{"id":9054,"date":"2020-10-24T13:56:05","date_gmt":"2020-10-24T08:26:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zigsaw.in\/jobs\/?p=9054"},"modified":"2020-10-24T13:56:05","modified_gmt":"2020-10-24T08:26:05","slug":"difference-between-career-planning-and-succession-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zigsaw.in\/jobs\/career\/difference-between-career-planning-and-succession-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Difference between Career Planning and Succession Planning"},"content":{"rendered":"

Planning is one of the most fundamental characteristics of human nature. It is the tool that gives us the sense that we have control over certain aspects of our lives. It is a big, uncertain world out there, where it seems that nothing is in our hands, as the factors continuously change and new circumstances evolve from time to time. No one likes to live in a world full of uncertainty and cluelessness. But, having a definite plan in our minds gives us a kind of security of having a clear-cut path ahead of ourselves. It helps us train ourselves and be prepared for whatever may come.<\/span><\/p>\n

Career planning is something that every individual does from their college-level or some maybe even from school level so that they have a well-thought-of road map to achieve their dreams and goals. On the other hand, succession planning is a decision that the organization as a whole take, by choosing a candidate from amongst the pool of qualified candidates, to be the successor to a particular higher-level post after the previous candidate retires. Succession planning directly or indirectly plays a key role in the fulfilment of an individual\u2019s career plans.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Career Planning?<\/h3>\n

Career planning something that every individual does from a young age. It forms the first step in analyzing one\u2019s personality to identify one\u2019s interests, strengths, weaknesses and the type of career that they want to pursue. It is a process that the individual carries out at a personal level to gather more information regarding oneself so that further planning can be done.<\/span><\/p>\n

Career planning, which comes under career management, where the process of exploring, analyzing and evaluation, starts happening at a very young age. The entire process starts by finding out about your interests. After the first box in the check-list is ticked off, you can find out more about the stream of academics that will help you to convert your interests to a more career-focused path. After the goal is set, planning involves formulating various strategic measures that have to be implemented to achieve that goal.<\/span><\/p>\n

For example:<\/strong> Suppose an individual gets easily curious about anything (however small it may be) and tries to get to the bottom of it, may have a good career path in the field of journalism.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also Read:<\/strong> Best Career Options after Graduation in India<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So, after the decisions are taken, the next step is to convert all your plans to actions, so that the planning can finally see the light of the day. Thus, identifying the skills and interest at an early age can help you direct all your energies and focus on achieving the plan and may also give you a competitive advantage over your peers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Career planning is an ongoing, continuous process. Even after, you are in a corporate environment, and the career planning changes according to your job profiles, your strengths and weaknesses in handling the job, your interest in the work. Your career goals can also help you bring improvements in your current work-space. As and when you continue to succeed in your career, your career plans and objectives keep on changing, thus making it an ongoing process.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is Succession Planning?<\/h3>\n

Succession planning as the name suggests is the process of identifying, training and selecting appropriate successors for a critical post in an organization. Unlike career planning, succession planning affects the entire organization, and thus the entire organization takes part in finding the\u00a0<\/span>next in line\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>for the job.<\/span><\/p>\n

Succession planning is done to fill up a critical post with newer, fresher talent because the old ones got retired, left the company due to some other reasons, or may have died. It is done to maintain the smooth functioning of the organization so that some key decisions do not take a hit just because a post is vacant.<\/span><\/p>\n

As is intuitive, succession planning is a necessary process, upon which the future of the entire company lies. One wrong decision and it could cost millions. So, it has to be well-strategized, well thought of and successfully executed.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, the first step involves identification of all the major job profiles in your organization and find out which profiles require a successor soon. This is followed by critically examining the employees\u2019 performances<\/a> and based on that, selecting a handful of potential candidates. These candidates are trained, and finally, based on some extensive training, the most eligible candidate is selected for the post.<\/span><\/p>\n

Succession planning has its perks, as it encourages healthy competition between the employees, which results in value addition to the company. It helps identify the star players in every domain, who are most valuable to the organization. It also helps in motivating the work-force<\/a>, thereby playing a central force in guiding the employees\u2019 career plan and goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Difference between Career Planning and Succession Planning<\/h2>\n

\"Difference<\/p>\n

As is quite clear from above, career planning and succession planning are widely different from one another. Succession planning though plays a huge part in driving the career plan of an individual, but in no way are they the same thing. Their major point of differences is provided below. Please have a look.<\/span><\/p>\n