Building Succession Planning Resilience in 2026, Before You Need It
- Jaya kashyap
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
The last few years have shown us something important: disruption doesn’t wait for organisations to be ready. It arrives suddenly, often when teams are already stretched, and it exposes gaps in capability that have been quietly building over time.
In a landscape defined by volatility and rapid change, evidence matters. In this blog draws on several studies and recent statistics to give HR leaders more than opinion; it offers grounded insight that can help build stronger business cases and shape smarter decisions for more human-centred talent strategies.
Why Succession Planning Resilience Matters in 2026
As we enter 2026, the forces shaping talent needs are intensifying. Geopolitical tension, economic uncertainty and AI are rewriting what organisations need from their people. The World Economic Forum forecasts that 44% of workers' core skills will change within the next five years, with leadership and people management at the top of the list [1]. McKinsey notes that the global shortage of skilled talent is already constraining productivity, with many organisations unable to capture the full value of their digital and AI investments because they lack the right capabilities [2]
The message is clear: succession resilience is no longer a nice-to-have, it’s the safety net organisations need long before they realise they need it. When companies stop treating it as an ongoing activity, they lose their most effective levers for navigating changing skill needs: developing people, retraining them and moving talent to where it’s needed most. What’s left are the blunt tools, recruitment and layoffs, both costly, disruptive, and often too late.
Amazon’s decision to cut roughly 14,000 corporate jobs sent shockwaves across the industry. This is the largest single layoff announcement in the company’s history and represents about a 4 % reduction of its corporate workforce of approximately 350,000.
According to senior internal communications, the layoffs are part of a broader effort to streamline operations. However, more importantly, Amazon explicitly points to rising investment in artificial intelligence as the driving factor with generative-AI tools and automation enabling the company to innovate faster and aim for greater efficiency.
1. Keep People in Critical Roles Engaged
While AI can take over more and more processes, we still need people, especially those in roles that are hard to hire for or take years to grow internally. And those people need to stay engaged and feel they actually have a future in the organisation. McKinsey found that 41% of employees left their jobs because they couldn’t see one.
We’ve also talked about leadership skill gaps for years, and AI has only widened them. Deloitte’s 2024 research shows that 37% of executives feel their organisations are only slightly or not at all prepared for the leadership challenges that come with AI adoption.
We often say employees should “own” their careers. In reality, most people are so busy doing the day job that they don’t have the time, headspace or confidence to figure out their next steps alone. That’s why “career self-service” rarely works in practice.
Career tools can help, of course, but they’re not enough on their own. People still need focused career support. Many organisations try to introduce career conversations, but they rarely become a core HR rhythm, and too often they slip off the agenda as a nice-to-have rather than a must-have.
One way to make career support a central part of the core HR rhythm is to integrate them into core processes such as succession planning.
Also download: Succession Planning Handbook
2. Use Simpler Talent Frameworks
Many traditional talent frameworks, like the 9-Box Grid, were designed for a slower world and a world where talent management was applied to a small fraction of the population and therefore a high-touch approach was feasible. Today, organisations need simplicity, transparency and speed, and not complexity.
Simpler frameworks help managers talk to people, they allow more time for a conversation as less time is taken to classify people into over complex frameworks that generate data that nobody uses. They create a shared language without overwhelming managers who are already stretched.
The four-stage model—Sustain, Support, Stretch, Shift—is powerful because it’s intuitive:
Sustain: people at this stage are highly engaged and enjoy their job. They still enjoy stretching themselves, but much of their learning is within the job. They are in their career sweet spot.
Support: these people may be a little frustrated and have lower engagement. There is a mismatch between their aspirations and what the organisation needs. Under-performance could be an issue too.
Stretch: having become adept in their field, these people are in their comfort zone and performing well. They are busy, but not stretched intellectually. They may not have a clearly defined career progression plan.
Shift: these people are characterised by high performance and have the potential to do more. They have high aspirations and you can see how their skills fit into the organisational goals too.
With simpler frameworks, managers aren’t filling boxes, they’re having meaningful conversations.
Simpler frameworks also mean that the process can be scaled across the entire organisation.
2. Scale Talent Management
Traditional succession planning often focuses on critical roles and top talent. But unpredictability doesn’t just affect the top of the business, it affects everyone. Succession resilience requires visibility across the whole workforce.
When every employee is part of an organisation’s talent management, organisations gain:
earlier insights into skills coverage and gaps
fewer surprises when people move or leave
more confidence when planning future capability
greater trust between leaders and teams
Esendia’s client organisations using simpler, conversation-based frameworks consistently achieve career conversation completion rates above 90%, alongside improvements in internal mobility and retention.
Succession planning becomes something people participate in, not something that happens behind closed doors. But talent conversations and career and development plans are only half the story. People also need opportunities that stretch them and help them grow in real time.
3. Offer Development
Skills are ageing faster than ever. What was relevant five years ago may already feel outdated today. The WEF estimates that 44% of workers will require reskilling by 2027, with leadership, analytical thinking and technological literacy becoming essential [1].
Too often, development happens too late, once a capability gap becomes visible. But by then, the organisation is already exposed.
McKinsey’s research shows that organisations which embed capability building into their transformation efforts are substantially more likely to succeed, for example, such companies are 2.5 times more likely to succeed in transformation initiatives when they invest in culture and capabilities. [3]
Succession resilience is built by:
Developing core human skills early: communication, influence, resilience, critical thinking.
Tailoring learning experiences so people feel supported, not overwhelmed.
Embedding development in everyday work through on-the-job learning, feedback and coaching conversations with managers
And when development becomes proactive rather than reactive, succession planning can finally support the entire organisation, not just a select few.
5. Redefine What Effective Development Means
In times of uncertainty, organisations need people who can think clearly, collaborate openly and adapt quickly. These behaviours are rarely developed through e-learning libraries alone.
The WEF Resilience Pulse Check (2025) found that 84% of companies feel underprepared for future shocks [4]. The organisations that perform best are those that invest in experiential, collaborative learning, the kind that builds confidence as much as capability.
This includes:
stretch roles
action learning
cross-functional projects
coaching
peer learning circles
In Esendia’s projects across pharma, food and tech, these approaches consistently strengthen both individual and organisational resilience.
From Preparedness to Proactivity
Succession resilience isn’t about predicting what’s coming next. It’s about making your teams ready for anything. Organisations that succeed will:
Invest in people as a long-term capability, not a cost
Build talent systems that evolve continuously
Treat AI as a tool that enhances, not replaces, human leadership
What HR Leaders Can Do Next
Integrate career and succession planning so employees experience a joined-up journey.
Simplify your frameworks to create more space for meaningful dialogue.
Upskill your leaders to have development conversations that matter.
Include everyone, not just a chosen few.
Align development to the future your organisation is moving toward.
Resilience grows where people feel supported, valued and prepared. Start now, and you won’t just be ready for what the future brings, you’ll be one step ahead of it.
References
[1] World Economic Forum (2023). The Future of Jobs Report 2023. Available at: https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023
[2] McKinsey – The Missing Productivity Ingredient: Investment in Frontline Talent https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/operations/our-insights/the-missing-productivity-ingredient-investment-in-frontline-talent
[3] McKinsey & Company (2023) Digital culture and capabilities. Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/tech-and-ai/how-we-help-clients/digital-culture-and-capabilities
[4] World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Company. (2025) Resilience Pulse Check: Harnessing Collaboration to Navigate a Volatile World. Geneva: World Economic Forum. Available at: https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Resilience_Pulse_Check_2025.pdf
