Free Succession Planning Template and In-Depth 2025 Guide
Alan Lakein summed up succession planning by saying, “Planning is bringing the future into the present, so you can do something about it now.” It may seem like a simple concept, but long-term business success hinges on effective succession planning. So, how can you get it right?
Formulating a succession planning template helps to define the purpose and key components of your succession plan. This detailed template can help you chart primary functions and orientate your organization’s succession planning journey.
Essential employees resign inevitably. But if you’ve taken preemptive actions to prepare for this situation, you won’t be thrown off guard or have to do much damage control. Instead, you’ll be able to respond with purpose and have a solid plan to fall back on.
There are various types of succession planning templates you can use, depending on the role level for which you are developing a succession plan. This article unpacks the different types and explains how to develop a succession plan for your organization.
Contents
What is a succession planning template?
Types of succession planning templates
1. Simple succession planning template
2. 9-box succession planning template
3. CEO succession planning template
4. Employee development plan template
5. Leadership development plan template
How to effectively use a succession planning template
Succession planning best practices
What is a succession planning template?
A succession planning template is a carefully crafted document that outlines and streamlines an organization’s succession planning process. The template outlines the processes and steps needed to identify, develop, and prepare internal candidates to fill key positions.
What to include in a succession planning template
A detailed succession plan will prepare your organization for the future and provide development opportunities for employees to grow into future roles. To ensure this, your template must cover all the essential elements of the process. An effective succession plan template should include the following components:
- Critical roles: Since succession planning is about replacing high-level leaders and other vital employees, you must specify which roles the plan will focus on.
- Key competencies: Define the competencies necessary to fulfill critical roles so you can provide a blueprint for the skills the organization requires of successors.
- Succession planning timelines: Establish a detailed timeline with clearly defined milestones and deadlines for each stage of the succession planning process. This creates accountability and avoids stagnation.
- Potential succession candidates: Identify individuals with the capacity to fill key roles. This will help you determine whether the company’s talent pool can support succession planning.
- Potential successors’ readiness ratings: Evaluate potential successors’ ability and readiness to assume new responsibilities based on their experience, qualifications, and performance. Based on this, you can decide on the development plans necessary to bridge any skills gaps.
Your talent pool can be placed in three readiness categories:
- Ready now (can step into the role immediately with proper onboarding and support)
- Ready in one to two years
- Ready in three to five years.
Types of succession planning templates
Different succession planning templates have varying degrees of detail and complexity to suit your organization’s situation and needs. Here’s an overview of five common types of succession planning templates:
1. Simple succession planning template
You can use a spreadsheet to lay out a simple succession planning chart. It should contain fields for the following information:
- Position for succession
- The current position holder’s name
- Timeline for successor to fill the role
- The role’s key competencies
- Succession candidates’ names
- Succession candidates’ readiness rating
- Brief description of the succession candidate’s development plan
- Performance metrics and KPIs for succession plan and candidate’s performance in the role
- Performance monitoring frequency (monthly, quarterly, etc.)
- Whom to contact (supervisor) if the role is suddenly available.
2. 9-box succession planning template
The 9-box succession planning template is a grid that divides employees into groups based on performance and potential criteria. The grid creates a visual display of the individuals who have shown they can thrive in their current roles and potentially manage more responsibility in the future.
You can use the following steps to design a 9-box grid for your organization:
Step 1: Performance evaluation
This step puts employees on one axis of the grid based on the organization’s targets and performance appraisal ratings. A typical scale will include performance categories of low, moderate, and high (or something similar).
Step 2: Evaluation of potential
Assessing potential involves reviewing talent with objective data to find employees with a growth mindset and who put in extra effort. The following employee ratings make up the other grid axis:
- Low potential: These employees are already performing at full potential. They either lack the capacity for more than their current responsibilities or the motivation to improve.
- Moderate potential: These employees perform at the expected level and have the expertise or potential to develop further within their current roles.
- High potential: These employees are performing beyond the expected level of their current roles and are ready to move into a position with more complex responsibilities.
Step 3: Merge performance and potential
In this step, performance and potential are plotted on a 3×3 grid. This categorizes employees as follows to make up the 9-box grid:
- Underperformer (low potential and performance)
- Inconsistent performer (moderate potential, low performance)
- Untapped talent (high potential, low performance)
- Effective performer (low potential, moderate performance)
- Reliable team player (moderate potential, moderate performance)
- High potential (high potential, moderate performance)
- Trusted professional (low potential, high performance)
- Strong contributor (moderate potential, high performance)
- Exceptional talent (high potential, high performance).
This frame of reference identifies high-performing employees, mid-range employees who may benefit from support and development, and underperforming employees who require an immediate performance improvement plan (PIP).
3. CEO succession planning template
A CEO succession planning template is a roadmap the board of directors can follow ahead of hiring a CEO. It is a leadership continuity plan that factors in necessary considerations and organizes the overall process.
