because of illness, serious performance is- sues or demands from stakeholders or so- cial media, he says. "Organizations can't always choose the timing of when a change will happen. For these reasons, always knowing who is ready to take on a key role is critical." Mergers and acquisitions also make a diff erence, with a new set of talent coming onboard, says Enright. "Not really knowing the breadth of your own organization before you get involved in a brand new company that you've just ac- quired really slows down the process. But then when you have the process in place, I've been able to move swiftly through those assessment processes with the newly acquired teams. And giving them some certainty and clarity about the process and how we evaluate talent gives them the con- fi dence that they've got an opportunity with the company." Getting started A good succession plan starts with a real commitment from the board of directors or owners and top leaders of the organiza- tion to fi nding and developing great lead- ers throughout the entire organization. To- gether with the HR team, there are several processes that can be very eff ective when they are in place simultaneously, he says. "First, we need to identify and accurately profi le each critical leadership role. Know- ing what each position uniquely brings to the combined leadership team is the fi rst step to knowing when you have the right candidates for each one. is should be kept updated as business changes, especially if and when the company chooses to move in a new strategic direction in order to stay competitive." Next, it's about knowing your people, says Enright. "Honest evaluations of key strengths and development needs in future leaders seems obvious, but with succession planning, I fo- cus on the capabilities required of the next level role, not just for the role they are cur- rently in." Creating a depth chart for each key lead- ership role is helpful in seeing instantly where there might be gaps in the number or quality of succession candidates. En- right says he likes having a group of cross- functional leaders complete a depth chart of people they consider candidates for their own roles, and their development needs. "By having a group discussion about each functional area, you learn more about people you may not have been aware of, the biases individuals might have about who they think are successors, et cetera," he says. "Once you build those routines in and people understand that they will be part of that process, and ultimately they see the value not only for their team members but for themselves, then I think you even- tually get buy-in. But it does take a bit of time to rally the whole group around that, especially if they're not familiar with those types of processes." Internal v. external It's great to have internal leaders who un- derstand the industry, have strong customer relationships and are already trusted by the staff in the organization. And it takes time to build those attributes when starting from scratch in a new organization, says Enright. "However, being completely insular will limit exposure to new ideas and can compromise the leadership's awareness of paradigm shifts in the industry which might threaten the organization's future." External hires are a great way to infuse new thinking into the leadership group, and can help maintain a diverse set of unique strengths within the team, he says. "However, it can also disillusion existing staff , result in frequent shifts in strategic direction for the company and, ultimately, result in the loss of great internal talent who don't see a path to those senior roles." But if an employer is only promoting from within, it runs the risk of having in- dividuals who feel a sense of entitlement, says Enright. " e industry, dynamics, competitive set changes so rapidly that the strategic think- ing that existed last year may not be relevant for the next three, four years and so bring- ing outside thinking into the mix can really help challenge status quo beliefs within the organization." Transparency is important when having discussions with staff about their future potential. "While it can be diffi cult to let someone know they aren't in line for a particular position, these conversations are the best method to together fi nding the best role for each individual," he says. "For internal leaders, it's critical that they understand the company is actively work- ing to enable them to become the next leaders of the organization. Without that career pathing in place, great talent will ultimately fi nd other organizations where they feel more confi dent of succeeding in their career. "That's probably the worst mistake I could make, is having an opportunity and then losing the candidate because they don't believe it exists." Coming onboard Succession isn't just about bringing some- one onboard, it's about building and devel- oping them as an integral part of the team, says Enright. But organizations don't always have the luxury of a transition period, so it makes sense to plan without it, he says. "For CEO roles, I don't believe in an overlap, mainly due to the fact that both internal and external stakeholders want to know immediately who is truly the captain of the ship." When Enright assumed his fi rst C-level role, there was a three-month overlap with the departing CFO and he found it a frus- trating experience. "It was helpful to understand how they managed the position in the past, but it stunted my opportunity to make changes in the areas where the rest of the organiza- tion needed to see improvements," he says. "In theory, promoting from within shouldn't need a lengthy transition period since the candidate already has a good un- derstanding of the business. Also, often we're bringing in an external candidate specifi cally because we want to see change occur, so delaying the break from the old to the new will only slow that change down." HR's role Enright says he values the opportunity to have a continuous dialogue with the HR team about talent both inside and outside the organization. In addition, the business needs a strong discipline to creating and fol- lowing the succession planning processes and HR can assist in creating that culture. e HR team should be equipped to en- able and challenge the leaders of the orga- nization to really know their staff , to under- stand the talent needs of the business and objectively assess the gaps in the succession plan, he says. "It's an expectation on my part that we get that feedback coming through so that they know I want them to be connected with the leaders in the organization, understanding what's working and what's not working well, and providing that feed- back and making improvements along the way." But when it comes to leaders meeting to discuss the depth chart, the functional lead- ers have ownership. "It's important that we look at the HR function not as the owners of these pro- cesses but as the facilitators for really get- ting value out of the process."

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