A key execu ve's re rement can significantly impact a business, poten ally affec ng its performance and
future outcomes. XYZ Corpora on is facing a high risk of losing the prosperity it has enjoyed under the
leadership of its current CEO, John Thompson. The challenges iden fied in the case study include
poten al leadership vacuum, talent iden fica on, development and training, communica on, and
transparency. This essay aims to address these challenges and opportuni es involved in iden fying a
future leader who can con nue the company's success.
The unplanned movement of key roles within an organisa on can impact its ongoing strategy. This
change has given XYZ Corpora on the opportunity to revisit its workforce planning strategies to ensure
long-term business con nuity. The 2-year no ce to resign from Mr. Thompson provides XYZ Corpora on
enough me for an opportunity to review its current workforce, succession planning, and finding
methods for acquiring talents and managing the development and training of those talents. To begin this
process, it is important to determine whether suitable talent for a successor is available within the
organisa on using workforce planning analysis. This analysis can help iden fy any gaps within the
current workforce while also providing insight into the skills and experience needed for future success
(Jay, n.d.). In this case, the demand for Mr. Thompson's knowledge, skills, and leadership a ributes that
XYZ Corpora on requires to con nue its strategic interna onal opera ons needs to be iden fied. Once
the skills and a ributes demand are iden fied, any gaps between the current workforce and the future
needs should be analysed to provide a clear insight into what is missing from the organisa on. XYZ
Corpora on can use the informa on to create a development and training plan to bridge any exis ng
skill gaps. This will ensure that the successor to the CEO posi on and the future pipeline of talented
individuals can be promoted or reallocated to a suitable posi on.
Succession planning involves selec ng and developing key talent to ensure business con nuity (Vulpen,
n.d.). XYZ needs this plan to focus on the talent development and management process for the right
person. The precondi on is to find the right talent to fill the gaps in the CEO posi on, and it can consider
building from an exis ng workforce, recrui ng from an external pool of talents, or bridging the missing
skills of the successor candidates. When it comes to the choice of internal or external hire, careful
considera on should be given to the required competencies such as personal mo va on, technical
competence, cultural adaptability, leadership style, and family situa on. Poor succession planning and
selec on can have disastrous consequences for the organisa on, as evidenced by the case of the Boeing
747 a er a culture shi in safety and quality following the appointment of new CEO Dave Calhoun
(Syme, 2024). The execu ve management and board of directors must be involved in the selec on
process, including interviews, assessments, psychometric tes ng, etc. The benefits of internal hiring
include lower hiring costs, visible performance history, and employee familiarity, while external hiring
can bring in fresh experiences that may be more suitable for required competencies (Editorial Team,
2022). It's worth considering the alumni of the company who may have le and gained experience from
other organisa ons. This group of people may be valuable for posi ons such as CEO and C-level
execu ve posi ons, as they already know the ins and outs of the business and would require less me
and money for development (Boyer, n.d.). The prac cal approach would be to review the current C-level
execu ves who may fit the expected criteria of the board of directors. The experience of internal
employees will help the company to ensure a smoother transi on of skills and knowledge transfer, not to
men on that the culture of the company will largely remain the same. Furthermore, it is highly
recommended that during the selec on process, XYZ Corpora on to review its Earned Value Proposi on
(EVP) to a ract and retain top talent.
The selected candidate is to go through the talent management plan and take the necessary steps to fill
any gaps. XYZ can take advantage of this opportunity to develop new strategies to provide con nuous
improvement to its key staff members as part of the talent and succession planning process. Clear
communica on about the succession plan to key stakeholders helps minimise uncertainty and confusion
for employees, builds employee trust and engagement, and improves reten on. In addi on, a structured
development plan should be put in place for the future talent pipeline to prepare and fill cri cal roles in
the future (Vulpen, n.d.). Having a sound talent management strategy will reduce communica on
ambiguity and create a more robust organisa on. Finally, succession planning needs an evalua on
process, and progress must be communicated using various measurement criteria that reflect the plan's
effec veness. The evalua on should be con nuously improved and adapted to suit the need to iden fy a
new CEO or develop future leaders. Example metrics specific for XYZ include poten al, risk of loss,
development ac vi es, and % of cri cal posi ons filled internally.
In conclusion, XYZ Corpora on should take a proac ve approach to iden fy the top talent to fill the CEO
posi on. This includes analysing the current workforce to iden fy gaps, developing a succession plan,
and u lising talent acquisi on strategies. The effec veness of the succession plan should be measured
and con nuously improved.
References
Boyer, D. (n.d.). Alumni benefits: What to expect when rehired. Retrieved from D.Boyer Consul ng:
h ps://dboyerconsul ng.com/alumni-benefits-what-to-expect-when-rehired/
Editorial Team. (2022, June 25). Pros and Cons of Internal vs. External Hiring (With Defini ons). Retrieved
from Indeed: h ps://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/pros-and-cons-of-
internal-vs-external-hiring
Jay, S. (n.d.). Workforce Analysis: HR’s Introduc on and Guide. Retrieved from AIHR:
h ps://www.aihr.com/blog/workforce-analysis/
Syme, P. (2024, March 29). Dave Calhoun was supposed to turn Boeing around, but a er 4 years on the
job, he's out. Here's where things went wrong. Retrieved from Business Insider:
h ps://www.businessinsider.com/boeing-dave-calhoun-failed-to-turn-boeing-around-737-max-
2024-3
Vulpen, E. v. (n.d.). Succession Planning: Essen al Guide for HR. Retrieved from AIHR:
h ps://www.aihr.com/blog/succession-planning/
