Overview

Succession planning is “a systematic process of identifying and developing candidates for key positions that have a significant impact on the mission of an organization.”¹ In addition to recruitment and talent development, succession strategies should also include knowledge retention and transfer planning. As the 2014 Best Practices for Succession Planning in Federal Government STEMM Positions² notes “because of the anticipated increase in senior executive departures, development activities are now more crucial than ever in order to ensure knowledge and expertise transmittal to the next generation of leaders.”

A 2016 Deloitte report on developing the next generation of Federal leaders notes, “a strong succession management strategy can help Federal agencies maintain continuity of critical operations and knowledge transfer during leadership changes.”³

The target audience for this section of the Knowledge Management Playbook includes succession planners, human resources, information technology (IT) managers, knowledge management specialists, Agency senior leadership, and IT policy & process improvement staff.

Succession Planning Lifecycle

Unlike the private sector, succession planning in the Federal government can’t involve pre-selecting people for specific positions. It can, and often does, include identifying requirements for key roles, developing leadership training opportunities, and recruiting & retaining staff. It should include knowledge retention and transfer to support both the succession planning process and the newly promoted/hired staff. How knowledge is captured can have a critical effect on what knowledge is captured.

Checklist

• Discuss position/role-specific knowledge requirements.
• Document knowledge using Plain English as much as possible.
• Include knowledge management experts in succession planning process.
• Include institutional and technical knowledge retention as part of succession risk planning.
• Identify and prioritize areas for knowledge collection.
• Leverage succession planning guidance from the Office of Personnel Management.

Questions

• Do you use transitions as an opportunity to improve your collected knowledge (and your knowledge collection process)?
• Is the knowledge you’ve captured written in a way that makes sense to staff across multiple generations?
• Have you identified the gaps between what the incumbent knows and what the succeeding staff needs to know?
• Have you identified ways to capture knowledge that may not be obvious (such as decision processes used by incumbent staff)
• Have you explored the official and unofficial knowledge channels in the organization?
• Have you identified gaps in knowledge that need to be filled or bridged as part of succession planning?

Resources

• https://www.cornerstoneondemand.com/rework/succession-planning-public-sector-not-impossible
• https://www.opm.gov/services-for-agencies/workforce-succession-planning/succession-planning/
• https://chcoc.gov/content/guidance-establishing-annual-leadership-talent-management-and-succession-planning-process
• https://chcoc.gov/sites/default/files/Guidance%20on%20Establishing%20an%20Annual%20Leadership%20Talent%20Management%20Succession%20Planning%20Process.pdf

KM as a Part of the Workforce Lifecycle

Succession planning typically revolves around senior management and other organizational “leadership” positions. Including knowledge managements as part of broader workforce planning is just as critical for successful personnel transitions involving technical, scientific, and administrative staff. Building knowledge retention, sharing, and transfer into the organizational culture facilitates successful delivery of the agency’s mission.

Checklist

• Include knowledge management planning as a part of workforce planning and not just the top level of the organization.
• Key on knowledge-intensive and hard-to-fill positions.
• Document knowledge to better identify and bridge informational gaps.
• Build knowledge transfer into leadership development programs.
• Consider which skills and information are more/less easily transferrable than others.

Questions

• Does your knowledge retention/transfer planning target staff at all levels of the organization, not just senior managers?
• Does your employee on-boarding process include instilling knowledge sharing as part of the organizational culture?
• Does senior management support or instill a “knowledge sharing lifestyle”?
• Have you investigated what other Agencies have done (successfully or not)?
• Have you incorporated knowledge sharing and transfer as part of a strategic succession planning/workforce development alignment with the Agency’s mission and organizational strategy?

Resources

• https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781136430985
• https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/services/people-organisation/publications/workforce-of-the-future.html
• http://www.businessofgovernment.org/sites/default/files/Best%20Practices%20for%20Succession%20Planning%20in%20Federal%20Government%20STEMM%20Positions.pdf
• https://www.cornerstoneondemand.com/rework/it%E2%80%99s-time-federal-agencies-re-define-succession-planning

Address Before the Need

One of the problems with current succession-related knowledge management practices is that the need for knowledge transfer is only recognized when it is needed as part of a transition. To protect against the risk that knowledge will be lost amid a host of other succession-related priorities, the processes for capturing organizational and technical knowledge should be put into place well before they are needed.

Checklist

• Implement mentoring and job rotation programs.
• Incorporate “lessons learned” as an on-going part of project lifecycles, and not just a task at the end of the project.
• Set-up regular knowledge transfer sessions via informal discussions or activities.

Questions

• Have you gotten buy-in and support from senior management to ensure they are supportive (and better still enablers) of knowledge management and transfer?
• Can you leverage existing knowledge management tools and processes for succession planning?
• Have you looked at how you schedule and structure lessons learned and knowledge transfer as part of projects and contracts?

Resources

• https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/public-sector/us-fed-succession-management.pdf

Automate

Knowledge Management efforts often fail because they add a time and effort burden to employees’ already busy work lives. Automating the process doesn’t just mean the use of enabling technologies and tools, but also making knowledge retention and transfer part of existing workflows and organizational culture.

Checklist

• Keep the processes simple and the tools easy to use as part of day-to-day activities.
• Ingrain knowledge retention, sharing, and transfer into the workforce lifecycle from on-boarding to separation.
• Empower staff to find innovative solutions and approaches.
• Hold regular events to facilitate knowledge sharing.
• Incorporate knowledge management as part of employee performance standards.

Questions

• Have you considered how existing processes can be leveraged or modified to include a knowledge management component?

Sources