If You Do this One Thing Well, You’ll Own Your Market

For the foreseeable future companies that are able to reliably attract and retain the best people will win. This is the market-dominating strategy.

That’s hard enough to do when times are easy. But it’s even more challenging and, often, critical when the staffing needs weren’t anticipated or planned for.

But first….

If you need an introduction to the underlying concepts of building a magnetic workplace read two articles that I wrote some time ago:

How to Build a Magnetic Organization (Forbes.com)

Do you Lead a Magnetic or Mediocre Organization (On my website. This comes with a checklist.)

The two articles above are conceptual and (accurately) emphasize culture.

This article is more tactical/logistical. It’s about how to plan well. Especially for workforces that have high mobility or low employee retention and high retirement rates.

Introducing Staff Contingency Planning

Staff contingency planning is the process of preparing for events that may disrupt your staff structure. Some of these are unexpected and can include unhappy things like resignations, illness, or terminations. Some are expected and happy things like promotions, organizational growth, and new babies. If not prepared for, all are disruptive.

This tutorial will guide you through creating an effective contingency plan to ensure continuity in your organization.

Contingency Planning: The Basic Concept

Contingency planning is different from routine planning but factors into it. Routine planning focuses on the usual, everyday goals of your organization and the functions of your staff. In contrast, contingency planning prepares for unforeseen circumstances or significant changes that could disrupt normal operations. It’s an integral part of risk management and helps maintain organizational stability during times of crisis.

Here’s Where to Start

Step 1: Assess your Organization’s Vulnerabilities

Start by identifying critical roles and operations in your organization, which are the most impacted by sudden changes. Evaluate potential threats to your staff, like turnover or absences, and prioritize risks based on their potential impact on operations.

Questions to ask:

• Do we have any critical positions that only one person fills?
• Do we have any changes coming up (leadership succession, planned promotions, organizational growth) that will create a staffing vacuum?
• Do we have any positions that we can’t operate without and that are difficult to fill/take a long time to train for?

Step 2: Develop Contingency Strategies

A strategy is a high-level framework for decision-making. Even in a contingency situation, it should remain aligned with your organizational values and propel you toward your vision.

Contingency strategies could include cross-training existing staff to fill multiple roles, utilizing temporary or contract staff, or leveraging strategic partnerships for outsourcing. These strategies ensure that your organization can continue to function even if key staff members are unavailable.

Step 3: Create a Contingency Plan

A contingency plan includes actionable steps for each likely scenario. It clearly outlines roles, responsibilities, and processes that are to be followed in case of an emergency. Involve stakeholders in the planning process to ensure the plan is comprehensive and practical.

My CEO Emergency Succession Planning workbook is a high-level example of this. You can adapt and simplify it as needed. Many positions don’t need to have a complicated plan around them.

Step 4: Implement and Communicate the Contingency Plan

Louis Pasteur said, “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” A contingency plan is only useful if everyone has prepared. This includes ensuring that everyone understands it. Cross-training or hiring redundant positions takes time. Setting up strategic relationships with partners or contractor agencies also takes time. Begin setting up the necessary training, agreements, tools, and resources.

 Communicate the plan clearly to all staff members and provide training about the plan where necessary. If your workplace has acute functions or needs, practicing drills or exercises can help test the plan and keep everyone familiar with their roles.

Step 5: Maintain and Update the Contingency Plan

Contingency plans must be regularly reviewed and updated to account for changes in the organization or external environment. Incorporate lessons learned from actual contingency situations to refine the plan over time.

It’s usually enough to review them on an annual basis. It’s helpful to do this in the context of regular strategic or annual planning.

Step 6:  Deal with Common Challenges

Some common challenges in contingency planning include resistance to change, ensuring the plan is realistic and manageable, and balancing contingency planning with daily operations.

Address these challenges through clear communication, engagement of all stakeholders, and regular review and refinement of the plan. Preparation tends to reduce the likelihood of challenges.

Bonus Tip: Find Case Studies of Successful Contingency Planning

Take time to learn from real-life examples of successful contingency planning. Understanding how other organizations have managed unexpected situations – which can include anything from emergencies to rapid growth. Their experienced can provide valuable insights for your own planning.

This needn’t be academic. If you have a colleague with a company that has needed to address contingency staffing situations – and they appeared to do well at it – take them out to lunch and pick their brain about what worked and what they would do differently.

Conclusion

Staff contingency planning is essential for maintaining organizational stability in the face of unforeseen circumstances. Remember to regularly review and update your plan to ensure it remains effective.

Given the frequency with which people change jobs, the increase in Baby Boomers leaving the workforce, and the speed of change, mastering the ability to be well-staffed in any situation is your competitive advantage.

Take good care,

Christian

#ChristianMuntean, #LeadershipAdvisory, #ExitStrategyService, #ChristianMunteanAdvising, #LeadershipCoaching, #ExitSuccessService, #ChristianMunteanConsulting, #ExecutiveLeadership, #ExitandTeamAdvisory, #ChristianMunteanCoaching