Skip to content

Project Recommendations

UC staff going up an escalator

Recommendations to enable talent and succession management are as follows:

  1. Encourage senior leadership to sponsor and champion talent and succession management by adopting strategies tailored to each location’s needs.
  2. Use the framework outlined in the Quick Start Guide to initiate the process.
  3. Customize Toolkit materials and methods to align with goals, priorities, policies and practices of the particular UC location.
  4. Invest in talent development programs, establish and publicize objective criteria for participation and communicate expectations.
  5. Build and sustain a culture of inclusion and systemwide mobility to retain, further develop, and fully benefit from UC’s world-leading talent by:
    1. Employing change management practices to support a culture shift
    2. Encouraging faculty and staff to pursue UC career opportunities within and outside of their current location or unit
    3. Publicizing the topic—incorporate it into staff meetings, highlight successes, recognize champions
    4. Developing talent pools, rather than “heir-apparent” successors, where possible
    5. Proactively maintaining diversity and inclusion principles
    6. Staying attuned to and comply with negotiated labor contract constraints
    7. Assessing progress periodically for visibility and accountability, to document successes, and to ensure effectiveness 

 

The Quick Start Guide

Quick Start Guide Thumbnail

The Quick Start Guide outlines three steps you and your team can take to begin to implement a talent and succession management program.

With the support of a trained facilitator and HR partner, get started today:

  1. Assess - Identify your future talent needs
    1. Obtain campus and systemwide data to assess current state and define future state
    2. With HR professionals and campus diversity, equity and inclusion experts, set goals for workforce strategic planning, obtain and share information
    3. Identify necessary employee skills and experiences necessary for leadership and institutional success
  1. Communicate - Share vision and tools 
    1. Share vision, values, goals with employees
    2. Identify/develop talent development programs
    3. With HR professionals and diversity, equity and inclusion experts, prepare and train managers for succession planning conversations
    4. Dedicate time for self-assessments and talent development conversations
    5. Communicate opportunities and encourage participation
  1. Measure - Track and analyze progress
    1. Track and analyze progress—align metrics with strategic goals and objectives
    2. Identify opportunities for improvement
    3. Report and highlight quick wins
    4. Recognize managers who invest in talent and succession management
    5. Reinforce best practices for building a diverse workforce

Learn More

  1. Investing in Our People: Building and Sustaining a UC Culture of Talent and Succession Management: Executive Summary
  2. Investing in Our People: Building and Sustaining a UC Culture of Talent and Succession Management: Final Report
  3. UC Talent and Succession Management: Where Do We Begin? Project Presentation
  4. The Case for Engaging in Talent and Succession Management Strategy at UC: A Business Case. UCOP Report

Project Sponsors

Donna Salvo Executive Director Systemwide Talent Management

Donna Salvo

Executive Director, Systemwide Talent Management

UCOP

Ray Miskelley Headshot

Ray Miskelley

Executive Director, Contract, Business and Finance

UCNL

Nancy Pluzdrak Headshot

Nancy Pluzdrak

Executive Director, Human Resources

UCOP