Most succession plans are wishful thinking dressed up as a spreadsheet. Omnicor builds defensible succession plans grounded in validated psychometric evidence , readiness levels, capability gaps, derailer risk and development priorities, mapped against the roles you need to fill.
Most boards can name who would succeed the CEO if the CEO were hit by a bus tomorrow. Far fewer can answer the harder questions: Is the named successor actually ready? Are they ready now, or in three years? What development would close the gap? And what happens if the obvious successor leaves?
A succession plan that doesn't answer those questions isn't a plan , it's a list. Omnicor's succession service replaces lists with evidence: validated assessments, calibration against role requirements, and explicit readiness levels you can act on.
Succession engagements vary in scope from a single critical role to organisation-wide bench reviews. The structure is consistent.
Define the role to be succeeded , not just title, but the cognitive complexity, leadership context and stakeholder demands the successor must navigate. The benchmark for "ready."
Full psychometric battery on each candidate: cognitive complexity, leadership style, derailers, motivators, potential. The same lens applied consistently across the pool.
For each candidate against each role: ready now, ready in 12 months, ready in three years, or unlikely fit. With reasoning grounded in the assessment evidence, not gut feel.
Where are the bench-strength gaps? Which roles have no credible successor? Which candidates carry derailer risk that needs development before promotion?
For each high-potential candidate: explicit development priorities tied to the role they're being prepared for, with the assessment data as the rationale.
Succession reporting written for boards and executive committees , clear, defensible, actionable. The evidence is in the report; the discussion is freed for what to do about it.
Succession assessment uses the same depth instruments as senior leadership selection. The difference is breadth , we assess pools, not individuals, and the unit of analysis is bench strength, not a single appointment.
Standard succession battery
Augmented for senior roles
The 9-box grid asks managers to rate their reports on performance and potential , useful as a conversation starter, but the inputs are subjective and inconsistently calibrated across the organisation. Psychometric-based succession adds an independent, validated measurement of the dimensions that actually predict readiness for senior roles: cognitive complexity, leadership style, derailers, potential. It doesn't replace the grid; it puts it on firmer ground.
Industry research suggests three credible successors per critical role is a healthy ratio , one ready now, two developing. Fewer concentrates risk; many more dilutes development investment. The right number for your organisation depends on how often these roles turn over and how internal your leadership pipeline is.
Cognitive ability is stable; personality is mostly stable; leadership context changes constantly. We typically recommend a full reassessment every three years, with annual lighter-touch reviews of readiness levels as candidates develop. Major role redesigns trigger a refresh regardless.
Succession data is sensitive. We hold individual reports under strict access controls; pool-level findings are shared with HR and ExCo as agreed; candidate-level data is shared with the candidate's manager only where a development conversation requires it. We document the access framework at the brief stage.
Done well, it supports it significantly. Psychometric data provides an objective view of capability that can correct for in-group bias in informal succession conversations. The assessment doesn't make decisions , but it raises the quality of the evidence those decisions are based on, and that disproportionately benefits candidates who don't fit existing leadership archetypes.
We'll start by understanding the roles you need to succeed, the pool you have, and what's at stake if you get it wrong. The first conversation costs nothing.
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