As you review these positions, find out if there is a person or persons in the organization who could take that individual’s position should it become vacant. Document who could fill the void, and/or make note if there is no one who could fill the position, should it become vacant. You might also make note of any imminent retirements in any key positions over the next few years as well. Once complete, you will have a clear understanding of which positions you need to plan recruiting for and when that recruiting might be coming online. Make this a subset of your strategic workforce plan.

After you complete this top talent succession planning exercise, compute the following ratio:

Numerator: the number of top-tier positions with at least one fully qualified person who is ready to take the place of the incumbent.

Denominator: the total number of top-tier positions assessed.

This is what Jac Fitz-enz refers to as the “human capital readiness level.” According to Fitz-enz, “this is the percentage of key positions with at least one fully qualified (competent) person ready to take over now. Applying the readiness criterion to key positions yields a picture of what he calls the organization’s “general human capital health.”

As you make plans for succession over time, your ratio will go down. Track and measure this and share with your executives. This is a highly strategic exercise and of great value to your organization. Planning our workforce for the future, especially our key leadership positions, are the most important outcomes recruiting leaders can deliver to our organizations.

You’ll get much more detail there, but I wanted to whet your tastebuds with this sample paradigm for a workforce plan.

I. Workforce Analysis
a. Organization’s vision and strategy
b. Comprehensive internal employee analysis of core workforce
c. Analysis of labor market relative to your organization’s core workforce
d. Recruitment patterns
e. Turnover patters
f. Retirement patterns

II. Labor Projections
a. Forecast of anticipated core workforce needs
b. Demand of core workforce in the broader market — competition
c. Alignment to organization’s strategic plan

III. Gap Analysis
a. Documented disparity between where your organization is and where your organization needs to be over time (5 years, 10 years, 15 years)
b. By core workforce job category
c. Aggregate hiring needs

IV. Close the Gap (talent management)
a. Succession plan
b. Workforce development plan — training and education of staff; partnership with community education and training institutions
c. Retention plan
d. Recruitment plan
e. Compensation and benefits strategies that target the core workforce (total rewards)