Recruiting is broken — it’s become an outdated, misused, and costly business model that can’t keep up with demand. Succession planning is the future!

Yet only about 10% of companies have a succession plan that works because succession planning is often over-complicated and under-prioritized in most organizations. In his new book, Succession Planning That Works, management consultant Michael Timms lays out the importance of succession planning, then presents an easy-to-follow plan for implementing succession planning that will actually work. Concrete examples, intuitive tools, and an evidence-based approach combine to create a formula for succession planning that makes sense, and won’t break the bank, either in terms of money or time.

“Succession planning means much more than transitioning ownership in a family business, or a CEO selecting a successor,” says Timms, also the founder and principal of Avail Leadership. “Succession planning involves carefully selecting and preparing the right people to fill key roles when vacancies arise throughout the organization. Succession Planning That Works demonstrates that, when the right people are prepared in advance, organizations save a tremendous amount of time and resources.”

After conducting in-depth interviews with senior executives from nearly fifty organizations — ranging in size from 70 to 235,000 employees and representing a variety of industries including energy, food manufacturing, not-for-profit, government, financial services, and more — Timms discovered what works, what doesn’t, and the easiest path to developing a succession plan for any size of organization and at any stage of evolution.

The book contends that succession planning is the answer to arguably the greatest talent management predicament of the 21st century: How will organizations fill the void left by the baby boomers? It provides a clarion call to organizations that are not currently developing a plan to deal with the increase in retirements, and offers tools that organizations at any stage of succession planning can immediately utilize.

Timms also clarifies the relationship between succession planning and strategic planning.  Strategic planning is the process by which organizations choose how to survive and compete, but developing a strategic plan is of little use if it can’t be executed — and execution is all about people. Succession Planning That Works also covers:

• The ROI of promoting from within
• The oft confused responsibilities of HR and the executive team in succession planning
• The difference between training, coaching and mentoring and why companies should care
• A simple roadmap that presents the key components of succession planning and the most efficient order in which to tackle them
• Why ‘keeping it simple’ is the key to effective succession planning
• How HR leaders can learn to effectively “sell” succession planning to their executive team

“Most books on succession planning are either too high level to offer any practical guidance on how to implement a succession plan, or they are so detailed that you’d sooner read one of your old college text books,” quips Timms. “Succession Planning That Works offers a simple roadmap with easy-to-implement solutions for any organization that wants staying-power and a more potent workforce.”

Michael Timms is a management consultant, author and speaker specializing in organization and leadership performance. As the founder and principal of Avail Leadership, Timms is a trusted adviser to senior executives and a partner with in-house HR professionals. He is a sought after speaker and presenter on topics such as succession planning, strengths-based leadership, motivation, and performance management. Timms holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and an MBA specializing in Human Resources. After obtaining his MBA, he worked as an HR Manager, a Management Consultant at Deloitte Consulting, and an HR Director before forming his own consultancy.

Learn more about Timms and his book at www.availleadership.com and connect via Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

Succession Planning That Works is available for purchase on Amazon and other online booksellers.