A Tool for Benchmarking Bench Strength

How deep into your CU can your succession planning go?

By Deedee Myers, Ph.D., MSC, PCC

Having a good backup player can be invaluable for a sports team. If the star in a particular position gets hurt, retires, or decides to play for another team, you have someone to put into the next game. But what if the backup also becomes unable to play? Then the coach has trickier decisions to make.

The “bench strength” conversation at credit unions also runs deep. Say the CEO leaves for another position and your succession plan indicates that your CFO should step in. The question then becomes, "Who can become CFO?" And then "Who can fill the job of the person who's now CFO?" And so on.

In our practice helping credit union clients plan for succession, our focus is helping them have the right people ready at the right time. Here are some key categories (and timeframes) of readiness we encourage CU leaders to consider when benchmarking their bench strength.

• Someone who is “ready now” can step into the empty role immediately or within six months. Ideally, a credit union will have two people in this category.
• An “appropriate interim” staffer is able to fulfill the basic tactical requirements of the position for a period of three to six months. They have the core competencies to support current strategic initiatives and may or may not be a potential permanent successor.
• A “targeted” employee could be ready to fill the empty roll in six to 36 months. In this category as well, having two potential successors is ideal. Those two people should be in specific development for the role, and worthy of the investment to help them move to the next level of leadership.
• A “ready in the future” candidate could take over in three to five years. A CU may want two or more people at this point too, depending on how much depth it has in the categories above. People who are good to have here have been identified as having high potential, but specific and significant learning gaps. They need more success in their current role or other roles, or basic knowledge.
• Someone who’s “learning” has been identified as a potential high performer. This person is likely early in his or her career or leadership cycle and lacks knowledge or experience breadth or depth. The candidates’ leadership competencies show promise, but are not yet matured.

Creating a graphic like the one at the top of this post helps our clients benchmark where they are vs. where they’d like to be in their succession planning efforts. Once you fill in a name of a potential successor, the next step is to create a comprehensive and holistic leadership development plan that engages the employee in accountability for their own success.

Deedee Myers, Ph.D., MSC, PCC, is CEO of CUES Supplier member and strategic provider DDJ Myers, Ltd., Phoenix. Learn more about DDJ Myers’ offerings with CUES.