For a facilities management department of a higher education institution, it can be critical to establish a succession plan to ensure its continuing success in this rapidly advancing sector.

1. R e t a i n e d E x e c u t i v e S e a r c h
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Developing the Future:
Succession Planning for Facilities Management in Higher Education
‐ by Thomas M. Dunn & Sami L. Barry
Facili(es management is an essen(al func(on of a college The lack of formal plan can force university leaders to act quickly in
or university campus, and each day an enGre department of the face of an unexpected departure, and this increases the chance
professionals across various disciplines is collecGvely tasked to of an impulsive hiring decision. An emoGonal hire increases the
maintain a harmonious relaGonship between the natural probability of selecGng a candidate who may not be the proper fit,
landscape, built environment, and the human element. The and that mis‐hire can compromise departmental goals while
required skill‐set to be an effecGve leader within the realm of creaGng a myriad of issues beyond the iniGal vacancy. It is
faciliGes management is constantly changing, and the technical extremely difficult to avoid emoGonal decisions when engaged in a
skills or personal intangibles required to succeed today will be subjecGve evaluaGon process, but having a succession plan can
different in five, ten, or fiPeen years. This dynamic can make saGsfy internal candidates, external candidates, and decision
projecGng future talent a challenging process, but succession makers by keeping the process objecGve.
planning is a tool that can facilitate foresight to prepare an
insGtuGon for department growth or the loss of key individuals. Creating and executing an effective plan
There are some common issues that Three key components of an effecGve
can hinder an ins(tu(on from succession plan are:
crea(ng a long‐term plan. The establishment of a formal ✓ flexibility
First, exisGng top management may feel as succession plan can allow a ✓ realisGc goals
though succession planning is too far facili<es management department ✓ performance measurement
detached from the department’s day‐to‐
day operaGons. Therefore, it is oPen
to ensure its future success by A succession plan will have the best chance
to be effecGve if it is adaptable and sensible
relegated to an aPerthought when foreseeing its human capital because it must be understood and
compeGng against the daily agenda. needs. accepted by an enGre department.
Secondly, a lack of departmental funding
to secure or develop talent is a harsh Phase One ‐ CreaBng the Plan
reality with many university budgets dwindling, and a thin budget
The first phase in the process involves internal evaluaGon,
can lead to extended interim leaders, external searches being put
discussion, and the establishment of departmental goals.
on hold, or department reorganizaGon. Finally, the most significant
hurdle is oPen the simple fact that an insGtuGon’s current roster of ‣ IdenBfy leadership roles that require a smooth transiBon and
internal talent is inadequate to meet its succession goals, so the define criBcal aGributes for each posiBon.
idea is never formalized to develop internal talent or assess This allows a department to prioriGze its needs and
external opGons. The establishment of a formal succession plan narrow its focus.
can allow a faciliGes management department to ensure its future ‣ IdenBfy individuals who may be reBring within the next one
success by foreseeing its human capital needs. to five years.
Create an ongoing dialogue with individuals approaching
The benefits of creating a plan reGrement to gain their view of effecGve talent
development and promote knowledge sharing.
Stability and long term incenGves at many insGtuGons can keep
‣ Evaluate your internal staff and idenBfy which individuals can
execuGve level roles under excellent leadership for decades, but be developed for future leadership roles.
there can be a void of internal talent to maintain conGnuity when a
This creates a baseline grade for each member of the
department leader moves on. As a result, many universiGes are
professional staff and posiGons them for leadership
forced to be reacGve when filling strategic posiGons. The funcGon
development programs.
of a succession plan is to create a proacGve process of staff
development and to help to define the specific a8ributes that are ‣ Create iniBaBves to develop internal talent.
required to perform leadership roles. This is an imperaGve step in the process because it serves
as the ulGmate goal.

