The Current State of Succession Planning

Table (27) shows the respondents answers towards the fifth dimension.

Table (27)

Means and Test Values for “The Current State of Succession Planning”

No. Item M ea n P ro po rt io na l mea n (%) T est v a lue P -v a lue ( Sig .) Ra nk

1. The organization makes an effort to plan for workforce needs in advance for reasons such as promotions and retirements.

2. Measure the percentage of leaders who will be

eligible to retire in the next 5 years. 3.10 62.02 1.49 0.069 14 3. The organization identifies qualified candidates

from within to fill key positions when they become vacant.

3.55 70.96 8.01 0.000* 8 4. The senior management identifies the positions

that have a significant impact in the organization.

3.78 75.58 12.19 0.000* 2 5. Members of the executive staff are more often

selected internally. 3.71 74.30 10.28 0.000* 4

6. The organization gives employees a chance to promote themselves professionally and achieve their career goals.

3.78 75.65 11.94 0.000* 1 7. Sensitive positions associated with the

achievement of the main objectives of the organization are identified.

3.76 75.17 12.71 0.000* 3 8. Plans, policies and procedures, prepared in

advance, are followed, so that emergencies can be avoided when key employees are absent or left the organization.

3.52 70.49 8.14 0.000* 9

9. Employee turnover is monitored to take that into account when implementing the succession planning programme.

3.43 68.56 6.43 0.000* 10 10. The organization identifies employees with

outstanding performance that achieve the goals and expectations required from them.

3.63 72.69 9.45 0.000* 6 11. The organization determines an action plan to

address poor performance. 3.42 68.39 5.81 0.000* 11 12. The impact of leaving employees to work and its

risk on the organization is measured in terms of productivity and competitive advantage.

3.31 66.15 4.30 0.000* 13 13. The organization applies job enrichment through

the addition of new responsibilities and delegations to those employees with high potential to deepen their experience and refine their skills.

3.57 71.35 8.10 0.000* 7

14. The organization delegates authorities to employees with high potential to take on new tasks.

3.68 73.56 10.06 0.000* 5

All paragraphs of the field 3.54 70.87 10.50 0.000* * The mean is significantly different from 3

The mean of paragraph #6 ―The organization gives employees a chance to promote themselves professionally and achieve their career goals‖ equals 3.78 (75.65%), Test- value = 11.94, and P-value = 0.000 which is smaller than the level of significance. The sign of the test is positive, so the mean of this paragraph is significantly greater than the hypothetical value of 3. It can be concluded that the respondents agreed to this paragraph.

The mean of paragraph #4 ―The senior management identifies the positions that have a significant impact in the organization‖ equals 3.78 (75.58%), Test-value = 12.19, and P- value = 0.000 which is smaller than the level of significance. The sign of the test is positive, so the mean of this paragraph is significantly greater than the hypothetical value of 3. It can be concluded that the respondents agreed to this paragraph.

The mean of paragraph #12 ―The impact of leaving employees to work and its risk on the organization is measured in terms of productivity and competitive advantage‖ equals 3.31 (66.15%), Test-value = 4.30, and P-value = 0.000 which is smaller than the level of significance. The sign of the test is positive, so the mean of this paragraph is significantly greater than the hypothetical value of 3. It can be concluded that the respondents agreed to this paragraph.

The mean of paragraph #2 ―Measure the percentage of leaders who will be eligible to retire in the next 5 years‖ equals 3.10 (62.02%), Test-value = 1.49, and P-value = 0.069 which is greater than the level of significance. The mean of this paragraph is insignificantly different from the hypothetical value of 3. It can be concluded that the respondents are neutral to this paragraph.

In general, the mean of the field ―The Current State of Succession Planning‖ equals 3.54 (70.87%), Test-value = 10.50, and P-value=0.000 which is smaller than the level of significance. The sign of the test is positive. The mean of this field is significantly greater than the hypothetical value of 3. It can be concluded that the respondents agreed to field of ―The Current State of Succession Planning".

There is a good approval from the study sample on this field. Succession planning is starting to receive increased attention. This is obvious by the respondents' answers; however, there are still things that deserve more attention. A good place to start is to find out what practices are currently being used. Approaches may already be in use, and they may serve as excellent starting point for a systematic approach. So, there are needs for actions to be taken to increase the readiness for practicing succession planning in the best way.

Moreover, key practices for effective succession planning are identified in this field and organizations are encouraged to consider them as they revise or develop their own programmes in this area. For example, major organizations should make more efforts to plan for workforce needs in advance for reasons such as promotions and retirements, identify qualified candidates from within to fill key positions when they become vacant and identify the positions that have a significant impact in the organization. In addition, sensitive positions associated with the achievement of the main objectives of the organization are identified. Employee turnover is also monitored to take into account when implementing the succession planning programme and the impact of leaving employees to work and its risk on the organization is measured in terms of productivity and competitive advantage. Additionally, an action plan is should be determined to address poor performance. Organizations also should pay more attention to apply job enrichment through the addition of new responsibilities and delegations to those employees with high potential to deepen their experience and refine their skills. Major NGOs need to develop a means to measure the percentage of leaders who will be eligible to retire in the next 5 years.

The results are consistent with the findings of the study of (Kim, 2010) which states that several methods for developing individuals' candidates through training, especially leadership training. Additionally, the results of this field are inconsistent with the study of (Gallo, 2010) in which that it recommends the development of policies and strategies to encourage employees to apply for principal positions. The study of (Mandi, 2008) stated that the turnover of key employees is a challenge in regards to succession

planning. Organizations also give employees a chance to promote themselves professionally and achieve their career goals; this is consistent with the study of (Saleh, 2012) which emphasizes the important role of organizations and individuals in managing and developing careers which reflects the mutual and balanced relation between both.

Hypothesis Testing

Following are the study hypotheses: