Career Progression and Succession Planning: Are Your People Ready for the Next Step?

If one of your key people handed in their notice tomorrow, who would step into their role?

For many businesses, the honest answer is, “we’re not completely sure.” Perhaps there is someone internally who could grow into the position with a little more time and support. Perhaps the plan has always been to recruit externally. Or perhaps succession planning has simply never felt urgent enough to move to the top of the agenda.

That is understandable. When teams are busy and priorities keep shifting, planning for a vacancy that does not yet exist can easily become something for later. But career progression and succession planning are closely connected, and together they can have a significant influence on whether good people stay, develop and ultimately become the future leaders of a business.

Our Essex Workforce & Leadership Insights Report 2026 highlighted an important gap. 70% of professionals said career progression is very or extremely important to them, yet only around 40% feel progression is genuinely accessible within their current organisation.

The research behind this article is focused on Essex, so many of the insights below reflect what professionals across the county told us. However, the wider questions around progression, leadership development, retention and succession will be familiar to businesses well beyond Essex too.

So, what does effective succession planning actually look like? How can employers identify whether someone is ready to progress? And what can professionals do to demonstrate that they are prepared for their own next step?

What is succession planning?

Succession planning is the process of identifying and developing people who could step into important roles in the future, helping to make sure a business is not left exposed when somebody moves on, retires or is promoted.

It is sometimes associated with large organisations, board appointments and formal leadership programmes, but it can be just as important for SMEs.

In a smaller business, a critical role might be a Finance Manager, Operations Lead, Head of Sales or the one person who holds a significant client relationship or understands how a particular process really works. Losing that person unexpectedly can have an immediate impact on the wider team.

Good succession planning usually means understanding which roles would be hardest to replace, recognising who could potentially grow into them, considering how long that development might take and giving people the exposure and support they need along the way.

It also means being realistic. Internal progression will not always be the right solution, and there will be times when bringing new skills or experience into the organisation is exactly what is needed.

Succession planning is therefore less about creating a rigid list of replacements and more about ensuring the business is not relying on luck when change happens.

How are career progression and succession planning connected?

Career progression is the individual’s side of the story. Succession planning is the organisation’s.

When the two are aligned, employees have greater visibility of where their career could go, while employers gradually build a stronger internal pipeline of people who may be capable of taking on greater responsibility in the future.

When they are not aligned, a familiar pattern can emerge. Someone with potential cannot see a clear route forward, so eventually they begin looking for that opportunity elsewhere. The employer then finds itself recruiting externally for a position it may have been able to develop someone towards internally.

There is a commercial consideration here too.

Replacing an experienced employee involves much more than the visible cost of advertising a vacancy or paying a recruitment fee. There is management and HR time involved in recruiting and interviewing, the potential cost of temporary cover, onboarding and training, and the inevitable period while somebody new builds knowledge and reaches full effectiveness. The CIPD also highlights the loss of organisation-specific knowledge as an important consequence of turnover. CIPD

That does not mean an internal promotion should be made simply to avoid the cost and disruption of an external hire. But where a capable person already exists within the organisation and wants to progress, investing in their development can help retain knowledge, provide greater continuity and reduce some of the disruption that comes with starting again.

Put simply, a business that takes progression seriously is already doing much of the groundwork for succession.

What does the Essex data tell us about progression?

Our Essex Workforce & Leadership Insights Report 2026 gathered views from professionals across different roles, career stages and levels of seniority.

The findings showed that 70% rate career progression as very or extremely important, while only around 40% feel progression is accessible within their current organisation.

When respondents were asked where employers could make a meaningful difference, 64% highlighted career progression and 57% pointed towards training and development.

The research also found that around two in five respondents would consider accepting a lower salary if this were balanced by stronger leadership, more visible development opportunities and a more supportive working environment.

This sits within a wider retention challenge. 65% of respondents were considering a move within the next 12 months, including 25% within the next three months.

Perhaps one of the most useful findings, though, was what appears to happen after someone joins.

For some respondents, conversations about development seem to fade once they are established in post. Progression may feature during recruitment and onboarding, but as day-to-day work takes over, those conversations can gradually slip off the agenda.

Over time, that can leave someone feeling they have reached a ceiling, even if there are parts of the organisation and role they otherwise enjoy.

You can explore the complete findings in the Essex Workforce & Leadership Insights Report 2026.

