CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Most organizations found that they must rely on their employees as the only way to become stable in this competitive age. Organizations need to develop their employees’ knowledge, skills, talents and capabilities. Many organizations use succession planning to develop and maintain powerful leadership and other key employees to make sure that they address all the skills and competencies required for the economic environment.[1]
One of the human resource tools which can help the current and future needs of organizations, is succession planning. Succession planning is a helpful approach to find the appropriate people who are needed for leadership positions or other key positions in the organizations.[2] Haraf states that, the need for effective succession plans is increasing in the organizations, but many companies and organizations do not pay enough attention to such plans and many of them are facing many challenges and barriers in the process of these programs.[3]
Historically, organizations only paid attention to replace the employees exactly before they were to leave the organization and the decision about the people who would replace them usually was made by the chief executives or board of directors.[4] The focus was on replacing the employees, not to develop them and in many cases it did cost a lot for the organizations.[5]
In fact, in today’s dynamic world where competition is high, work is fluid, environment is unpredictable, organizations are flatter, and the organizational configuration frequently changes, the old view of succession planning by defining specific people for the specific job does not work.[6] Nowadays, organizations found the alternative way. They discovered that in order to be certain of having proper talents for the future needs, they must train leaders and key employees.[7]
Succession planning is used as an essential and strategic tool for the organizations to attract, develop, and retain talent in the workforce.[8] As a comprehensive definition, succession planning can be defined as an attempt to have a plan for the right number and quality of key position employees, including managers to cover retirements, promotions, serious illnesses, death or any new job, which may be created in the future of the organization’s plans.[9]