We can no longer take for granted that employees will remain with one company for their entire careers, and it’s not usually easy to fill a key position from the outside of the organization. Succession planning is essential to identifying and building your future leadership so that you have a strong bench on hand and are ready to fill important positions.

How effectively are you finding and developing future leaders? Which positions are key and require the most planning and preparation? What can your small business do to diminish the disruption from sudden departures? How can you make succession planning more than a once-a-year event? The answers to these questions are important whether you have 10 employees or 1,000 employees.