A fifth of marketing leaders are making no attempt to cultivate the leadership pipeline within their organisation, exclusive B2B Marketing research has revealed.
According to From career success to succession planning: The B2B Marketing Leaders Report 2019 although 52% of senior marketers polled said succession planning was ‘generally important’, it is not a top priority for 71%
The lack of focus was attributed to the availability of relevant candidates, as well as the lack of structured development for younger talent.
In contrast, half of respondents said they would likely be involved in identifying their successors, with a majority saying they would hire a replacement from within the organisation.
Speaking at the B2B Marketing Leaders Forum last month Cara O’nions, global marketing director of Bottomline Technologies, said: “I’m surprised more people are not saying succession is a high priority. If you are in a CMO or marketing director role you should be laser-focused on career-planning for your team. It’s about understanding who those people are in your team, their skill sets and being able to spot those gems. You should take personal time and personal accountability – it’s not something you outsource to HR, it sits with you as a leader.”
Some 78% of respondents said their professional relationships with colleagues and role models were instrumental in helping them refine their plan in the future, while 50% said business coaching and mentoring were essential.
Helen Tupper, CEO of career development company Amazing If said: “Lots of organisations are struggling to help their employees develop in their career, because they think development is climbing the ladder. But organisations are offering fewer promotions because they’re becoming flatter. What they really want are employees who can take ownership of their career development and not just in a linear way.”
