Newsroom

May 04, 2016

Succession planning, best practices highlighted in NAFCU webcast

Attendees learned the guiding principles of a succession planning strategy and best practicesfor developing a successful succession planning program in yesterday's NAFCU webcast.

The webcast, Succession Planning: Developing Future Leaders Today, was led by Kendra Williams, director of human resources at Apple Federal Credit Union.

Williams said succession planning benefits credit unions because it ensures "the right people in the right place at the right time for continuity of operations, helps individuals realize their career plans and aspirations within the organization andcontinuity of organization culture and success."

Williams recommended that a "credit union's succession plan should be tied to its strategic plan" and, in order to achieve that, credit unions must establish internal talent management committees and recruit new professionals to fill gaps to ensure a continuous flow of qualified candidates for critical positions.

During the webcast, she also discussed common myths about succession planning and succession planning versus career pathing. Williams also provided a seven-step succession planning process model that highlighted defining goals, objectives and assessing performance and potential.

For best practices, Williams emphasized looking for talent throughout an organization.

She also listed key takeaways that credit unions can use when developing a succession plan, such as critically evaluating the succession plan and adapting succession plans to credit unions' bottom-line strategies.

NAFCU webcasts are available on-demand for one year following their broadcast through the association's Online Training Center.