Measure Progress

The Final Step in the Succession Planning Process

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Achieving long-term success requires a commitment to continuous improvement and strategic oversight. This means that the final step of succession planning, measurement, is crucial to your organization’s sustainability and growth. Our succession planning measurement service is thoughtfully designed to ensure this critical phase is seamlessly integrated into your succession planning process. With the support of our senior consultants, your succession plan will:

  1. Align strategically with your organizational goals.
  2. Maintain momentum through regular monitoring and adjustment of key success metrics.
  3. Retain leadership support through ongoing communication during the implementation process.

Why Work With Us?

Navigating the complexities of measuring succession planning effectiveness can be daunting. Despite being one of the most critical stages of the succession planning process, it is often the most neglected. However, research clearly demonstrates its importance in ensuring the success of your succession planning efforts:

  • McKinsey reports that 61% of corporate strategists point to poor implementation as the top reason new strategic initiatives fail, largely due to insufficient monitoring systems and unclear responsibilities.1
  • A 2018 report by the Association for Talent Development found that organizations that measured their succession planning efforts had markedly higher effectiveness scores. Key metrics included the number of positions filled by succession candidates, the size of the succession pipeline, and retention rates of succession candidates. Organizations using these methods demonstrated superior succession planning outcomes compared to those that did not utilize these measurements​.2

SIGMA offers expert guidance in selecting appropriate success metrics, interpreting data, and making informed decisions supported by that data. Our succession planning measurement service helps ensure that your investment in succession planning is validated through tangible, positive outcomes in talent development.

Key Benefits of Working With SIGMA

Comprehensive Data Utilization

  • What gets measured gets managed.3 Yet, one of the primary challenges organizations encounter is integrating and making sense of the existing data measured. SIGMA uses advanced analytics to transform your raw data into actionable insights, ensuring that every piece of information contributes to a clear understanding of your progress.

Tailored Metrics and Benchmarks

  • Organizations often struggle with identifying which success metrics should be measured to accurately reflect their unique goals. SIGMA collaborates with you to select metrics that align with your strategic objectives, ensuring that the measurement is not just comprehensive, but also customized to your organization’s needs.

Ongoing Evaluation and Support

  • Regularly measuring succession planning progress requires continual effort and expertise, which can strain internal resources. SIGMA provides ongoing support, from establishing initial measurements to regular check-ins to assess progress, helping you maintain focus on achieving long-term goals without overwhelming your team.

Expert Interpretation and Reporting

  • Interpreting succession planning data can be challenging. SIGMA offers expert analysis and creates detailed reports that not only highlight successes and opportunities for improvement, but also help in communicating these findings effectively to stakeholders, enhancing transparency within your process.

Strategic Adjustment Guidance

  • The dynamic nature of business and talent development means strategies must evolve. SIGMA aids in the periodic review and recalibration of your succession planning strategies based on measured outcomes, ensuring your efforts are always aligned with current organizational needs and future goals.

The SIGMA Advantage

With SIGMA, you gain access to practical succession planning measurement tools and a refined measurement process. Our team of expert consultants leverages data-driven methodologies, decades of industry experience, and a personalized approach to meet your organization’s unique needs with precision and insight.

Data-driven methodology – SIGMA.

Data-Driven Methodology

Our succession planning measurement tools, templates, and exercises don’t just standardize the process; they bring precision and clarity, underpinned by data.

Expertise and experience – SIGMA.

Expertise and Experience

Utilize our team’s deep expertise in succession planning, honed by years of working across diverse industries and organizational structures.

Customized approach – SIGMA.

Customized Approach

No two organizations are the same. Our succession planning measurement solutions are tailored to fit the unique needs, culture, and strategic objectives of each client.

To support your ongoing succession planning efforts, we offer a range of measurement tools, including:

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1 Project Management Institute. Why good strategies fail: Lessons for C-suite. The Economist Intelligence Unit. https://www.pmi.org/-/media/pmi/documents/public/pdf/learning/thought-leadership/why-good-strategies-fail-report.pdf

2 Robinson, S. (2020, November 5). Succession planning: Is your organization prepared?: Association for Talent Development. https://www.td.org/insights/succession-planning-is-your-organization-prepared.

3 Prusak, L. (2010, October 7). What can’t be measured. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2010/10/what-cant-be-measured.