By Alison Napier

Effective transition planning is a collaborative process. It is a strategic effort aimed at ensuring the successor will be effective as soon as possible and minimizing the impact on the organization. At the end of the process, the successor will have a clear understanding of their role and responsibilities within the context of the organization, knowledge of how to perform the role and awareness of the resources available. In addition, relationships with key stakeholder will have begun developing, providing the successor with confidence to perform the role to the best of their ability.

The following best practices can be leveraged to ensure a successful transition:

Before the Successor Begins:

Create Transition Plan:
Build a list of the key aspects of your role such as responsibilities, stakeholders and ongoing projects.  Include links to key documents, access information and any other information you feel is vital.  This document will be used as a framework for the transition, helping to ensure you cover all aspects of the role together. Afterwards, it can be a valuable resource for your replacement.  Categorize the different aspects:  

• Information Transfer – sharing of information (who, what, when, where) specific to the role and the organization (ie recruitment HRIS tool)
• Knowledge Transfer – how you perform the role (ie how to approach and communicate with the hiring managers)
• Responsibility Transfer– ownership of responsibility (ie recruitment)

Once the Successor Begins: 

Two-way dialogue: 
It is vital to begin succession planning with an open, two-way discussion on how you will work together during the transition.  Seek to understand the preferred communication and learning style of your replacement, and how they would like to approach the transition.  Discuss what aspects of the transition make them the most nervous.  Share what you feel are the most challenging aspects of the role. 

Discuss the plan: 
Review the draft transition plan and ask for your successor’s input and reaction.  What ideas do they have about the transition? What areas can be skipped and what needs to be added?  Acknowledge that while all of the information must be shared by the end of the transition, the sequence and method can be determined jointly.  Discuss and prioritize the transfer of information, knowledge and responsibility based on the individual’s comfort level.  You will need to take a staged approached as some areas of responsibility may require information and/or knowledge transfer before the individual is able to effectively own it. 

Information  Transfer :
This will be achieved through information sessions, shadowing, and organization literature.  Involve stakeholders and other team members in discussions and have them provide context on ongoing initiatives, organizational structure and processes.  This provides an excellent opportunity for introductions and relationship building.   This can include, but is not limited to:

• Role and responsibilities – What are the objectives of the role; what are your inputs and outputs; what recurring meetings do you attend; what tools/systems do you use; and what improvements you feel are necessary. 
• Stakeholders  – This includes not only naming your stakeholders and providing contact information, but also how best to communicate with them and how the role provides value to them.  Discuss how to approach introductions.  Prioritize to ensure key stakeholders are introduced and discussed first. 
• Culture – Describe the unwritten rules that drive the organization.   Discuss both challenges and strengths of the current culture. 
• Ongoing projects/initiatives – Provide the description and goal of ongoing projects, including current stage, challenges to date, contacts, and relevant documentation.
• Team Management (if applicable) – For each team member, provide role descriptions and a download of strengths, motivators and areas actively being developed.

Knowledge Transfer:
Knowledge transfer involves passing on the how and why you perform the role the way you do.  This is the information about the role that comes from your experience and can’t be found in any documentation.  This requires introspection and awareness of the way in which you function. It may be the most difficult aspect of the transition to plan for as behaviours may have become second nature to you.   

Consider how you approach your stakeholders, how you have built your relationships, how you communicate to others, how you organize information.  Consider lessons you have learned, or adaptations in approach you have made since you took on the role.  Spending time on this can drastically reduce redundant work, maintain efficiency and help your replacement build effective relationships. 

How knowledge transfer is achieved will ultimately depend on the role but it often includes mentoring, observation and discussion.  A major part of knowledge transfer is the shifting of key relationships.  This will always include an introduction and a discussion with your replacement and the stakeholder.  As discussed, ensure your replacement understands how to communicate and foster a relationship with these key stakeholders.  Complete knowledge transfer will likely not be achieved in a two or three week transition time.  Consider establishing an ongoing mentorship or pairing them with someone else familiar with the landscape of the role.

Responsibility Transfer:
Flip the switch vs. gradual transition — take a staged approach to responsibility transfer. If possible, discuss which aspects of the role can be transitioned immediately and then create a plan to transition the balance of the responsibilities.  Build a communication to explain this to the organization. 

Communication Plan: 
An introductory email within the first few days is key to any onboarding process, however , use it make clear which responsibilities your replacement is owning immediately.   When the transition ends, it is an opportunity for your replacement to send a follow up communication to the organization confirming that they are now fulfilling the role and to contact them in the future. 

At the End of the Transition:

Discuss communication after the transition: 
Communicate if you are open to the successor contacting you with questions as they come up. 

Let Go:
You have provided information, knowledge and support. Now you must let go.  Acknowledge that your successor will now perform the role their way. While it may differ than how you would do it, you must respect it.  It is up to them to determine how they utilize the resources you have created and how they will continue to build their relationships with the stakeholders.  Remind yourself that great leaders want to see an organization more successful in the next generation than in their own.

Alison Napier is the Human Resources Manager at Schneider Electric in Victoria, BC.  Alison is a young leader who is passionate about working with her business partners to foster a workplace culture where people feel cared for and empowered to perform their best.   She is currently on Maternity Leave with her first child.