Succession Planning is the process of identifying the critical positions, skills and behaviors needed for an organization to deliver its short-term and long-term goals. This is achieved by aligning HR strategy to corporate strategy, identifying skill gaps in the organization’s ability to meet those challenges and then developing a strategy, to upskill, reskill and hire for skill.

This has never been as critical as now. The global economy is facing the emergence of business data/analytics, machine learning/artificial intelligence, cloud computing, SAAS applications and robotics/automation. Coupled with these changes are the macroeconomic and labor conditions resulting from the effects of COVID-19, whose residual effects will be around for some time.

Deploying human resources and leveraging human potential should be a critical focus for all organizations. In its 2020 Future of Jobs Survey, The World Economic Forum suggests that companies hope to internally redeploy 50% of workers displaced by technological automation and augmentation.

As unemployment continues to rise during this fourth industrial revolution, also known as 4IR, the urgency to upskill and reskill displaced workers for the jobs of tomorrow is front and center, providing and opportunity for leaders in business, government, education and public policy to focus on efforts that improve the access to and delivery of skill development.

And on top of all this, the shift to hybrid workplaces is the new norm, so in addition to organizations building skills within its workforce, reimagining the workspace will also be a factor for the deployment of new skills in new environments, both needing attention, focus and patience. The Future of Jobs Survey also suggests that the perceived time period to receive a return on investment for 63% of upskilled and reskilled workers is greater than 6 months.

Check out the full Future of Jobs Survey here.