Progression conversations need to continue beyond onboarding

Talking about development once a year at an annual appraisal is unlikely to give employers or employees enough visibility.

Instead, progression can become a natural part of regular one-to-ones, whether those conversations happen monthly, quarterly or at another interval that works for the organisation.

That does not mean every review needs to become a conversation about promotion.

It might simply mean asking what someone would like greater exposure to, whether their career ambitions have changed, what they would like to develop over the next quarter or where they feel they need additional support.

Regular conversations also give managers the opportunity to revisit agreed development goals. If somebody wants to move towards a more senior role, what experience did you agree they needed? Have they had an opportunity to gain it? Has anything changed since the last conversation?

Importantly, this creates a two-way conversation.

Employers gain a clearer picture of the capability and ambition they already have within the business, while employees do not have to wait until they are frustrated enough to start looking elsewhere before discussing what comes next.

Why is the “stalled middle” a succession risk?

The people who could become tomorrow’s senior leaders are often sitting somewhere in the middle of the organisation today.

They may be experienced professionals, established managers, heads of department or leaders who have significant responsibility already but still have ambitions to progress further.

Our Essex report suggests that this middle layer is experiencing increasing pressure. Managers and emerging leaders described growing workloads and limited capacity for development-focused leadership, while changes in line management were also reported by a notable proportion of respondents.

This creates a risk in two directions.

Managers who are stretched have less time to coach and develop the people reporting to them. At the same time, those managers may receive very little focused development themselves.

On the surface, everything may continue to function. People are delivering, teams are busy and managers are getting the work done. But underneath that, the future leadership pipeline can gradually weaken.

Then a senior role becomes available and the business discovers that there is nobody quite ready to take it on.

Supporting managers properly is therefore not only about their current wellbeing or performance. It is also an important part of protecting the future leadership capability of the organisation.

Leadership development should not stop when someone becomes a manager

Leadership development is an area worth particular attention.

A business can have a positive approach to learning and development overall, yet managers sometimes fall between the gaps. There may be structured development for early-career employees, technical qualifications for specialists and onboarding programmes for new starters, while established managers are expected to continue developing largely through experience.

That can leave a significant gap.

Moving from individual contributor to manager is one transition, but development should not stop there. Moving from manager to senior leader, from head of function to director, or from director into a board role creates new challenges again.

The skills required may change from managing day-to-day delivery to influencing across an organisation, developing other leaders, making commercially significant decisions, leading through uncertainty or contributing at strategic and board level.

A leadership development programme can provide some structure around that journey.

That does not necessarily mean a large or expensive formal programme. Depending on the business and the individual, development might include coaching, mentoring, peer learning, management or leadership training, shadowing more senior colleagues, leading cross-functional projects or gaining greater exposure to strategic and board-level discussions.

What matters is that development continues at every level.

If established managers spend all their available time developing everybody else without anyone investing in them, there is a real risk that the people expected to become the organisation’s next senior leaders are the very people whose development is being overlooked.

How do you assess whether someone is ready for the next step?

Being excellent in a current role does not automatically mean somebody is ready to lead others or take on a broader remit.

Equally, someone does not need to demonstrate every element of a future role before being considered for it. The aim is to understand what they can already do, where their potential lies and what development may still be needed.

Useful signs can include someone already taking responsibility beyond their formal remit, being trusted by colleagues for guidance, handling uncertainty and competing priorities effectively and thinking beyond their immediate tasks to consider the wider impact of decisions.

Self-awareness is important too. Someone who understands where they are strong, where they need further development and what support would help them progress gives an employer a much clearer foundation to work from.

And, importantly, ask them what they actually want.

Not every excellent performer wants to manage a team. Not every experienced manager wants a board position. Progression may mean deeper specialism, broader responsibility, strategic projects or a different direction altogether.

Succession planning works much better when it is based on genuine career conversations rather than assumptions.

Assessing readiness at interview

Whether you are interviewing an internal candidate for promotion or an external candidate taking a step up, a structured conversation can tell you considerably more than a CV or track record alone.

Questions might explore a time they have taken responsibility outside their usual remit, how they have developed others, how they approached a difficult decision without having every piece of information available, what they would prioritise during their first few months in the role, or which aspects of the position they believe would stretch them most.

Strong answers are not necessarily about having done the exact job before.

