Other Countries’ Selected Practices to Manage Succession

To manage the succession of their executives and other key employees,  agencies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom are  implementing succession planning and management practices that work to  protect and enhance organizational capacity. In addition, leading organizations use succession  planning and management to identify and develop knowledge and skills  that are critical in the workplace. Achieve a More Diverse Workforce. While governments’ and agencies’ initiatives reflect their  individual organizational structures, cultures, and priorities, these  practices can guide executive branch agencies in the United States as they  develop their own succession planning and management initiatives in order  to ensure that federal agencies have the human capital capacity necessary  to achieve their organizational goals and effectively deliver results now and  in the future. They  generally agreed with the contents of this report. Objective, Scope, and Methodology

To meet our objective to identify how agencies in other countries are  adopting a more strategic approach to managing the succession of senior  executives and others with critical skills, we selected Australia, Canada,  New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the Canadian Province of Ontario  based on our earlier work where we examined their implementation of  results-oriented management and human capital reforms. We identified the examples illustrating the practices through the results of  over 30 responses to a questionnaire sent to senior human capital officials  at selected agencies. To obtain a variety of perspectives, we spoke to  officials from the countries’ national audit offices, central management,  and human capital agencies.
Why GAO Did This Study

Leading public organizations here and abroad recognize that a more strategic approach to human capital management is essential for change initiatives that are intended to transform their cultures. To that end, organizations are looking for ways to identify and develop the leaders, managers, and workforce necessary to face the array of challenges that will confront government in the 21st century. GAO conducted this study to identify how agencies in four countries--Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom--are adopting a more strategic approach to managing the succession of senior executives and other public sector employees with critical skills. These agencies' experiences may provide insights to executive branch agencies as they undertake their own succession planning and management initiatives. GAO identified the examples described in this report through discussions with officials from central human capital agencies, national audit offices, and agencies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and a screening survey sent to senior human capital officials at selected agencies.

What GAO Found

Leading organizations engage in broad, integrated succession planning and management efforts that focus on strengthening both current and future organizational capacity. As part of this approach, these organizations identify, develop, and select their human capital to ensure that successors are the right people, with the right skills, at the right time for leadership and other key positions. To this end, agencies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom are implementing succession planning and management initiatives that are designed to protect and enhance organizational capacity.