Career Planning vs Succession Planning – Difference and Comparison

What is Career Planning?

It is the process of evaluating personal strengths, values, objectives, and aspirations, establishing their goals and aims to succeed.

It also involves identifying the steps needed for success, noting it down as a career plan, and periodically reviewing and updating it.

Career planning is a systematic process through which individual sets their life goals and make strategies to succeed. It helps individuals chase their goals in life and get satisfaction in their careers.

It is the basic step of career management in which individuals determine the career they want to pursue. It helps to identify the interests and abilities of a career.

It helps evaluate one’s interests and abilities, identify alternative career opportunities, set career goals, and plan development activities.

When an organization is involved in the planning, it is called organizational career planning, for the development of the firm’s employees consists of a systematic succession of jobs.

In addition, it aids individuals in determining and evaluating career opportunities, setting career objectives, and planning development activities.

Career planning is essential as it leads your life towards inner peace in terms of career.  It provides you stability and saves you from betraying here and there.

What is Succession Planning?

Succession planning is identifying the critical positions within your company and implementing action plans to ensure they are filled with key aspects of succession planning.

It is the critical process of continuously identifying the potential developing leaders to hold positions and replacing the old ones to ensure the smooth functioning of an organization.

It is a strategy to improve an organization’s mission and objective achievements. It helps find potential people from the organization or from outside.

Moreover, the employees are also trained and scanned for skills to promote to a higher level. In most businesses, internal employees with management and leadership potential are selected to fill the hierarchical positions within the organization.

An internal candidate can assume a critical role in an organization as soon as their current role becomes vacant by identifying critical roles and their core skills.

A succession plan is used to transition ownership and management of the business to the next generation, including small and family businesses. It also includes the development of inter talent pool for an organization.

The people capable of performing these roles are selected in the talent pool, and they go through different training and skill development courses to take on the next positions and replace the old ones.

Difference Between Career Planning and Succession Planning

The main difference between career planning and succession planning is the first is an individual plan, and the 2nd is the organizational plan for developing employees and finding potential people for hierarchical organizational roles.

Planning is important for both individuals and organizations. Career planning on an individual level is so common it helps establish and achieve personal goals.

The perpetual succession and success of an organization are based on the potential employees to fill key positions, which is only possible through proper planning and development of employees by an organization.

Comparison Table Between Career Planning and Succession Planning

References

^ “How To Make A Career Plan Template – for Young People | headspace.” headspace.org.au. Retrieved 2021-11-22.

^ University, California Lutheran. “6 Steps for Career Planning”. Cal Lutheran. Retrieved 2021-11-22.