The COVID-19 outbreak, which forced the immediate closure of many businesses worldwide, has plunged the global economy into a recession.

The rate at which employees at all levels are quitting is higher than usual, shaking the world of work forever. This exodus especially of top-level executives is costly for companies across industries due to tight labor markets and limited career growth opportunities.

As workforce leaders seek professional development through in-house initiatives, organizations must invest in career development programs to retain their core talent. To stay ahead of the curve amidst this crisis, HR leaders should leverage a Talent Intelligence Platform to build a trained and ready workforce for critical roles

And the most sought-after initiative that is currently being leveraged across industries is Succession Planning. Talent leaders need to embrace this idea of succession planning as it allows them to determine the skills and talent within their organizations and then identify and develop future leaders.  

In this quest of finding a suitable successor who is ready to occupy the leadership role, we help you decode the role of AI in making the process easier and maintaining stability in your organization. We further help you understand the upsides of having an AI-backed talent intelligence platform to help upskill and recession-proof your workforce.  

Prioritizing Succession Planning with a Talent Intelligence Platform to Secure Top Roles

As organizations prepare to tide over the current recession crisis, succession planning becomes the need-of-the-hour solution in devising a smooth talent transition across leadership roles. By having a full-proof succession planning strategy in place, HR leaders can identify and develop future leaders and fill major roles at all levels. 

In the following few sections, we discuss how AI-powered talent intelligence platform are indispensable for businesses in their succession planning strategies. 

AI and Talent Intelligence Platform in Targeted and Personalized Development

Succession planning is only defined as successful when the right candidates fit into the vacant roles. And to ensure that these candidates have a hassle-free transition to top roles, talent management teams must offer them ample training resources. 

AI-based talent intelligence platform capabilities can be harnessed here. They present HR teams with essential parameters, including candidates’ capabilities, problem areas, and personal goals. Based on these aforementioned datasets, talent intelligence platform provide personalized learning pathways to bridge the skill gaps, if there are any. 

By taking a data-driven approach, HR leaders can identify potential leadership candidates, develop them in role-required areas, and promote a culture of continuous learning and innovation. 

AI in tapping the right candidate (internal & external hiring)

Generally, internal personnel are the most preferred succession candidates. However, there are instances where an external candidate proves to be an ideal fit for a particular position. The question, however, comes down to the talent leaders; Should they develop a successor internally or hire a successor externally?

The answer to this question depends on the cost of hiring an external talent vs. internal and the training time. AI-based talent intelligence platform can assist talent management teams in solving this conundrum. The addition of AI-powered platforms in your succession planning process helps you navigate through internal and external applicants simultaneously. 

And understanding that external hiring can be laborious and more expensive than internally training a candidate, talent intelligence platform can help minimize the resources spent at the hiring stage. Talent management teams can then put these selected candidates on a development track and offer them a head start by hiring for the vacant role. This allows them to be more aligned and involved with the organization if they clearly understand their roles from the beginning.

Upskilling the Future-Ready Leader

After identifying the right candidate as the successor, upskilling takes center stage. And only through learning and development opportunities can employers understand that they have found the right fit to perform the successor duties effectively. We take a look at how upskilling can help streamline this journey with the support of artificial intelligence and a Talent Intelligence Platform.

Upskilling with AI for internal mobility

Internal mobility has always been a topic of discussion, especially since the onset of the pandemic. The crisis prompted many organizations to launch upskilling initiatives, enabling employees to transition into in-demand roles or fill critical vacancies.

With the help of AI and a Talent Intelligence Platform, companies can more effectively reskill and upskill their workforce making it easier to promote from within and assign successors when needed.

This approach to developing internal talent is a win-win: organizations gain future-ready talent, while employees explore new career paths and broaden their experience.

As talent management teams from organizaitons across verticals seek problem-solvers and potential leaders, AI-powered talent intelligence platform like Draup support them with critical data-backed insights to fix the tech skills gap.

Draup identifies skillsets and maps them with the existing list of courses and programs in its database using 100+ machine learning models to support organizations’ talent management teams in developing upskilling initiatives and preparing the talent force for the new future of work.