Succession planning means identifying your key roles, assessing the risk of losing the people in them, and preparing one or more successors before the role opens up. The method has six steps: map, assess risk, identify candidates, develop them, transfer knowledge and review.
The unexpected departure of a key person can stop a production line, slow down a department or cost you a client. Knowledge that lives only in one employee's head walks out the door with them. Succession planning is not just for large corporations: it protects any organization.
Why plan for succession now?
Because retirements will keep coming. According to Statistics Canada's 2021 Census, 21.8% of the working-age population (15 to 64) was aged 55 to 64, the highest share in the history of Canadian censuses. On many teams, the most experienced people are getting close to the exit.
Retirement is not the only risk. A resignation, extended leave, a promotion or a change in strategy can also leave a critical role empty. Preparing a successor takes time: for many specialized roles, it means months or even years.
This guide is for HR leads and managers in every sector. It offers a straightforward method you can apply without specialized software, plus a checklist so you can get started this quarter.
What are the 6 steps of a succession plan?
1. Map your key roles
A role is key when its absence seriously disrupts operations, when it is hard to fill on the market or when it holds rare knowledge. Ask three questions for each role: what happens if this person leaves tomorrow? How long would it take to replace them? Who else knows how to do the job?
2. Assess the risk of departure
For each incumbent, estimate how likely they are to leave within the next two to three years: known retirement plans, signs of disengagement, how much demand there is for their profile. Combine that risk with the impact of losing them to set your priorities.
| Low impact | High impact | |
| High risk | Document tasks, train a temporary backup | Top priority: named successor and immediate transfer plan |
| Low risk | Monitor at the annual review | Prepare a successor over 12 to 24 months |
3. Identify potential successors
Look internally for people with both the potential and the interest for the role. Potential is not the same as current performance: an excellent technician will not necessarily make a good team lead. Talk with the people involved about their career goals. Where no one is ready, say so clearly: that is a signal to start external recruiting early.
4. Build a development plan
For each successor, define the gaps to close and how to close them: training, mentoring, covering during vacations, project work, gradually increasing responsibilities. Set milestones and review them with the person every quarter.
5. Transfer knowledge
This is the step most often skipped. Tacit knowledge (shortcuts, contacts, the history behind decisions) is not in any manual. Set up job shadowing, have critical procedures documented, record short how-to videos and plan an overlap between the incumbent and the successor.
Start with the roles rated top priority. A one-hour meeting between the incumbent, their manager and the successor is enough to list the essential tasks, contacts and documents to hand over.
6. Review and measure
A succession plan evolves with the business. Review it every year and track a few indicators: how many key roles have at least one ready successor, the share of key roles filled internally and how long it takes a successor to become fully autonomous after a transition.
Who should lead succession planning?
Succession is a shared responsibility. Leadership sets priorities and approves the list of key roles. HR provides the method, the tools and the follow-up. Managers know the real work best: they spot successors, organize job shadowing and give feedback. In a small business without an HR department, a member of the leadership team can own the file, as long as they set aside dedicated time every quarter.
When should you recruit a successor externally?
External hiring makes sense when no one internally has the potential or the interest, when the role requires skills the team does not have, or when there is not enough time to train someone. Ideally, hire the successor before the incumbent leaves so you can plan an overlap period.
For trades and professions where local candidates are scarce, international recruitment is an option to build into the plan early. Immigration processes take time: the sooner you decide, the smoother the transition.
What checklist can you use to get started?
- The list of key roles is drawn up and approved by leadership.
- Each key role has a risk and impact assessment.
- At least one potential successor is named, or an external option is planned.
- Each successor has a development plan with dated milestones.
- Critical procedures are documented and accessible.
- An annual review date is on the calendar.
What mistakes cause succession plans to fail?
The first is waiting for a resignation before you start. The second is choosing a successor only because they have the most seniority or the best technical skills. The third is keeping the plan secret, which prevents people from actually developing. Finally, many plans fail for lack of follow-up: a document filled out once and then forgotten protects nothing.
A serious succession plan also helps retention: employees who can see a future in the company have one more reason to stay.
Frequently asked questions
Is succession planning only for senior leadership?
No. It covers any role whose loss would seriously disrupt operations: a foreman, a specialized technician, a buyer who knows every supplier, a programmer who maintains a one-of-a-kind system. In a small business, these roles are often more critical than some executive positions.
Should employees be told they have been identified as successors?
Generally yes, with care. Discussing a development plan motivates the person and lets you check their interest. Avoid promising a specific job on a fixed date, though: frame it as preparation, not a guarantee.
What if no one internally is ready?
Build an external option into the plan. Hiring a successor before the incumbent leaves, locally or internationally, allows for an overlap period and a real transfer of knowledge. The earlier you start, the less it costs.
How often should a succession plan be updated?
Review it at least once a year, ideally alongside performance reviews, and whenever something significant happens: an announced departure, a reorganization, a new market or new technology.
Need help protecting your key roles?
Industrielle RH helps employers with succession planning: mapping critical roles, building development plans and, when internal successors are not enough, recruiting a successor locally or internationally before the incumbent leaves. Contact us to assess the most at-risk roles in your organization.