Building External Succession Plans

Succession Planning isn’t always a case of promoting within your business. External talent can play a major part in the future success and development of your organisation.

Recent global economic shocks have exposed the weaknesses in some leaders and in succession planning. Traditional leaders used to hierarchical structures or with autocratic leadership styles have failed to retain a strong company culture in the hybrid world. This has led many organisations to urgently review and renew their current and future leaders.

Building External Succession Plans

How we help

With only 34% of CEO’s believing that there is an adequate succession plan for their role, major organisations are pledging to do better and invest in succession planning strategies. Leadership risk and succession is persistently in the top 3 concerns for CHROs across the globe, and investment in building more robust pipelines of leaders is increasing exponentially.

It is also a fact that over two-thirds of succession planning processes in larger organisations neglect the external market, meaning most are missing out on the next generation of talent. Are you?

At Armstrong Craven, we provide our clients with a detailed, birds eye view of the whole talent market, bringing together internal and external data to give a complete picture of the landscape of potential talent for any leadership role.

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The benefits of building external succession plans

Build the best team for the future
By ensuring you know exactly what talent exists for any role, you can be sure that your efforts to hire the best leaders are laser focussed

Improve leadership diversity
Understanding the gender, ethnic and socio-economic mix of the talent pool of internal and external potential future leaders allows you to focus diversity efforts on those roles where representation is strongest

Manage Risk Better
Building external succession plans reduces risk as you have an up to date view of potential talent and can significantly shorten hiring cycles, so mitigating the risk of having executive roles unfilled.

Make careful and considered decisions about senior appointments
By having an external succession plan, when a key member of your senior team leaves, you no longer have to settle for the talent available - allowing your business to hire better talent when you need it most.

The benefits of Building External Succession Plans

Build the best team for the future.
Improve leadership diversity.
Manage risk better.
Make careful and considered decisions about senior appointments.

Build the best team for the future.

By ensuring you know exactly what talent exists for any role, you can be sure that your efforts to hire the best leaders are laser-focused.

Improve leadership diversity.

Understanding the gender, ethnic and socio-economic mix of your potential future leaders allows you to focus diversity efforts on those roles where representation is strongest.

Manage risk better.

Building external succession plans reduces risk as you have an up to date view of potential talent and can significantly shorten hiring cycles, so mitigating the risk of having executive roles unfilled.

Make careful and considered decisions about senior appointments.

By having an external succession plan, when a key member of your senior team leaves, you no longer have to settle for the talent available - allowing your business to hire better talent when you need it most.

working alongside leading TA & HR professionals

Speak to an Expert

If you would like to speak with the team about how we can help businesses globally with their talent strategies, please leave your details below and we'll reach out to start conversations.

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Succession Planning Insights

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Our company has used Armstrong Craven for over 10 years to source high quality talent. As we work to ensure our talent management strategy supports our business strategy, we are increasingly using AC to provide customised insights to inform our mid- to long-term talent planning. Our needs vary but overall, the information we get from AC ensures we create an employment offering that ensures we attract and retain the high calibre people we need, when we need them.Global Talent Business Lead, Global Pharmaceutical Company

The business really appreciates your support. Your Insights capability accelerated our knowledge transfer. Without partnering with Armstrong Craven, it would have taken us a year to get to the same point in our understanding of the market.Director, Global Talent Acquisition, Global Biotech

Armstrong Craven was recommended to me by the Group HR head of a FTSE 250 company in the UK. We were provided with a set of very viable candidates in each of the assignments and they helped us through the difficult selection process, as the finalists in both cases were all quite exceptional. Interim CEO – Innovative UK Start-up

We are increasingly retaining Armstrong Craven for roles at the highest levels and can rely on them to deliver the same level of service as Executive search firms using a much better cost model to the standard starting salary percentage model.Head of Resourcing, ASDA

We have used Armstrong Craven on a number of occasions now for executive research at the very highest levels and on each and every occasion they have helped us locate the right candidate, all of whom have gone on to make a fundamental contribution to the health and development of our businesses.Managing Director, Liquid Plastics Ltd

We are increasingly using Armstrong Craven rather than traditional search or head-hunters to support us with innovative, timely and cost effective sourcing of candidates. Armstrong Craven take a different approach to executive search and talent planning and are a great supplier for a business like us who is moving to direct sourcing.Global Recruitment Partner, AstraZeneca plc

Thanks for all your help in scouring the field for talent. I think the mapping and search worked out very well! I’d be happy to work with you again on similar talent needs.SLT Member, Major Pharma Company

We thank you for the excellent support and will definitely come back to AC for future pipelining.Global VP HR, Major Medical Devices Company

Spot on and thorough project, Great job, looking forward to reaching out to the individuals Really great, very happy, good to engage in more work including pipeline, search and mapping.TA Head, Major Pharma Company

Building External Succession Plans

Succession Planning isn’t always a case of promoting within your business. External talent can play a major part in the future success and development of your organisation.