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Succession planning is a vital component of the financial sector, especially now as the global economy is in dire straits. The ING Group, a multinational insurance and financial services provider, is constantly scouring markets for top-notch staff. 
'But [the question we ask ourselves is] do we have the right person to take us to the next level?' said Andrew Warneck, regional manager of management development (human resources) at ING, who added that this was when succession planning became crucial.
'Our strategy is to ensure we have a very strong leadership brand. We want to be recognised as an organisation that is highly developed [with] strong leaders,' he said. 
'The strength of your leadership team, and how well your succession planning, is reflected in the perceived market value and future strength of the organisation.'
 Succession planning is seen as an ideal way to cultivate talent, therefore it is implemented from the highest levels down. The company has a 'young talent programme', which ensures that it hires the best university graduates.
Once they are recruited, they are rotated to different regions or job positions every nine months over a three-year period to gain experience and fresh perspectives. They are assigned mentors throughout that time.
The human resources department and the senior management team met on a monthly basis to discuss the performance of senior staff and those occupying key positions, such as chief executives. 'We talk about the people, about how long they have been in their roles and when they are ready for the next [more advanced] role,' he said. 'We also talk about their families because their wives will have preferences and their children will all be at different ages. Decisions can't be purely made based on what the business wants.'
Successors are chosen based on their performance, potential and ambition. Track records are reviewed and psychological tests given to predict candidates' future behaviour, in addition to business simulation projects that help to demonstrate their ability. However, candidates will not be able to progress far without being ambitious. 
'The ambition has to be high,' Mr Warneck said. 'If you don't have this, then the other qualities won't mean much.'
In order to prepare successors, apart from giving constructive feedback on their performance, candidates are taken away from their workplace and put into a classroom scenario where they have to pick up the latest industry knowledge. They also have to join virtual teams to negotiate case studies and projects. Mr Warneck referred to this as the 'action-learning' process.
'Succession planning is important because it provides people with a career pathway,' he said. 'It provides us with a mechanism to ensure that our very best people are promoted and moved into the right roles at the right time.'
Though the company's main goal has always been to develop local leaders and to promote from within, Mr Warneck said that it would also like to attract good talent from outside the company. 
'Our succession plans don't always work out,' said Mr Warneck, as he recalled a case when a chief executive of a business unit suddenly had to leave an assignment and return home because a family member died. The company had to find someone to fill the position immediately. 'Anything can happen,' he said. 'You have to have two levels of planning. One level is for the best case scenario, and then we need to have contingency planning. We need to do both for the senior level.' 
Timing is the key to succession planning. 'You can make decisions too soon and risk something failing, or you can promote people too late and risk those people leaving your organisation because they waited too long,' Mr Warneck said, adding that it was similar to 'moving people around a chessboard'. 'You have to get the timing just right, and make sure that the people are ready for the role.'
Strictly speaking 
Succession planning is implemented from senior level down to the most junior staff in the company
Junior staff will be rotated to different regions and job duties every nine months during the first three years at the company
The senior management team reviews the performance of senior staff on a monthly basis
Successors are chosen according to their performance, potential and ambition
Succession planning can also be understood as contingency planning in order to cope with sudden changes in personnel



Cultivate talent with succession planning