Case Study

Last week was a tough week. Downsizing, rightsizing, no matter how you look at it, laying people off is not the most fun aspect of working in HR. But now you are focusing on the future, building on the theme of ‘right people in the right jobs’. Talent management and succession planning are critical elements of the overall HR strategy at Canadian Bio-Medical Instruments Ltd., and you have a number of important initiatives underway.

Last week, you did an exercise to help the management team understand the importance of forecasting. As part of that exercise you developed a strategic workforce optimization plan. To ensure the long term health and performance of an organization, there is a strong need to forecast by reviewing the current workforce demographics and understanding future talent requirements. As part of last week’s forecasting, the management team reviewed two key questions: Which skills and capabilities are crucial to current and future success? What emerging workforce trends (e.g. supply and demand of engineers) will impact the company’s ability to deliver value?

Based on what was discussed, you think that a talent management framework could position the organization for success in achieving its goals and ensure that HR adds strategic value to the business.

Just this week, the Board of Directors requested that a succession management plan be developed for 2016-2019. No succession management framework currently exists and you are scrambling to get some information together for the CEO.

Question

How will you recommend that CBMIL leverage replacement planning and/or succession planning and management? Include your recommendation on whether the system at CBMIL should be open or closed, and outline your rationale.

1-2 pages