Today we launched our new CEO Succession Planning Template on the Boardroommetrics.com website. Redesigned for 2024, one of the biggest improvements is its fillable PDF design.
CEO succession planning is a key Board responsibility. Done well, it is a proactive, continuous process that involves defining/redefining the characteristics of the next CEO based on the current and future business environments. In the event of planned or unplanned succession, an up-to-date succession plan ensures minimum downtime, turmoil, and risk to the organization.
How the CEO Succession Planning Template Works
Using the succession planning template is simple.
It begins with an overview of the current future operating environments. Boards of Directors and other stakeholders can use the fillable form to capture and compare their perspectives, including the implications of change in the business environment on CEO succession.
Next, the succession planning template asks a series of logical but important questions designed to help Boards define specific characteristics of the successor CEO. These characteristics cover a range of needs, from education to specific skills, work experience to accomplishments. All of this information can be capture and stored on the fillable PDF form provided.
The CEO succession planning process completes with the identification of internal and external candidates that the Board considers as potential CEO successors. These candidates, along with a plan for recruiting and/or their development is the ultimate output of CEO succession planning. Knowing, planning and preparing candidates in advance is what minimizes the risk when CEO succession occurs.
Description of the CEO Succession Planning Template Download
The download is twelve pages. Six of the pages are a PDF fillable form for Boards to consider and capture their input on CEO succession. The other six pages are directions on completing the form and an overview perspective on CEO succession planning.
Please note, this download is not free. The price is $US10. This reflects our commitment to provide helpful, experience-based tools that assist organizations with some of their most important governance processes.
Also note that to use the fillable PDF, Adobe Acrobat is required. Many computers already have this tool. For those who don’t, a free version can be easily and quickly downloaded. We have placed a link to the free version on the Template download page.
Also, note that this CEO Succession Template doesn’t eliminate the extensive thinking required to handle CEO succession well. That thinking is up to Directors on the Board and other key stakeholders. What this template does do, is lay out the process, ask the right questions and capture everyone’s input/thinking. This is very helpful for a Board that is managing the CEO Succession Planning Process.
Background on Boardroom Metrics and Succession Planning
For over twenty years, Boardroom Metrics has worked with Boards of public, private and not-for-profit organizations on governance effectiveness. Our core services are Board evaluations, CEO evaluations and governance education. From experience, we see that many Boards struggle to stay committed to CEO succession planning. They are reactive – the CEO suddenly disappears, and they scramble to find someone – not proactive – preparing for the event of unplanned succession (especially), but also planned succession. This tool helps with both, including clarifying the process to do succession planning.
Guarantee and Support
This product is guaranteed. If it doesn’t work for you, just let us know and we will refund your money.
Also, if you require any help completing the CEO succession planning process we are here to help. We have worked with numerous organizations, doing everything from clarifying the process through interviewing potential candidates. We believe in succession planning and hope to see more organizations doing it well.
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