Succession planning vs hiring ‘boomerang’ employees

We’re having trouble filling an important vacancy due to the resignation of a highly qualified and experienced person. Since he left us three years ago, we have tried nearly everything, including pirating from a competitor. The workers we poached can’t perform to our expectations. Now, we’re at a dead end. Is there a solution to this predicament? — Thunder Bolt.

There are short-term and long-term solutions. For the short term, I’m proposing that you explore the possibility of rehiring the person who resigned three years ago. It’s the fastest way to fill the gap. Who knows? You may be successful in attracting back a “boomerang employee” and solve your three-year old problem.

There’s nothing wrong with rehiring a boomerang person. It’s for the overall benefit of the organization. He will surely bring in additional experience. That’s assuming that the boomerang person had a consistent and above-average performance when he was with you.

The challenge with rehiring former employees is the possibility that both of you may not agree on pay and perks. But you can always try. If you don’t negotiate, then the answer will always be no. Which brings you back to square one. On the other hand, you may be in luck if your candidate is no longer happy in his current employment.

You’ll know this when he talks to you about possibly returning to the fold. But before offering a package, do the following:

One, ask the boomerang person to send you an updated curriculum vitae to include the milestones with his current employer. The past three years can give you additional, if not fresh insights on his accomplishments.

Two, hire an external background investigator to check for any criminal records. There’s no need to check with the human resource (HR) department, his boss or anyone from that same organization. You wouldn’t want to jeopardize his relationship with his current employer.

Three, require the boomerang person to undergo a medical examination, including a drug test. You’ll want to be sure that he’s clean.

If everything appears to be in good order, require him to sign a job offer and an employment contract. Be firm about him needing to start all over again in terms of seniority rights.

LONG-TERM SOLUTION
The long-term solution is a dynamic succession plan. It’s an effective solution for any eventuality like a valued worker leaving, becoming physically incapacitated due to illness or accident, or even dying. The only thing you can foresee with any certainty is workers coming up to their retirement age.

A succession plan must be reviewed periodically to be effective. Also, to avoid giving off false expectations, its contents must be kept confidential as the list of possible replacements can change at any time, being subject to fluctuations in the performance of your candidates.

Preparing a succession plan will require taking the following steps:

One, identifying key positions in every department. That includes those positions that are difficult to develop and fill in case of an emergency resignation. In most cases, this includes department heads and managers who possess special (or unique) leadership skills and competencies.

Two, defining ‘must-have’ competencies. What specific knowledge, attitudes, skills and habits must a candidate possess to become a possible successor for a key position? The HR department must conduct a competency mapping evaluation to identify and rank people according to their current skills.

Three, establishing the management gaps among candidates. The candidate’s immediate boss should know all from conducting performance appraisals. What are these common management gaps? What is the number one gap? Is it about problem-solving or decision-making? What else?

Four, offering a management development program. Usually, this program requires one or two years of immersion in management and leadership. It can be patterned after an MBA program, except that almost all lessons are focused on the company’s business. This requires that coaches or teachers be incumbent company officials.

Last, reviewing the succession plan as needed. This ensures the effectiveness of the plan to account for the personal milestones achieved by every candidate, the results of their annual performance appraisal, or any extracurricular activities of theirs that could be beneficial to the organization.

Having a dynamic succession plan is the key to ensuring the continuity of leadership in any organization. More than that, allowing workers to take over any vacant post is the ultimate solution of motivating workers and building their morale.

  At the core of a highly energized workforce is the quality of your HR policies and the one-on-one professional relationship between employees and their management. The key, of course, is their mutual trust and respect for one another.

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