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How to create an IT succession plan for key tech roles
IT departments should view succession planning as an ongoing component of their strategy rather than an afterthought. Our free template can help you maximize success.
The departure of skilled IT professionals can lead to various disruptions. One way to avoid this staffing challenge is to carry out succession planning for IT.
Organizations of virtually any type or size need succession plans so a suitably qualified and experienced candidate can assume a role when a key employee, particularly a leader, departs the company. Succession plans are often not created early enough.
Many IT jobs require specialized credentials and experience, making them more difficult to replace. For example, a network engineer might not be able to transition into a role as data storage manager. Because of the department's staffing challenges, IT succession planning should be an ongoing activity that includes regularly reviewing current IT department staff, identifying individuals who might leave the company, analyzing other employees as potential replacements and searching for possible external candidates on social media and job search websites.
Here's more about succession planning and some key steps that can help IT leaders and HR leaders carry out succession planning, including a template to assist in the process.
Why an IT succession plan is important
Within most organizations, IT is a key enabler for day-to-day business. Specialized applications such as ERP have become essential tools for many companies, and IT teams are instrumental in managing software. Line departments depend extensively on IT to perform their activities without interruption.
Because of IT roles' specialized skills, an IT succession plan should not just focus on the C-level positions, such as the CIO, the CTO or the CISO, but instead address virtually all positions within an IT department.
Failure to establish succession plans increases the risk of losing valuable talent and expertise. Senior employees have gained knowledge and contacts that might not be easy to replicate.
Succession plans can also be an important part of IT disaster recovery, as they identify the right people to temporarily take over a certain position in the event of an emergency. A succession plan in this instance does not necessarily mean the successor will take over the other person's job permanently. Instead, the plan ensures continuity of IT operations and leadership during a disruptive event.
6 steps to create an IT succession plan
An IT succession plan can be as simple as defining a job, the employee who currently holds that role and one or two potential candidates to replace them. Some companies might require more complex IT succession plans due to specific job requirements, such as education, candidate skill sets or other criteria.
The following steps can be helpful for developing an IT succession plan.
1. Secure leadership approval
IT leaders must communicate with the C-suite about their intention to carry out succession planning. Succession planning requires time and resources, and it might conflict with other tech initiatives. But CIOs must convince other members of the C-suite of the importance of carrying it out.
In addition, other leaders can potentially contribute valuable insights to the succession planning process.
2. Coordinate with HR
HR is an important part of IT succession planning. HR staff's knowledge about the process can make succession planning progress more quickly.
For example, if IT leaders must source external candidates for a certain position, HR teams can schedule and conduct interviews with prospective external candidates, then coordinate meetings with senior IT leadership to review the prospects and help analyze the candidates.
3. Identify critical positions
Small business IT teams could consist of less than a dozen people, while enterprise IT departments might employ hundreds of workers at different corporate sites. No matter the company size, IT leaders should work with HR to create detailed descriptions of the roles, required skills and other key criteria. Department heads can also provide input to build this knowledge base.
While each role in a typical IT department is critical to company success, roles such as jobs in cybersecurity, R&D or network management will naturally have higher priority in succession planning. Senior leadership, department heads and HR must determine which positions are critical to the IT department's continuity and address succession plans for those roles first.
Table 1 depicts an example of the roles that might be found in IT engineering, including skill sets. This skills data can help evaluate prospective candidates.
| Employee Name | Primary Skill | Additional Skill #1 | Additional Skill #2 |
| Employee #1 | Technical team management | Firmware engineer (design, document, code, debug, test product device software) | Software/middleware development (design, document, code, debug, test software) |
| Employee #2 | Technical team management | Firmware engineer (design, document, code, debug, test product device software) | Product testing (development, manufacturing, validation) |
| Employee #3 | Firmware engineer (design, document, code, debug, test product device software) | Product testing (development, manufacturing, validation) | Customer support (troubleshooting device issues) |
| Employee #4 | Mechanical design engineer | Design validation testing (mechanical) | Mechanical engineering lab technician |
| Employee #5 | Electrical design engineer | Design validation testing (electrical) | Lab technician |
| Employee #6 | Project management (development projects) | Technical team management | Electrical design engineer |
4. Assess potential candidates
After identifying and approving the roles and requirements, the succession planning team can begin the search for prospective IT leadership candidates.
Input from supervisors and others in the department can be helpful when analyzing internal candidates. A search for external candidates may also be necessary because of a lack of suitable internal candidates. HR staff can provide insight on the best job boards for posting listings and efficiently screen candidates before presenting them to hiring managers.
5. Support employee growth
During candidate assessments, the succession planning team might realize that some internal candidates are promising possibilities for the future but need to acquire further skills.
Additional employee training can increase workers' knowledge and value to the company. All company leaders should foster a continuous learning culture, as employee development will benefit the organization in various ways, including ensuring that succession planning candidates are ready to assume leadership positions in the future.
6. Develop knowledge transfer plans
During succession planning, the team can further prepare for the future by creating plans for educating someone who is new to a certain job.
Asking the person who currently holds the job title about required knowledge and documenting all needed expertise can quickly acclimate someone new to the position. For example, the knowledge transfer plan for a manager might include how to use the system for approving their direct reports' hours.
Download this template to begin the IT succession planning process.
Paul Kirvan, FBCI, CISA, is an independent consultant and technical writer with more than 35 years of experience in business continuity, disaster recovery, resilience, cybersecurity, GRC, telecom and technical writing.
