Succession Planning Strategies

Posted by Mark Brousseau

Transferring the Reins: Ensure Smooth Succession Planning in Times of Change

By Laurel B. Sanders, Optical Image Technology (publicrelations@docfinity.com)

Grooming new leaders is challenging. Increasingly it’s causing corporate unease. Executives nationwide are bracing for an unprecedented exodus of experienced leaders. Unfortunately, most aren’t prepared for the impending knowledge loss. Unique conditions are creating anxiety:

... Droves of Baby Boomers leaving the workplace.
... Downsizing and corporate realignments.
... Significant merger and acquisition activity.
... Younger managers favoring career paths over long-term corporate loyalty.

The current corporate landscape is comprised of 78% professional, administrative, technical, and clerical professions.1In federal agencies alone, 70% of senior managers will be eligible to retire by 2010.2 The corporate picture is similar.

Soon, masses of knowledge workers will reach the revolving doors. Before they do, we must establish systems to share institutional knowledge with future leaders and ensure the continuity our businesses need to succeed. If we don’t help our future leaders to fully understand the ‘what,’ ‘when,’ ‘where,’ ‘how,’ and ‘why’ of the businesses they will direct, costly mistakes will be made. Transferring knowledge is vital.

Tools for change
Business process management (BPM) software is a powerful tool for smooth succession planning. Rules-based software lets you standardize, streamline, and automate routine processes; ensure authorized persons can access work and related files; and provide needed guidance to complete tasks. BPM tackles the challenges of a mobile workforce, managing information efficiently and filling potential gaps between outgoing and incoming leaders and their staff.

1.Enforce organizational hierarchies
As part of an enterprise content management (ECM) system, BPM follows pre-established hierarchies for document approval, signing, and more. New leaders don’t have to worry about anyone overlooking policies, approvals, or required signatures. The watchful eyes of BPM ensure policies are enforced.

2. Ensure processing consistency
BPM syncs business rules with stored document information to automatically prioritize projects, collect approvals, process exceptions appropriately, and more. Intuitive user interfaces simplify task fulfillment, providing instructions at every turn.

3. Assign user rights appropriately
BPM follows institutional rules for file access, giving workers appropriate permissions as they carry out assigned tasks. By pre-determining which workers are authorized to access, annotate, forward, or otherwise interact with documents, customers are treated fairly and consistently. Work moves forward quickly.

4.Leverage information enterprise-wide
It takes time to comprehend the unique interrelationship of business processes when employees assume new positions. BPM respects institutional rules, securely pushing and pulling information across the enterprise wherever it’s useful ― accounting to HR, claims to policy servicing, contracts to payroll ― and maximizing information usefulness.

5.Address performance weaknesses
Productivity reporting gives managers valuable insight into incoming requests and employee output. Work is allocated or reassigned according to workload, project priority, absenteeism, and more. Leaders gain needed agility and can respond appropriately to changing conditions.

Plan for success
Long-term success requires careful planning. Avert future chaos and disaster by starting your knowledge transfer now. The approaching exodus can’t be stopped, but by putting the systems and information in place that your future leaders will need, you can ensure a smooth transition. Your company will be positioned to thrive in the face of change.

1 Bureau of Labor Statistics website, www.bls.gov.
2 HR Magazine, December 2007, “Plugging the Boomer Drain.”

To Buy or Not to Buy: That is the Question

By Mark Brousseau

Every executive knows the importance of investing in the future. Laurel Sanders of Optical Image Technology (lsanders@docfinity.com) says that choosing the right investments at the right time is critical to competing effectively.

"In recent years, it’s become clearer to business executives that digital storage, access, and management provide tremendous gains, but they also require an initial outlay," Sanders says. "These days, tighter budgets, decreased revenue, and fewer staff resources make it harder to invest."

EDM and workflow purchases remain steady, but factors driving purchases have changed, Sanders notes. To win new clients, vendors must prove strong ROI and demonstrate how companies can do more with less.

In good economic times, Sanders says management watches the bottom line, but focuses on company ideals. Typical questions include:

How will EDM/workflow advance my business?
How can we gain a competitive advantage?
Will customer service and loyalty improve?
Will it boost our bottom line?

In tough economic times, Sanders says the focus changes:

What is the total cost of ownership?
Are there hidden costs?
Can we afford to maintain it?
How long will it take to achieve ROI?

EDM and workflow eliminate significant costs, letting companies handle more work without additional staff. They automate data collection, document file access, facilitate and expedite work distribution. As staff matriculate, work is absorbed easily by remaining employees.

"Integration with legacy systems, line-of-business applications, and telecommunications increases ROI, typically delivering results within a year—sometimes even months," Sanders notes. "Cost avoidance is considerable, boosting financial performance. Delaying EDM/workflow purchases makes it tougher to compete now, and positions a company poorly to handle growth cost-effectively as the economy rebounds."

EDM and workflow are a wise investment, Sanders concludes. They streamline HR expenses, re-use data cost-efficiently enterprise-wide, and reduce paper, postage, shipping, and storage. ROI is certain. "Moreover, when the economy recovers, the right tools will be in place to reach corporate goals," she says.

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