November/December 2005 Issue Number 77

Is a monthly electronic newsletter which links current events and issues to the daily challenges faced by fire and emergency services managers. Current topics in the areas of leadership development, workplace diversity, change management, and conflict resolution will be discussed.

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Leadership Training Seminar April 7-9, 2006. Phoenix, AZ. Sponsored by Women in the Fire Service. Go to www.wfsi.org for more information.

Succeeding at Succession Planning

Succession planning is one of those things that everyone thinks is a good idea but many people aren't really sure how to do. It is estimated that 25% of today's working-age population will leave the American workforce by 2010. These numbers may even be higher in the emergency services, which saw a spike in hiring in the late 1970s and early 1980s. How prepared are organizations to fill the space that will be left when all these workers depart?

The short answer is, not very. Although formal succession planning is becoming more common in private industry, the public sector has lagged far behind in this area. More often than not, the retirement of someone who has held a key leadership position for many years sends an organization into chaos or inertia for a time. But there are things that organizations can do right now to make these transitions go more smoothly.

The first critical aspect of succession planning is understanding exactly what people are doing now and what knowledge and skills are needed to do their jobs. Some organizations try to put the cart before the horse by instituting training programs, but they may not know specifically what they should be teaching. For example, preparing someone to take over a leadership role in fire prevention may seem to indicate training in codes and ordinances. However, further study of the actual function of the position may reveal that the most important abilities are political acumen and presentation skills.

Consider doing a job analysis for each key position. Have that person keep a time-use log for a week or so, outlining their activities for each working hour. Make sure you convey that the results of such a study will in no way be used punitively. When done honestly, such analyses can be extremely enlightening. 

Once you know what people are really doing, then you can decide how best to prepare others to take over those same responsibilities. Focused training is great, but certainly not the only option. Mentoring programs, ride-along or shadow programs, temporary reassignment to other functional groups, assignment to work on special projects; these are just few other alternatives.

A key factor in any organizational succession plan is finding a way to capture specific knowledge that has been accumulated over the years by individuals as part of their day-to-day experience on the job. This can be done in a formal way; creating a handbook, for example; or informally by providing opportunities for up and coming leaders to spend time with those who will soon be leaving.

And that goes to the important but little followed rule about succession planning; that it works best when it works for everyone. Many organizations spend a lot of time and energy on grooming the next chief, but next to no effort in preparing the next company officers. Effective succession planning is not a top-down process, but rather a value that is expressed through all levels of the organization.

Source: The New York Times, August 28, 2005

A recent study by the law firm Fulbright & Jaworski has found that the average corporation has 37 lawsuits against it pending at any given time, and that the cost to those companies is around $8 million a year. The most common type of lawsuit faced by private corporations is contract dispute. The health care industry had the highest average of pending litigations at 64.

Source: The New York Times, October 16, 2005

Discrimination by Association

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has recently published information related to discrimination based on association under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). These guidelines highlight a little-known provision of the ADA: that discrimination against someone because of a known association with a person or persons with disabilities is a violation of the law.

The law specifically covers hiring, firing and other terms, conditions or privileges of employment. For example, under this provision, it would be illegal to refuse to hire someone because of an unfounded fear that the person would be excessively absent or unproductive because of the need to care for a child with a disability. Other prohibited practices would include refusing to hire someone because of fear that person will acquire a condition from a family member or other associate, refusing health insurance to someone who has a disabled family member when such insurance is provided to everyone else, providing lesser benefits to someone who has a disabled dependent, or in any way discriminating against employees whose association with those with recognized disabilities is perceived by the employer as negatively affecting the organization's image.

The ADA prohibits harassment in the workplace based on perceived or actual disability. The law also prohibits harassment of employees who have association with disabled people (for example, shunning an employee who has a close relative with AIDS.)

The ADA does not require that an employer provide reasonable accommodation to those who have association with someone with a recognized disability, such as providing more time off for dependent care. However, an employer must avoid treating an employee differently because of his or her association with a person with disabilities. 

Sources: Business and Legal Reports, October 18, 2005

www.eeoc.gov

© Linda F. Willing, 2005