They can demonstrate sound judgement, critical thinking, self-awareness and a realistic understanding of what the increased responsibility involves.

Our Insights Hub includes practical interview guides, including guidance around assessing critical thinking, which can help employers structure these conversations.

For professionals: how can you show you are ready for progression?

If you are hoping to take the next step within your current organisation, do not assume that your ambitions are obvious.

Your manager may recognise your capability without knowing that you want to progress in a particular direction, so starting that conversation yourself can be valuable.

Ask what “ready” looks like for the position or level you are working towards. Different organisations will place emphasis on different experience, behaviours and capabilities, and knowing what is expected gives you something more useful to work towards.

Look for opportunities to demonstrate those capabilities before the title arrives. That might involve taking ownership of a project, deputising for a colleague, becoming more involved in strategic conversations, mentoring others or taking responsibility for a challenge outside your normal remit.

Understanding the wider business matters too. As roles become more senior, decisions increasingly need to be made in the context of other teams, customers, commercial priorities and longer-term objectives.

It is also worth actively asking for feedback. Being open about areas for development, considering that feedback carefully and demonstrating how you have acted on it shows self-awareness and a genuine commitment to continued development.

Finally, keep track of your impact. Significant projects, problems you have solved, changes you have led and measurable outcomes can all make progression conversations more useful, particularly when you are moving towards a senior leadership or board-level position.

These discussions can also form part of your regular monthly or quarterly reviews, rather than only taking place when a vacancy appears.

Signs your succession planning may need attention

There are some useful indicators that it may be time to revisit your approach: critical knowledge or relationships sitting with one person; development conversations disappearing after induction; promotions happening by default rather than through planned development; talented people repeatedly leaving to take their “next step” elsewhere; managers having little capacity to develop their teams; leadership development stopping once somebody reaches management; or every senior vacancy automatically becoming an external search.

None of these mean something has gone badly wrong.

They are simply useful prompts to look at whether progression and succession are being managed intentionally enough.

Practical steps to strengthen progression and succession

The findings from our Essex report do not suggest that every employer needs to make dramatic changes. In many cases, the opportunity lies in greater consistency.

• Identify your critical roles. Consider which positions would create the greatest disruption if they suddenly became vacant and where important knowledge, relationships or responsibilities are concentrated.
• Build career conversations into monthly or quarterly reviews. Keep progression on the agenda after recruitment and onboarding. Regularly revisit ambitions, development goals and the experience someone may need for their next step rather than waiting for the annual review.
• Make progression more visible. Employees cannot work towards an opportunity if they do not understand what it involves. Be as clear as possible about potential routes, the capabilities required and the development available.
• Give managers the capacity to develop others. If people leadership is constantly squeezed around an already full operational workload, development will inevitably move down the list.
• Create meaningful stretch opportunities. Projects, deputising, mentoring, shadowing and broader strategic exposure can help people develop before a formal vacancy exists.
• Invest in leadership development at every level. Do not assume that established managers or senior leaders no longer require development. Leadership programmes, coaching, mentoring and peer learning can help strengthen current leadership while preparing people for greater responsibility.
• Start talking about development early. Our Essex research found that 45% of respondents felt their induction could be improved. Introducing development conversations during recruitment and onboarding can give people greater clarity about how their role might evolve.
• Balance internal development with external hiring. Growing existing talent and bringing new expertise into the organisation are not competing strategies. Strong workforce planning should consider both.

Should you promote from within or hire externally?

There is no universal answer, and very often the strongest approach involves a combination of the two.

Promoting internally can retain organisational knowledge, maintain continuity and provide visible evidence to the wider workforce that progression really does happen.

There is also a commercial advantage when the right person is already within the organisation. Although an internal move still requires investment in development and potentially a replacement further down the structure, employers may retain valuable knowledge and avoid some of the disruption associated with an experienced employee leaving altogether.

External recruitment has an equally important role.

Sometimes a business genuinely needs experience, specialist knowledge or a perspective that is not currently available internally. In other cases, a potential successor may have been identified but simply needs more time before they are ready.

A flexible solution can occasionally bridge that gap. Interim or temporary support, for example, might provide experienced cover while an internal successor continues to develop without forcing either the individual or the organisation into a move before the time is right.

Whatever route is chosen, communication matters. If an internal applicant is not successful, explaining the reasons and agreeing what further development would help them can be important in maintaining engagement.