2. ‣ IdenBfy roles that may need to be filled from outside of A candidate from outside of your organiza(on can bring:
your insBtuBon. ✓ New Ideas: Many faciliGes management departments are
There is likely to be an area where the internal staff is populated with long tenure employees, and it is not
inadequate to meet long term goals, and an internal abnormal for processes to se8le into a mindset of “this is
evaluaGon process will aid in the idenGficaGon of the way we have always done it”. It is beneficial to have
areas that need strengthened. conGnuity and established pracGces, but an external
‣ Share your findings, goals, and a final draL of the plan candidate can objecGvely idenGfy and create best
with your enBre department. pracGces.
Open communicaGon is essenGal to the success of a ✓ New PerspecBve: Every problem or opportunity is seen as
succession plan. It should clearly arGculate career a new problem or opportunity to an external candidate.
incenGves for top performers and show how a This means that they are not influenced by past history,
department plans to develop its internal talent. and they can generate fresh approaches to old issues.
✓ New Technology: External candidates can oPen bring
revoluGonary approaches to systems, processes, and
Phase Two ‐ ExecuBng the Plan
procedures. There are highly skilled individuals from the
The second phase involves acGve talent development, internal
private sector that can be extremely innovaGve when
benchmarking, and conGnuous modificaGon of the plan:
adapGng to the public sector. Recent reGrements from
‣ Meet with idenBfied internal talent to make them fully the private sector can also prove to be valuable short‐ and
aware of future opportuniBes and outline their potenBal mid‐term hires because they are highly knowledgeable
career path. and oPen reasonably priced.
This can promote stability and moGvate key ✓ Diversity: Adding female and minority talent to your team
employees by creaGng a clear career path. can be extremely valuable if your current staff is
‣ Involve internal talent in cross‐funcBonal projects to homogeneous, and the department can benefit from a
diversify their exisBng skill‐sets and keep them wider range of opinions, experiences, and ideas.
challenged. Generally, the corporate sector has been more acGve in
This technique is highly successful in developing recruiGng and developing female and minority talent in
talent. These cross‐funcGonal tasks should focus on engineering, construcGon, and faciliGes professions.
improving weaknesses without compromising These corporate candidates oPen possess acute fiscal
strengths. awareness and a strong ability to generate business policy
‣ Document and update benchmarks at quarterly meeBngs which is less common in a tradiGonal higher educaGon
to evaluate progress. faciliGes candidate.
Maintain and update records on each staff member to
Vital roles within a faciliGes department can become vacant for a
have empirical data on their career development.
mulGtude of reasons related to family, career growth, reGrement,
‣ Evaluate outside candidates using the same criBcal or illness. The departure of an individual may be expected or
aGributes that are defined for internal candidates. unexpected, but it is unavoidable that your succession plan will see
A succession plan should be used to examine internal its share of successes and failures. Nonetheless, it is important not
and external talent on a level playing field, and to be overly discouraged or encouraged by a parGcular result. A
external candidates should always be evaluated succession plan is meant to help your insGtuGon navigate the
according to the skills outlined in your plan. unpredictability of the human element, and a single success or
‣ Update and modify your plan. failure cannot quanGfy its benefit. The bo8om line is that in most
An effecGve succession plan should be concise and cases, a succession plan will serve as an insurance policy for those
easily refined. Every posiGon should have another situaGons, and will at the very least, aid your organizaGon in
posiGon for which they are being groomed. preparing for whatever the future may hold.
The indirect benefits of a plan
In the event of a successful internal promoGon, it is important to Thomas M. Dunn is a Search Consultant with Helbling & Associates. He
recognize that a department’s internal talent may not be sufficient may be contacted at (724) 935‐7500 X104 or via email at
at some point in the chain of succession. SomeGmes, it is tomd@helblingsearch.com.
necessary and preferable to hire from outside of the organizaGon, Sami L. Barry performs Strategic Market Development for Helbling &
and a well‐established plan can help to idenGfy external candidates Associates. She may be contacted at (724) 935‐7500 X102 or via email at
that can meet long‐term succession goals. samib@helblingsearch.com.
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