Nurse manager succession planning: A cost-benefit analysis.

AIM: This commentary presents a cost-benefit analysis to advocate for the use of succession planning to mitigate the problems ensuing from nurse manager turnover. BACKGROUND: An estimated 75% of nurse managers will leave the workforce by 2020. Many benefits are associated with proactively identifying and developing internal candidates. Fewer than 7% of health care organisations have implemented formal leadership succession planning programmes. EVALUATION: A cost-benefit analysis of a formal succession-planning programme from one hospital illustrates the benefits of the programme in their organisation and can be replicated easily. KEY ISSUES: Assumptions of nursing manager succession planning cost-benefit analysis are identified and discussed. The succession planning exemplar demonstrates the integration of cost-benefit analysis principles. CONCLUSION: Comparing the costs of a formal nurse manager succession planning strategy with the status quo results in a positive cost-benefit ratio. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: The implementation of a formal nurse manager succession planning programme effectively reduces replacement costs and time to transition into the new role. This programme provides an internal pipeline of future leaders who will be more successful than external candidates. Using an actual cost-benefit analysis equips nurse managers with valuable evidence depicting succession planning as a viable business strategy.

Nurse manager succession planning: synthesis of the evidence.

AIM: The literature supporting nurse manager succession planning is reviewed and synthesised to discover best practice for identifying and developing future nurse managers. BACKGROUND: Healthcare succession planning practices are lacking. Nurse managers are historically selected based on clinical skills and lack formal leadership preparation. EVALUATION: A systematic literature search appraises and summarises the current literature supporting nurse manager succession planning. Multiple reviewers were used to increase the reliability and validity of article selection and analysis. KEY ISSUES: New nurse managers require months to adapt to their positions. Deliberate nurse manager succession planning should be integrated in the organisation's strategic plan and provide a proactive method for identifying and developing potential leaders. CONCLUSION: Organisations that identify and develop internal human capital can improve role transition, reduce nurse manager turnover rates and decrease replacement costs. Despite the clear benefits of succession planning, studies show that resource allocation for proactive, deliberate development of current and future nurse leaders is lacking. Additionally, systematic evaluation of succession planning is limited. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Deliberate succession planning efforts and appropriate resource allocation require strategic planning and evaluation methods. Detailed evaluation methods demonstrating a positive return on investment utilising a cost-benefit analysis and empirical outcomes are necessary.