Small organizations can run succession planning without a talent function. This approach follows SHRM guidance and ties to care-setting requirements.
Why start small
A SHRM survey of HR professionals, reported in 2024, found that more than half had no succession plan:
| Succession plan status | Share of organizations |
|---|---|
| Formal plan | 21% |
| Informal plan | 24% |
| No plan | 56% |
Lack of time and resources was the reason cited. SHRM's guidance for resource-limited organizations is to start with one leader and one role and tailor the plan to the organization.
Steps (SHRM-based)
- Prioritize critical roles. For care organizations that is usually the administrator or executive director, the director of nursing or clinical services, and one or two program leaders.
- Assess bench strength. Review current leadership results over the past two years and identify who could step in, and in what time frame.
- List specific development gaps for each named successor, such as financial oversight, regulatory knowledge or a required license.
- Use development resources you already have, and give leaders visibility into the next cohort, for example through skip-level meetings.
- Look externally when no internal successor is ready. Interim leadership is one option to keep operations steady during a search.
- Measure and adjust at least annually.
Regulatory hooks
| Setting | Requirement | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing homes | Emergency plans must address continuity of operations, including delegations of authority and succession plans | 42 CFR 483.73(a)(3) |
| South Carolina CRCFs | The administrator must hold a CRCF administrator license, and a staff member must be designated in writing to act in the administrator's absence | R.60-84 §502 |
A named successor with the right license is a compliance advantage, not just a leadership one.
Sources: SHRM (April 2024); 42 CFR 483.73; SC R.60-84 §502.
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