The State of Succession Planning: Learnings from a Global Health Crisis

The objective of this study was to investigate the views of HR leaders on the current state of succession planning and to understand the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on succession planning. The study was guided by five research questions focusing on succession planning best practices, the opinions, and aspirations of HR leaders as well as the impact of the pandemic and challenges related to succession planning. Six HR leaders were interviewed, and qualitative methods were used to analyze the interview transcripts. Various findings emerge from this study. Although succession planning is implemented in different ways and the pandemic has impacted organizations to varying degrees, the status of succession planning seems to generally be inadequate. Consequently, this study encourages organizations to prioritize succession planning efforts and to increase awareness of its strategic importance.