Management is all about planning and organizing your tasks and priorities effectively. Also, it is a field where you learn to make the most of scarcely available resources in order to achieve your goals. The same goes for career development and succession planning as well. Being imperative terminologies in the field of talent management, the two are often considered to be interlinked.
However, many people and firms even consider these two terms to be the same and forget to observe the thin line of differentiation between the two. Well, the fact is that both the terms appear to be the same but they have separate benefits of their own. Many firms, in fact, feel that they need to pay more attention to succession planning. The reason being that they believe that career development can in someone or the other fit naturally with succession planning.
Well, it is not so. Let us look at the importance of both these aspects in the growth of firms.
Why Do You Need To Pay Adequate Attention Towards Career Development And Succession Planning?
Though succession planning is imperative to achieve high-level performance for firms, it cannot meet the goals of an effective strategy revolving talent management. Today, manpower has ample of opportunities to explore. In fact, as per human resource management experts, if a person gets benefits in terms of positive workplace culture and career growth opportunities, he can easily leave the job for the next one. They can even compromise on their pay compensation for the same.
Moreover, employers need to respond to these two aspects while addressing the transition of employees. Also, if the firms can develop effective strategies while paying attention to both succession planning and career growth, this transition issue can be solved once and for all.
What Is Exactly Succession Planning And Career Development?
Succession planning is basically the process of identifying and then nurturing the talented persons to fill in the important positions in the organization. This process is actually employee driven to make sure that they have a properly filled talent pool with them.
Career pathing or development, on the other hand, is a process followed by the employee to chart the path of their career growth. Following this process gives them an idea about how to go about their career development and growth.
Difference Between Succession Planning And Career Development
Like every process, both these career pathing, as well as succession development, also have some essential steps to be followed. These steps mark the difference between the two aspects as well.
- Foremost, career development is a process during which the employee does self-assessment while in succession planning, the employer plays an imperative role in making a strategy.
- Multiple career opportunities get charted out during career development. While succession planning makes use of the existing employees only to firm new strategies.
- The focus during the process lays focus on employee experience while for succession planning, the focus is on retention of employees.
