Prosper Autumn, Black Country Chamber of Commerce magazine

EVENTS: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Training up business leaders
for the next big step
Concern as too many
boards admit to having
‘no succession strategy’
New research has found that many
organisations are struggling with succession
strategy, with nearly three-quarters of CEOs
and 71 per cent of Boards not participating
on or supporting succession strategies.
The new research by talent insight experts
Armstrong Craven demonstrates that
succession planning is far from being a
priority for most organisations. The research,
which polled over 200 HR and talent
professionals, 173 of which were senior
leaders, found that only 24 per cent of HR
professionals described their organisation as
‘very proficient’ when it came to succession
planning.
Lack of buy-in
A key problem is a lack of buy-in from the
C-Suite on the importance of succession
planning; the researchers found that in
nearly three-quarters of companies, CEOs
don’t have responsibility for succession
planning, nor do 71 per cent of Boards. On
top of this, 29 per cent of HR respondents
say it’s a challenge to get succession
planning buy-in from the CEO, while 24 per
cent say the same about the wider board.
With the cost-of-living crisis in full swing,
soaring costs, supply chain issues and
problems recruiting and retaining staff in a
tight labour market, it’s safe to say that both
the C-Suite and HR functions have their
hands full at the moment. It may be that the
lack of C-Suite buy-in is simply because
succession planning is low down the list of
priorities for most organisations.
However, the research also uncovered a
level of paranoia among senior managers –
28 per cent of those polled by Armstrong
Craven identified concerns around
managers having to identify their own
potential replacements as a reason for this
lack of buy-in.
The problem is that businesses without a
succession strategy are playing a dangerous
game. If there’s one thing the last few years
have taught us, it’s that sudden shocks can
happen at any time – and strong leadership
is key in leading organisations through
dramatic change.
Burnout
Senior management are also part of the
‘Great Resignation’. Indeed, the C-Suite
were under added pressure during the
pandemic, with responsibility for managing
the wellbeing of their employees and the
move to remote working. This added
pressure has led to many experiencing
burnout. Previous research from Kelly
Executives shows that 72 per cent of senior
executives are planning on leaving their
organisation in the next two years.
This research – conducted for KellyOCG’s
2022 Global Workforce Report, which
surveyed 1,000 decision-makers including
C-Suite, directors and senior management
at some huge global organisations with a
combined revenue of $135billion – showed
that there’s widespread dissatisfaction
among senior executives. Nearly two-thirds
(63 per cent) say their workload is
unmanageable while only a third of those
surveyed (34 per cent) think they’re receiving
a fair remuneration for their efforts –
suggesting that almost two-thirds of senior
executives think they’re underpaid.
Six in ten say they’re not happy in their
current job, and less than a third are
planning in staying at their company for two
years.
Agile training programmes from the Black
Country Chamber of Commerce provide
For more information
visit: Director and Board
Development - Black Country
Chamber of Commerce
or contact Calum Nisbet at:
calumnisbet@
blackcountrychamber.co.uk
54 PROSPER AUTUMN 2022