Task management tips and tools for succession planning

In the previous article, we discussed what succession planning is and why it’s vital for businesses. In this article, we’ll share succession planning tools you can use to evaluate candidates as well as your current employees.

It’s essential to improve your employees’ skills, and succession planning is a solution for many companies. However, you need to pay attention to the most effective tools to make the plan work. Thus, succession planning tools help you focus the development of individuals on future business needs. But first, let’s look at the toolkit and why you should arm yourself with it.

A set of succession planning documents, templates, and tools will guide you to accomplish this seemingly daunting task of creating your dream team.

So, you have created a plan with the help of the toolkit and created succession planning documents. Now it’s time to act. You need to create the skills profile of your workforce or candidates you are considering for the position. To do this, use succession planning tools that will help you evaluate future managers based on their measurable talent.

Now, let’s look at each assessment in more detail and provide examples of specific succession planning tools you can use in practice.

When preparing successors for job roles, it’s vital to gain a full understanding of your key talents (often called high-potential candidates, or HiPos). Therefore, companies evaluate personality traits to define constantly manifested characteristics, often in the face of changing circumstances.

Mercer developed a Mettl Personality Map (MPM) tool that measures personality through 28 unique and innovative aspects and a 4-factor personality structure within its traditional framework.

Another succession planning tool is the Hogan Personality test. Employers use this succession planning tool for hiring and developing employees. This test determines whether the candidate has the traits to meet the company’s culture and standards.

The behavioral assessment tool for succession planning requires candidates to display selected and critical behavioral competencies in one or more exercises that reflect real-world workplace situations. The tool identifies and analyzes the behavior required of employees when they take a leading role professionally and socially.

Try the PXT Select succession planning tool to assess behavior. It generates reports that help managers interview and select candidates who are most likely to succeed in the position. It also provides practical advice on how to teach them to achieve maximum efficiency.

The Everything DISC tool provides a general description of a worker’s behavioral type. It’s an easy-to-use succession planning tool that helps build more effective working relationships based on the understanding of different behaviors. Everything DISC includes in the report provides tips on how to communicate and work effectively with all personality types, along with suggested interview questions.

Cognitive assessment studies the ability of the brain to perform basic tasks such as thinking, learning, memorizing, concentrating, visualizing, recognizing, organizing, and interpreting the environment. Throughout planning succession, cognitive tests assess critical thinking and logic of workplace performance considerations.

With a succession planning toolkit like McQuaig, recruiters can gauge a candidate’s personality traits, behavior, and cognitive abilities. The tool assists with pre-recruitment and talent assessment testing and provides polls to create comprehensive, results-oriented reports for each person evaluated.

HR managers use HRBoost for hiring, training, team development, sales, and coaching. It provides several types of reports called “Training Coach,” “Work with Me,” “Onboard Me,” “My Team Leader,” and “Manage Me.” They evaluate how the workplace influences the productivity of a candidate.

Companies that value technical roles need tools that will help them assess candidates. Thus, succession planning tools with technical assessment provide comprehensive knowledge of workplace behavior and the technical knowledge necessary for success.

For example, Adaface is a tool based on artificial intelligence to automate first-round technical interviews and evaluate candidates for software positions. An assistant named Ada is an intelligent chatbot who can ask and evaluate engineering questions, participate in technical chats with candidates, provide information, and more.

Codility is also a great technical recruiting platform that supports coding issues and online technical interviews to help HR managers and team leaders evaluate programmers. This tool allows them to create tests, evaluate a candidates’ code, and communicate with the best candidates.

In addition to the previous succession planning tools mentioned above, it’s essential to have one more tool that will help collect feedback about work.

Tools such as SurveyMonkey improve employee performance through constructive feedback. They help collect inventive ideas, evaluate performance, and compile customer and employee data. Note for startups: with this information, you can manage and improve employees’ experience and potential.

Another solution is SpiderGap. This resource simplifies the management process by providing built-in succession planning templates with the ability for users to create customized questionnaires.