What is Succession Planning?
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What does horizontal growth mean in succession planning?
How horizontal growth shapes succession planning
When people think about succession planning, they often picture vertical growth—moving employees up the ladder into higher roles. But horizontal growth is just as important. In this context, horizontal growth means expanding an employee’s skills, responsibilities, and experience across different functions or departments, rather than just promoting them upward.
This approach helps a company develop a workforce that is versatile and adaptable. Employees who experience horizontal growth gain exposure to new markets, products, and business strategies. They learn to work cross functionally, which is essential for scaling a business and responding to changing market demands. For example, someone in marketing might take on projects in product development or customer service, broadening their understanding of the company’s products and customer base.
Horizontal growth is not only about business needs. It also supports professional development and career growth for employees who may not be interested in vertical career moves. By focusing on horizontal as well as vertical growth strategies, organizations can help employees develop and grow in ways that align with both company goals and individual aspirations.
Integrating horizontal growth into your succession planning strategy can be a game changer. It creates a more resilient talent pipeline and helps prepare employees for future leadership roles, even if those roles don’t follow a traditional vertical path. If you’re interested in practical ways to identify and develop candidates for horizontal growth, or want to know what questions to ask during the process, you might find this resource on essential questions for a supervisor interview helpful.
Key benefits of horizontal growth for organizations
Unlocking Organizational Agility and Talent Versatility
Horizontal growth in succession planning is a powerful strategy for organizations aiming to build a resilient and adaptable workforce. Unlike vertical growth, which focuses on moving employees up the traditional career ladder, horizontal growth emphasizes expanding skills, knowledge, and responsibilities across different roles, functions, or markets. This approach brings several key benefits to both the company and its employees.
- Enhanced Professional Development: By encouraging employees to develop and grow in cross functional roles, organizations foster a culture of continuous learning. This not only broadens the skill set of individual team members but also increases their value to the business.
- Greater Flexibility in Talent Deployment: Horizontal growth strategies help companies respond quickly to market changes. Employees with diverse experience can step into new roles or support existing product lines, making the business more agile and competitive.
- Stronger Succession Pipeline: A focus on horizontal career growth ensures a wider pool of potential successors who understand multiple aspects of the company. This reduces the risk of knowledge gaps when key positions become vacant.
- Improved Employee Engagement and Retention: Offering opportunities for lateral movement and skill development keeps employees motivated. It shows a commitment to their long term career growth, not just vertical promotions.
- Support for Business Expansion: As companies look to grow business into new markets or launch new products services, employees with horizontal experience can help bridge gaps between teams and functions, supporting scaling efforts more effectively.
Horizontal growth does not replace vertical growth; rather, it complements it. By integrating both horizontal and vertical strategies, organizations can create a robust succession planning framework that supports both immediate business needs and long term development goals. For a deeper understanding of how different employment types impact succession planning, you can explore the different types of employment in succession planning.
Challenges in implementing horizontal growth strategies
Common Obstacles When Expanding Horizontally
While horizontal growth can help a company develop and grow its talent pool, it comes with unique challenges. Unlike vertical growth, which focuses on moving employees up the career ladder, horizontal strategies encourage cross functional movement and skill diversification. This shift can be difficult for both organizations and employees to navigate.
- Resistance to Change: Employees often associate career growth with vertical promotions. Encouraging lateral moves or development across different products, markets, or business functions may be met with skepticism or reluctance. Some may worry that horizontal moves will not lead to long term advancement.
- Skill Gaps: Not all employees have the skills needed to transition into new roles or functions. Identifying and bridging these gaps requires targeted professional development and training, which can be resource intensive.
- Unclear Career Paths: Without a clear strategy, employees may struggle to see how horizontal growth fits into their overall career trajectory. This can impact motivation and retention, especially if the benefits of lateral moves are not well communicated.
- Resource Allocation: Implementing a horizontal growth strategy means investing in training, mentorship, and sometimes restructuring teams. Balancing these investments with ongoing business needs can be challenging, especially for companies focused on scaling existing products or entering new markets.
- Measuring Success: Unlike vertical promotions, the impact of horizontal growth on succession planning and business outcomes can be harder to quantify. Organizations need robust metrics to track professional development, employee satisfaction, and the effect on the customer base or products services.
Organizations in sectors with complex structures, such as education, may face additional hurdles. For example, opportunities and challenges in succession planning for school jobs highlight the importance of adapting growth strategies to specific business environments.
Despite these challenges, a well designed horizontal growth strategy can help companies grow business, develop existing product lines, and prepare employees for future leadership roles. The key is to align professional development with both company goals and employee aspirations, ensuring privacy policy compliance and transparency throughout the process.
