According to the latest demographic study of federal employees, 29% of US civil servants are over 55, an 11% increase in 20 years, and 18% of them are eligible to retire.

According to a survey in early 2018, 61% of senior managers said that no succession planning had been done prior to their departure and 56% that they had not been involved.

This alarming state of affairs led the Office of Personnel Management to take steps to organise the necessary knowledge transfer in an efficient and methodical manner.

The "Workforce & Succession Planning" project was set up to help departments and agencies avoid a skills gap when replacing their staff.

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A dedicated team provides a range of services that are fully integrated into the overall HR development and recruitment strategy. The process starts with a risk assessment, which is the prerequisite for customised planning. The consultants can thus anticipate the difficulties associated with the planned departure of both managers and key employees at all levels of the organisation.

To develop and prioritise "succession profiles", the team uses a number of tools, including the 9 Box Grid (1), which helps to identify talent by analysing both potential and performance.

Numerous points are reviewed during interviews with current staff (existence of documentation on the functions performed, identification of prerequisites and/or training to be followed), as well as with HR departments (level of preparedness of the structure including on budgetary aspects, as well as opportunities and methods for handing off to a successor in order to ensure continuity).

At the end of the process, a detailed report is submitted. Based on "depth charts" and "quick reference sheets", it provides recommendations concerning both the appraisal and positioning of in-house staff, and also the informed choice of external recruitment, if necessary.

Drawing on the experience it has gained in the course of the assignments it has carried out, OPM has published a guide to procedures and support aimed at making departments more autonomous in their succession planning.

¹ A concept developed by McKinsey to prioritise investments in industry. The HR community has adopted it to classify the talent of staff by replacing the two axes with performance and potential.