This was an intense piece of work – timetabled over a period of three months. It involved many interviews, report writing and board reports, with detailed in person follow ups with the CEO and Board. The Board wanted input on identifying potential leaders and wanted an unbiased, confidential voice. We were mindful to make all our meetings confidential and to have a pre-set open agenda with all participants. As this was confidential and we were party to market sensitive information, we signed a companywide Non-Disclosure Agreement before commencing the work.

Given that succession planning must be founded on some core principles, including transparency, fairness and equity, we were keen for our process to allow key stakeholders an opportunity to engage with us throughout the process. The Board felt fairness was far more likely to be genuinely achieved by instructing an external partner such as Moon, as that was more likely to help remove any implicit biases that may become a factor in key decisions.

We built in regular checkbacks and discussion forums to assess the effectiveness of any actions taken as we moved along the process. We agreed a set timetable, process and clear questions which the Board approved. The CEO sent a personal message to each person involved, and we conducted confidential interviews. We were clear with all participants at the outset that any potentially sensitive information would only be presented to Board with their consent. Thus in this way, we built in honesty, trust and transparency in all our conversations.

Following our exploratory conversations, we provided detailed reports compromising individual strengths and areas for development to the Board, and then had a face-to-face review. We were able to offer key career advice, and as a result have a say in assessing and advising on individual development.