Boost Productivity and Write Your Agency's Succession Plan

Boost Productivity and Write Your Agency’s Succession Plan

Mark Delarika is a professional content writer and teacher, successful entrepreneur and blogger. He is familiar with a wide range of spheres concerning running own business and education. Mark taught in more than 10 countries all over the world. He helps students and business people to improve their writing skills, shares his personal experience and gives practical tips

When you reach the position of a local government manager, you’re confident that you took your career in a good direction. That’s great; you should be confident in your own capacity. However, the fact that you’re mostly focused on your personal professional growth can be a problem. There’s another important element related to leadership positions, and that’s organizational growth. You have to keep your focus on the improvement of your local government in all its aspects.

Local government managers often forget about succession planning – a process that ensures that all employees in the organization are being recruited and developed to fill all key roles. In other words, it’s your responsibility to make sure that you never have a key role open before someone is prepared to take it over.

When the manager resigns, gets sick, retires, or leaves the job for any other reason, all processes in the local government must proceed without any interruption. Since you carry a responsibility for your citizens, you must make sure the management role does not stay unattended.

Succession Planning – An Important Responsibility that Local Government Managers Tend to Ignore

Through the succession planning process, you will recruit the best employees and develop their skills and knowledge in a way that prepares them for a more challenging role in the organization, such as the managerial one. It’s one of the most important roles that make you a good local government manager.

There is a problem: procrastination. You’re so overwhelmed with daily tasks and responsibilities on the job that you cannot find space for succession planning. Plus, if you’re not planning to change the position or resign, you don’t like to think about retirement, getting sick, or getting fired. All these factors lead to procrastination and lack of productivity. You have to beat that habit if you want to be successful in succession planning. Here’s how:

As a local government manager, you must provide proper training to potential successors, so you’ll minimize the possibility for a blockade of the processes once you no longer hold that position.

MARK DELARIKA

Start Early. Start Today!

Succession planning takes a lot of time. First of all, you’ll have to identify the workers who would be able to replace you. Then, you’ll have to plan the training process, which needs to fit into their and your daily working schedule.

If you don’t start early, the procrastination will lead to intense pressure few weeks before you leave the job.

You can start today if you break up the process in smaller, more achievable steps. “I’ll engage in succession planning” seems like an overwhelming goal. That’s why you should break it up. Today, you’ll think about the employees you can recruit. That’s a precise step, and it’s something you can definitely achieve today. Make a detail plan of such steps, which allow you to focus on succession planning through a constant progress. That’s how you’ll avoid the biggest pitfall: procrastination.

Write Everything!

When you engage in succession planning, the first thing you’ll write is the plan. You can do that! You need to identify a precise time frame and activities that you’re going to take towards the achievement of this goal.

The plan is not the only thing you’ll write. You’ll also have to write instructions. Consider this as a training program that you’re leading. Yes; it will be based on oral instructions and practical demonstrations. However, the members of this training program should have written material that will remind them of all instructions you give. When you leave the local government, they will have these guidelines.

If you don’t have time for that much writing, you can always rely on the best paper writing service, which will follow your instructions to write clear and readable content.

Be Flexible

When you start the process of succession planning, you will pick a favorite potential successor. Chances are, you’ll see your younger self in their actions, aspirations, and points of view. That’s okay. However, you mustn’t disregard other promising employees and focus all your attention on a single potential successor. What if they leave the local government before you do?

You have to be very objective during this process. Seek for the most skillful people, who have the potential to thrive in higher positions, no matter what their current position is.

Don’t Forget the Feedback

It’s amazing to see how unwilling managers are about giving feedback. They will find different excuses to procrastinate or completely neglect this responsibility. You mustn’t do that! The people you train will need your constant feedback. When someone gives a great presentation, make note of it. When someone struggles with a particular task, acknowledge that fact.

Your feedback will help your potential successors to get better at what they do. It’s an essential element of the process, which ensures you’re leaving the managerial position in good hands when you leave.

All organizations need succession planning. If you look closely at your job description, you’ll inevitably find this responsibility. As a local government manager, you must provide proper training to potential successors, so you’ll minimize the possibility for a blockade of the processes once you no longer hold that position.

It’s hard work, but you can do it! The tips above will help you handle the process as smoothly as possible.

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