What does this mean for employers in Essex?

For many businesses across Essex, whether in Colchester, Chelmsford, Southend or elsewhere in the county, teams are relatively lean. When one experienced person leaves, the impact can therefore be felt very quickly.

That makes progression and succession particularly relevant.

The encouraging part of our research is that there is a genuine appetite among many Essex professionals to build their careers locally. The challenge for employers is making sure those people can see how that growth might happen in practice.

That does not mean promising promotion where an opportunity does not exist.

It means having more open conversations about development, understanding the capability already within the organisation and being thoughtful about where future gaps may appear.

And while our research focuses on Essex, the principle is just as relevant to the businesses we support in London and across the wider UK: understanding the people you already have should be part of the conversation before deciding what you need to recruit from outside.

So, are your people ready for the next step?

Some may be ready now. Others may have significant potential but need further experience or development first. Some may want to progress in a completely different direction from the one their employer has assumed for them.

The important part is knowing.

Succession planning does not have to become a complicated exercise carried out once a year. It can start with regular conversations, a better understanding of critical roles and a commitment to developing people throughout their careers, including those who are already in management and leadership positions.

There will always be a place for external recruitment. Bringing new skills, experience and thinking into an organisation is an important part of building strong teams.

But before every senior vacancy automatically becomes a search outside the business, it is worth asking whether the future leader you need may already be there.

At WE Talent, we support employers across Essex, London and the wider UK with permanent, temporary, interim and leadership recruitment. When we talk to clients about a vacancy, we are interested in more than the job description. We want to understand where the role sits within the wider team, what the business will need in the future and whether recruitment is the only answer.

If you would like to talk through your hiring plans, leadership pipeline or what the findings from our Essex Workforce & Leadership Insights Report could mean for your organisation, speak to the WE Talent team. We would be happy to help.

Career Progression and Succession Planning FAQs

What is succession planning in a small business?

Succession planning in a small business means identifying the positions that would be particularly difficult to replace and considering who could potentially step into them in the future. It allows employers to develop people before a vacancy becomes urgent and reduces the risk of important knowledge or capability disappearing when someone leaves.

Why is career progression important for employee retention?

Employees are more likely to question their future when they cannot see opportunities to develop. In WE Talent's Essex Workforce & Leadership Insights Report 2026, 70% of professionals rated career progression as very or extremely important, but only around 40% felt it was accessible within their current organisation.

How often should employers discuss career progression?

Progression should not be confined to an annual appraisal. Building it into regular monthly or quarterly one-to-ones gives employers and employees an opportunity to review ambitions, development goals, experience gained and what support may be needed next.

How do you assess readiness for progression?

Look beyond performance in someone's existing role. Consider how they handle greater responsibility, uncertainty and decision-making, whether they understand the wider business, how they support and influence others, and what they have done to develop their own capability. Structured interview questions can also help when assessing someone for a formal step up.

How can I show my employer I am ready for progression?

Start by being clear about where you would like your career to go and ask what would be expected at the next level. Look for opportunities to gain relevant experience, seek constructive feedback, understand the wider business and keep a record of the impact you have made.

What is a leadership development programme?

A leadership development programme is a structured approach to helping current or future leaders strengthen the skills they need for greater responsibility. It could include formal training, coaching, mentoring, peer learning, strategic projects, shadowing or exposure to senior and board-level decision-making.

Should experienced managers still receive leadership development?

Yes. Development should not stop once someone becomes a manager. Moving into senior leadership, director or board-level positions can require different skills again, so established managers and leaders can benefit from continued coaching, development and exposure to new responsibilities.

Is it better to promote internally or hire externally?

Both can be appropriate. Internal progression can retain organisational knowledge and strengthen employee engagement, while external recruitment can bring capabilities or experience that do not currently exist within the organisation. Effective succession planning helps employers make that decision intentionally rather than automatically.

What does it cost to replace an employee in the UK?

There is no single figure that applies to every role. Costs can include recruitment and selection, temporary cover, management and HR time, onboarding, training and reduced productivity while a replacement gets up to speed. CIPD recommends employers consider these wider costs when assessing the impact of turnover. CIPD

Can WE Talent help with succession and leadership hiring in Essex?

Yes. WE Talent supports employers across Essex, London and the wider UK with permanent, temporary and interim recruitment, including leadership hiring and conversations around longer-term workforce requirements.