Succession planning as a strategy for human resource risk mitigation in a medium-sized enterprise

Abstract

Every organisation benefits from succession planning when key employees are absent from work as a result of prolonged illness, death, resignation, retirement, or prolonged disciplinary issues. Plans need to be in place for replacements in the face of such eventualities that, if not mitigated, can have grave consequences, even business closure. The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that many organisations had insufficiently developed succession plans to ensure business continuity, and they struggled to respond to difficulties that arose at a time of crisis. This exploratory, qualitative study investigated the use, by a medium-sized enterprise, of succession planning as a human resource risk mitigation tool to prepare for unexpected loss of key staff, in roles where urgent replacement is essential. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 consenting permanent employees in a South African enterprise in the non-life insurance sector in August 2023. Questions were on how the key elements of succession planning were reported. A thematic analysis of the findings was used to identify trends. The study established that the organisation's disaster recovery and business continuity plan did not translate to a human resource policy that outlined an implementation process for succession planning. Elements of succession planning were practised in isolation across various departments but not organised as part of the organisation's strategic objectives; this reflects an organisational culture less focused on human resource risk and insufficiently prepared for succession planning. The present research was conducted in one organisation, focused on one type of human resource risk, the risk created by a sudden or unexpected loss of key employees. Future research will be needed to conduct additional surveys with more medium-sized organisations for a better understanding of organisational risk responses following a sudden employee departure that necessitates the immediate selection of a successor.