Canadian HR Reporter

CANADIAN HR REPORTER May 18, 2015 16 FEATURES Tara Kelly CEO of SPLICE Software The Calgary-based telecommunications software company has 26 employees U nless you're planning on living forever, it just doesn't work if you don't have a succession plan in place. at's the philosophy of Tara Kelly, CEO of SPLICE Software. "It's about risk mitigation — you never want to have an organization that collapses if one person disappears. And, ultimately, we should all be growing to somewhere. Often, you're growing your company and you're growing at the same time," she says. For a good succession plan, an important first step is establishing really strong role clarity. "e first thing that you really need to be clear on, especially at the senior level, is not just what's in your job description that you do, but what do you really do? e fundamental first step if you're trying to plan for someone to take over that role is really ensuring it's documented — not just sort of known to you, but really a clear, documented path and what you actually do," says Kelly. "at includes regular auditing. So what you did two years ago when you had a per- fect succession plan kickoff meeting might be different than what you're doing today. And are you really adjusting and keeping it in line with your day-to-day activities?" e second step is assessing your team, and understanding whether you're going to have an internal or external hire, she says. "In a lot of roles, it can go one of two ways. Sometimes the thought leadership and the level that you're looking for, you may not have that in your company." You may have someone who's highly technically skilled, but she doesn't necessarily have the right set of leadership skills for a C-level role. "Taking someone, for example, who's a really strong technical architect and mak- ing them a team lead might actually hurt your company even more at a time when you need them to really go broad," says Kelly. "(It's about) understanding who you have on your team and whether or not you're grooming a person for your job, or you really are needing to look towards an external hire." If you do begin grooming an internal candidate, Kelly is a strong believer that the person should be told he's being considered. "You should be shopping your job," she says. "ese are discussions that should happen — you should be talking to them and saying, 'Listen, does this meet your career goals and objectives?' … You should have career planning within your organiza- tion and your staff, and what you want to do is establish a fundamental base of trust and transparency so that they would honestly be comfortable telling you that. You can lose a really great person because they wanted to grow, but they didn't realize you were grooming them for that very senior position and already considering it. "You hear those kinds of horror stories — you are quietly grooming them for this job you didn't tell them about, and they leave for that exact same job somewhere else." It's also wise to have multiple candidates in mind, says Kelly. "ere's nothing wrong with still having a preferred choice," she says. "To do a great job of succession planning, you do have to have an ideal candidate in mind. But that doesn't mean that you close your blinders to all your other options. "Life is full of surprises and it's your ability to take in new information at the last minute that often separates the winners from the losers, just because life's constantly throwing new things at you, and it's often (about) how fast you can respond." It's also important to have a transition period with some overlap between the incoming and outgoing CEO — but again, role clarity is crucial. "When you have an overlap peri- od, then more than ever is it criti- cal that you understand the exact role of what each person will be doing," says Kelly. "Sometimes people create an overlap period, and it actually serves to do nothing because there is not role clarity, so the old CEO is still doing their job 100 per cent and the other person's just watching." Another important piece is being able to remove ego from the equation, she says. "We all love to think that we're 100 per cent unique… and, in some ways, we are. But the things that we do, others can do better or the same or differ- ent, so making sure that you sort of check your ego at the door is a really critical piece." Patrick Sullivan CEO, Nova Scotia Tourism Agency The Windsor, N.S.-based organization has about 100 employees W hether you're a large or small organization, or even a sole proprietor- ship, it's very difficult to think about and plan for the future when you're busy running your business on a day-to-day basis, according to Patrick Sullivan, CEO of the Nova Scotia Tourism Agency in Windsor, N.S. "It's important for organizations to plan for the future to ensure that there is capabil- ity inside the organization, to kind of move forward and to have the right leaders in place. I think it's also important for the organization, regularly… to understand where they're going and what skills will be required within the organization as they move forward," he says. "All of those kinds of things lead to a solid succession planning process that will enable the organization to be successful in the future." And it's key for the board to be involved, to suggest and monitor the process. "Obviously, you never know what's going to hap- pen to the individual that's currently leading the organization and, as the board, they have perhaps a greater responsibility to look to the future than the operating group may have on a day-to-day basis. So I would look to the board to ensure that they're lead- ing that process and then looking to the current leaders of the organization to set up a process and monitor that process to ensure they have that successful plan- ning program," says Sullivan. e board needs to think about the senior team and whether the skills for the future are available internally. "ey need to know those senior leaders and there needs to be a conversa- tion, certainly at a minimum on an annual basis, with the board about who the po- tential successors are, about what training is being offered to those successors, at least internally, and… should there be a board c o m m i t t e e s t r u ck to search for a person that could come in at an appropriate level that could be groomed to be the successor?" he says. HR also plays an important role and is a key partner, says Sullivan. "HR needs to work with the CEO, with the board, with the senior team to ensure that succession planning is on the radar, that a program is in place, that it's measured, that it's presented, essentially, to the board or whoever the senior leadership is to ensure that there's continuity in the business." And the focus should go beyond the CEO to reach other levels, from supervisors to the shop floor, he says. "We're so busy that I don't know that organizations are taking the time to train their people. In many cases, they're going out to find people, to kind of bring them in at a (higher) level, rather than training their people. But succession is all about training and ensuring that people have the skills to move forward." When looking for successors, the pros to internal candidates are their awareness of the organization and its social networks, and the unwritten rules of how things get done. But external candidates also have their merits, says Sullivan. "You may want to have a significant change, you may want to have a shift in strat- egy... you may want to change the way the organization is going or shift its focus and sometimes bringing someone in from outside is the best way to do that." And an organization should let people know they're considered high performers. "You don't want them to have any doubt about their value and their perceived value to the organization because high performers have lots of opportunities in lots of dif- ferent areas and may consider leaving if you're not providing them with the feedback and providing an indication that they're well thought of," he says. "I don't know that you need to necessarily go so far as to say, 'You're the next in line' but I think you clearly need to let people know where they are and what the opportunities are for them in the future, and part of that is to say, 'is is a potential route for you.'" As for the transition period of succession, that can be difficult if the current leader is still there, says Sullivan. "I'm more a fan of someone coming in, certainly being able to (get) support and assistance from the departing person, but I think often people like to put their own stamp on things and if there is change required, it is an opportunity for change in a reasonable period of time, a shorter period of time, rather than waiting six months or a year and then transitioning into a role," he says. "I've certainly gone into organizations where I've received zero assistance as a new leader and it allows you to discover many of the things that are going on in the organi- zation, but it can also be a challenge to learn about the organization as you're going."

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