Succession Planning Services
If a key seat opened tomorrow, who would fill it? PCI’s psychologists give you objective data on each successor’s potential and a clear plan to get them ready, so the answer is never a scramble.
Why Succession Plans Fail
Most succession plans don’t fail for lack of good people. They fail because of how those people are identified, developed, and told about the plan.
The Truth Triangle
See every successor clearly
Performance shows what someone has done. Perceptions show how others experience them. Only potential shows what they're likely to do at the next level, and it's the piece most organizations skip. We bring all three together into one talent profile for each successor.Â
Performance
Documented results, achievements, and key experiences in feeder roles.Â
Potential
Psychologist-led assessments that measure the traits and abilities a current role may never test. Each successor gets a custom report and development plan.Â
Perceptions
360 feedback from interviews, online tools, or custom surveys that shows each leader what to start, stop, and continue.
Our Succession Planning Process
Whether you're in crisis mode due to an unexpected departure, proactively building your bench, or planning for a wave of retirements, our succession planning advisors meet you where you are. Then, we guide you through a process that's proven to get you where you want to be.
- PrepareWe work with your executives and board to define a measurable, defensible set of competencies for each critical role. Then we align job descriptions and set up your nomination process and communication plan.
- EvaluateInternal successors complete an executive assessment: about 2 hours online and a 1-hour interview with a PCI psychologist. A second psychologist peer reviews every set of competency ratings.
- DebriefEach nominee gets a custom-written report and honest feedback on where they stand. Your team gets a clear view of bench strength for every critical role.
- DevelopEvery nominee gets a tailored development plan, with 360 feedback and coaching where they’ll help most. Successors document their progress over time.
- SelectWhen a seat opens, we run a structured selection with your board or committee, comparing internal and external candidates on the same criteria.
See Your Bench at a Glance
After the assessments, you get a dashboard that shows every nominee’s potential side by side. In the debrief, a PCI psychologist uses it to walk your team through each person:
- What is likely helping them perform well today
- What could hold them back in bigger roles
- Which gaps can be developed, and how
- Whether they are well placed now or have the potential to move up one, two, or more levels
Your team then places each person on a 9-box grid, using these ratings for potential and your own performance data and observations for performance.
We create a one-page talent profile on each nominee with readiness for specific roles and next steps for your committee. See a sample talent profile (PDF)
Succession Planning Dashboard
Sample dataSwipe to see all columns →
| Nominee and growth potential | Strategic thinking | Execution skills | Relationship management | People leadership |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABPotential: High | 5 | 4.5 | 3 | 4.5 |
| CDPotential: High | 4.5 | 3 | 4.5 | 5 |
| BNPotential: Moderate | 4 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 3 |
| KLPotential: Moderate | 3 | 2.5 | 4 | 3.5 |
| RFPotential: Limited | 2.5 | 3 | 2 | 1.5 |
| SSPotential: Low | 2 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 1 |
Ratings use a 1 to 5 scale. The full dashboard breaks each area into 18 competencies, so you can see exactly where each nominee is ready and where they need to grow.
When It's Time to Choose
When a CEO or C-suite seat opens, we guide your board or selection committee from job posting to final decision. Internal and external candidates are measured against the same competencies, so your decision is fair, well documented, and easy to defend.
A regional nonprofit recently used this process to select its next CEO in four months, from approved plan to announcement.
What’s included
- Resume screening scorecard to grade every applicant on the same criteria
- Screening and finalist interview guides with rating scales, plus training for your interviewers
- The same executive assessment for external candidates that your internal successors completed
- Candidate comparison ratings, including an overall potential-for-success rating for every finalist
- Ratings alignment meetings so your interviewers agree on what they saw
- Finalist scorecards that bring together experience, assessment results, interview ratings, and onboarding suggestions
- Debriefs at every decision point, plus transition support, including conversations with internal candidates who weren’t selected
Why Choose PCI for Succession Planning Services?
- Predictive, not retrospective. Validated assessments of potential, proven to predict future success.
- Objective data. Clear evidence to guide your promotion decisions and focus development investment where it pays off.
- Expert recommendations. Specific next steps for every participant, provided by business psychologists with 20+ years advising executives.
- Reporting built around you. Results mapped to your leadership competencies, core values, and success profiles.
- Flexible engagement. We can serve as your assessment partner, or manage the entire process from end to end.
Build a bench you can count on
Talk with one of our psychologists about your critical roles and where to start
Prefer to send a question first? Contact us
Planning on your own first? Read our Succession Planning Best Practices