Identifying potential candidates for horizontal growth
Spotting Talent Ready for Cross-Functional Growth
Identifying employees who are well-suited for horizontal growth is a crucial part of any effective succession planning strategy. Unlike vertical growth, which focuses on climbing the traditional career ladder, horizontal growth emphasizes broadening skills and experience across different functions, products, or markets within the company. This approach helps develop a more versatile workforce and supports long-term business development.
- Adaptability and Curiosity: Employees who show a willingness to learn about new products, services, or markets are often strong candidates for horizontal growth. Their curiosity drives them to explore beyond their existing roles, which is essential for cross-functional development.
- Strong Communication Skills: Those who can collaborate with teams across departments are more likely to succeed in horizontal roles. Effective communication is key when working with different business units or customer bases.
- Problem-Solving Ability: Candidates who demonstrate creative thinking and the ability to tackle challenges from multiple perspectives can help the company grow business in new directions.
- Track Record of Professional Development: Employees who actively seek out learning opportunities, such as training or mentoring, show a commitment to their own career growth and to the company’s growth strategy.
- Interest in Broader Business Goals: Look for individuals who understand and align with the company’s long-term strategy, whether it’s scaling existing products or entering new markets.
It’s important to remember that not every employee will be interested in or suited for horizontal growth. Some may prefer a vertical career path, focusing on deepening expertise in a specific area. However, by recognizing those with the right mindset and skills, organizations can develop and grow a more resilient and agile team, ready to respond to changes in the market and support the company’s overall growth strategies.
Regularly reviewing employee performance, encouraging cross-functional projects, and providing opportunities for professional development will help identify and nurture potential candidates for horizontal growth. This approach not only benefits the individual’s career but also strengthens the company’s ability to adapt and thrive in evolving markets.
Practical steps to encourage horizontal growth in your team
Creating a Culture That Supports Lateral Moves
Encouraging horizontal growth in your team means more than just offering new job titles. It’s about building a business environment where employees feel empowered to develop and grow across different functions, not just climb the traditional vertical career ladder. This approach can help your company adapt to changing markets, expand its existing product and service offerings, and strengthen its long-term succession planning strategy.- Promote cross-functional projects: Assign employees to projects outside their usual roles. This exposes them to new skills and business processes, helping them understand how different parts of the company work together.
- Offer professional development opportunities: Provide training sessions, workshops, or job shadowing in other departments. This supports both horizontal and vertical growth by broadening employees’ expertise and confidence.
- Recognize and reward lateral achievements: Celebrate employees who take on new responsibilities in different areas. Public recognition or incentives can motivate others to pursue horizontal career growth.
- Encourage open communication: Regularly discuss career aspirations with your team. Make it clear that horizontal moves are valued as much as vertical promotions in your growth strategy.
- Align horizontal moves with business needs: Identify areas where the company needs to grow or where existing products and services can be improved. Match these needs with employees interested in developing new skills.
Practical Tools and Processes
To make horizontal growth a reality, you’ll need clear processes and tools:- Transparent job postings: Make internal opportunities visible to all employees, not just those on a vertical career path.
- Mentorship programs: Pair employees with mentors from different departments to help them navigate new roles and markets.
- Feedback systems: Regularly collect feedback from employees about their experiences with horizontal moves. Use this data to refine your growth strategies and ensure alignment with business goals and privacy policy requirements.
Measuring the impact of horizontal growth on succession planning
Tracking Progress and Outcomes
Measuring the impact of horizontal growth on succession planning is essential for any company aiming to grow business and develop a robust talent pipeline. Unlike vertical growth, which often focuses on promotions and upward career movement, horizontal growth emphasizes broadening employees’ skills and experiences across different products, services, or markets. To assess the effectiveness of this growth strategy, organizations need clear metrics and regular reviews.- Skill Development: Track the number of employees who have expanded their skill sets through cross functional projects or lateral moves. This helps identify how well the team is adapting to new products or markets.
- Role Flexibility: Measure how many employees are able to take on new responsibilities or support existing product lines. This flexibility is a sign of successful horizontal growth and professional development.
- Employee Engagement: Use surveys or feedback tools to gauge employee satisfaction with their career growth opportunities. Engaged employees are more likely to stay and contribute to long term business success.
- Business Outcomes: Analyze how horizontal growth strategies impact company performance, such as improved customer base coverage, better market adaptation, or increased innovation in products services.
Tools and Methods for Evaluation
Companies often use a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to evaluate horizontal and vertical growth strategies:| Metric | Horizontal Growth | Vertical Growth |
|---|---|---|
| Skills Matrix | Tracks cross functional skills and development | Tracks progression in a single function or role |
| Career Path Mapping | Shows lateral moves and new market exposure | Shows upward movement and promotions |
| Performance Reviews | Assesses adaptability and contribution to new products | Assesses achievement of role specific goals |