A CEO succession planning template should begin by defining the criteria for candidate selection. This involves outlining the organization’s priorities, current and future challenges, and strategies for achieving goals. This will help pinpoint the skills and experience required to lead the company. Criteria may include industry experience, functional/educational background, areas of leadership expertise, and personality traits.
A management succession plan template organizes potential successor candidates by ranking their readiness and suitability according to pre-determined criteria. It can also state how to cultivate future candidates. CEO succession planning template formats vary since they must account for each company’s needs, goals, culture, size, and competitive advantage. However, the template sections typically include these headings:
- Overview of operations for the next three to five years
- The next CEO’s ideal characteristics
- Profile of the next CEO
- Internal succession candidates
- External succession candidates
- Candidate recruitment or development plan.
4. Employee development plan template
Ongoing investment in employees’ professional growth assures a wider selection of qualified successors for key roles. This is especially true when both organizational goals and employee needs must inform the development plan.
An employee development plan template is a clear-cut document stating what an individual must do to expand their knowledge and skills and access more career opportunities. It tracks progress and facilitates meaningful coaching conversations between managers and employees.
This template contains information on development goals and the skills development and action plan required for each goal.
5. Leadership development plan template
A leadership development plan offers employees a long-term, individualized strategy for acquiring the competencies an organization wants for its future leaders.
A leadership development plan template offers a consistent framework managers can implement to foster professional growth in their teams that aligns with organizational goals. The template outlines employee development and accountability with the following sections:
- Employee’s personal particulars
- Goals
- Skills development needed to reach goals
- Action plan to achieve goals
- Expected outcomes
- Timeframe
- Supervisor’s feedback and evaluation.
How to effectively use a succession planning template
Whether you design a succession planning chart from scratch or use a sample version, you should make the most of it. Here are some tips on how to construct and use succession planning templates effectively:
Step 1: Clearly define each section
You should be able to read and complete the template easily. Adjust the template as needed by adding or removing sections to make it as relevant as possible. Use familiar wording for instructions, headings, and sections, and be specific about exactly which information must be filled in.
Step 2: Apply consistent criteria
Make sure assessments within the template are objective and comparable by using the same criteria throughout the template for evaluating roles and their potential successors. This includes clear definitions and standardized rating scales for distinguishing criticality, scarcity, skills, competencies, and readiness levels.
Step 3: Make it actionable
The template should be a catalyst for successor development. It should include explicit, actionable steps potential successors must take to prepare for future roles. These can include targeted training, stretch projects, job shadowing, mentoring, or leadership workshops.
Step 4: Regularly update the information
Succession planning is an ongoing process, so the template must evolve to reflect this. Schedule regular template reviews and updates to keep it current and address shifting business priorities. This may entail adding new potential successors, redefining critical roles, updating development progress and needs, and reflecting any changes in key positions.
Succession planning best practices
While a comprehensive, well-written succession planning template is a fundamental aspect of your succession planning process, you should also the following best practices to make your company’s succession planning process as effective as possible:
Embrace a long-term, continuous outlook
Don’t wait until there’s a drastic need for a succession plan to implement one. Begin the process as early as possible, recognizing how it can support business continuity and meet the organization’s upcoming demands.
Keep in mind that succession planning must be an ongoing effort. Staying on top of critical roles is a critical and necessary competency, and it ensures consistent development opportunities for employees.
Foster collaboration with senior leadership
Succession planning should be a team effort. Leadership should be the driving force, with HR playing a facilitative role. Although senior leaders may tend to focus on the high-level positions they value most, their buy-in throughout the process makes succession planning activities more credible.
HR should encourage executives to show their commitment by providing their expert insights, actively participating in decision-making, and even coaching potential successors.
Prioritize professional development
Investing in professional development enriches the employee experience and strengthens your talent pipeline by closing the skills gap. Bolster a learning culture with sufficient development opportunities that equip employees with the leadership qualities they need to further their careers
You can prepare employees to be future leaders by providing learning experiences such as specialized training, conferences, seminars and workshops, professional certification platforms, mentoring and coaching programs, and cross-training.
Openly communicate the succession planning process
Inform employees on the organization’s succession plan and how it will affect them. Openly share the plan’s procedures for naming, developing, and selecting potential successors. This will build trust and foster engagement among employees.
You should also be transparent with potential successors and manage their expectations (e.g., being shortlisted for a management position does not guarantee they will get it). Remind them the plan’s details are tentative, as business needs and circumstances can change without notice.
Factor in emergency succession situations
In the case of sudden employee exits, the organization may not be able to announce every vacancy in advance. As such, you need a comprehensive succession plan to address unexpected vacancies in essential positions, maintain stability, and minimize risks.
Sudden departures often cause disruptions. You can prepare for these by temporarily distributing responsibilities or naming interim leaders who can step into each critical role. Be sure to review the succession plan regularly and update it whenever necessary.
To sum up
Succession planning is a proactive mechanism that builds resilience and safeguards an organization’s future. With a complete succession planning template, you can execute your organization’s succession strategy while being prepared to handle any unexpected occurrences along the way.
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