Succession planning that turns nominees into ready leaders.

For every critical role, we align on the behaviours, technical skills, and experience levels that readiness requires. This becomes the benchmark everything else is measured against.

• We start with a structured discovery session with the executive team and HR to identify which roles are critical - the positions where a vacancy or a wrong appointment would have a disproportionate impact on business performance. Not every senior role qualifies.
• For each critical role, we build a Success Profile using the CET model: Competencies (behavioural, drawn from the Talent Genome), Experience (the background and track record the role requires), and Technical knowledge (the domain-specific skills the role demands). This profile becomes the benchmark against which every successor is measured.
• We also confirm the scope of the engagement at this stage: which roles are in scope, how many successors will be assessed per role, and what the timeline looks like. This prevents scope creep and ensures the executive team is aligned before assessment begins.

Working with HR and the executive team, we build the engagement and communication plan, confirm nominated successors, and set expectations before any assessment begins.

• Succession assessments are sensitive. People know they are being evaluated for future roles, and how that is communicated determines whether they engage honestly or manage their impression. We design the communication plan with HR before any participant is notified.
• We confirm the successor nominations with the executive team. In most organisations, the initial nomination list is too short - it reflects who is visible, not who is capable. We challenge the list before assessment begins to ensure the right people are included.
• Participants receive a structured briefing that explains the purpose of the assessment, how the data will be used, and what they can expect from the process. Raters - peers, direct reports, and line managers - receive separate guidance on how to provide useful feedback.

Every successor completes a behavioural assessment and a technical skills profile. Data is collected digitally, at scale, with full change management and communication support.

• The behavioural assessment runs through TalentPrint using a forced-ranking methodology. Forced ranking eliminates the rating inflation that makes most 360 feedback data unreliable - it requires raters to make real distinctions between behaviours rather than rating everything highly.
• The technical knowledge assessment is role-specific. We design it against the Technical dimension of the Success Profile built in Step 1. This is not a generic skills test - it measures the specific domain knowledge the role requires.
• Completion is tracked daily. We follow up proactively on non-completions and manage rater dropout, which is the most common cause of assessment delays. Our target is 100% completion within the agreed window.

Individual results are compared against the role benchmarks. For every successor, you can see where they meet the standard, where the gaps are, and how significant those gaps are, classified R1 through R4.

• Each successor receives a Readiness Classification: R1 (ready now), R2 (ready within 12 months with targeted development), R3 (ready within 24 months), or R4 (not a viable successor for this role). The classification is based on the gap between their CET profile and the Success Profile - not on manager opinion.
• Individual Successor Development Briefs are generated for every assessed candidate. Each brief identifies the specific competency and technical gaps, the development actions that would close them, and the experiences that would accelerate readiness. These are not generic reports - they are role-specific and gap-specific.
• The aggregate analysis shows the succession coverage picture across all critical roles: how many roles have at least one R1 or R2 successor, where the coverage gaps are most acute, and what the development investment required to close them looks like.

Findings are presented to your executive and HR teams with clear recommendations. A 12-24 month development roadmap closes the gaps and institutionalises the succession process.

• The executive presentation covers the succession coverage picture, the readiness classifications for each critical role, the key development priorities, and the recommended 12-24 month roadmap. We present findings with a point of view - not just data, but a clear recommendation on what to do next.
• The development roadmap is sequenced by urgency. Roles with no R1 or R2 successor get priority. Development actions are assigned to specific successors with clear timelines and accountability. The roadmap is designed to be owned by HR, not by Peopletree.
• Where the client has TalentPrint, the succession data, readiness classifications, and development plans remain live in the platform. HR can track progress against the roadmap, update successor profiles as development progresses, and run the next succession cycle from the same system.