The Default Succession Plan Editor setting determines who is responsible for creating and maintaining succession plans in your organization.
By choosing the default editor, admins can define whether succession plans are managed by managers or by employees. This setting affects who can edit succession plans, which options are available during setup, and how managers and employees participate in the succession planning process.
Understanding Succession Plan Ownership models
Succession plans can follow one of two ownership models:
Manager ownership: Managers create and manage succession plans for their direct reports.
Employee ownership: Employees create and manage their own succession plans.
The selected editor determines who has control over updating succession plan information.
Manager ownership model
When managers are selected as the default succession plan editors:
Managers can create and update succession plans for their team members.
Employees can participate by suggesting successors if the feature is enabled.
Managers remain responsible for maintaining succession plan information.
This model is commonly used when managers are expected to evaluate team readiness and identify potential successors.
Manager experience
Managers can:
Review succession plans for their team members.
Add or update successor information.
Maintain succession plan details based on their team knowledge.
This model is commonly used when managers are expected to evaluate team readiness and identify potential successors.
Employee experience
Employees may be able to:
Suggest potential successors for their role.
View succession plan information if access is enabled.
Provide input during the succession planning process.
Employees cannot directly edit succession plans owned by managers.
Employee Ownership Model
With the Employee ownership model, employees are responsible for creating and maintaining their own succession plans.
Employees can:
Create their own succession plan.
Add potential successors.
Update successor information.
Review and maintain their succession plan as their role evolves.
Managers can still edit the succession plans owned by employees. Employees maintain their own succession planning information throughout their role.
Employee experience
Employees take ownership of keeping their succession plans current by updating successor information and maintaining their plans as responsibilities or potential successors change.
Manager experience
Managers can still view and edit succession plans for their direct reports when employee ownership is enabled.
Settings unavailable with Employee ownership
When Employees are selected as the Default Succession Plan Editor, the following settings are no longer available because they apply only to manager-owned succession plans:
Allow managers to request successor suggestions from their direct reports
This setting is unavailable because managers no longer own succession plans. Employees manage their own plans and maintain their own successor information.
Allow employees to view the active plan for their own role
This setting is unavailable because employees already own and manage their own succession plans. Separate access to view a manager-owned active plan is no longer required.
How this change affects managers and employees
For Managers
When Manager ownership is selected, managers are responsible for creating and maintaining succession plans for their teams.
When Employee ownership is selected, managers no longer manage succession plans for their direct reports, as employees become responsible for maintaining their own plans.
For Employees
When Manager ownership is selected, employees may contribute by suggesting successors or viewing their active succession plan if those options are enabled.
When Employee ownership is selected, employees become responsible for creating, maintaining, and updating their own succession plans.
HR use cases
Encourage employee ownership of career planning
Organizations that promote employee-driven career development can allow employees to maintain their own succession plans while keeping successor information current.
Support manager-led talent reviews
Organizations that rely on managers to assess readiness and identify successors can use manager-owned succession plans to centralize succession planning within leadership teams.
Align succession planning with organizational processes
Different business units may prefer different ownership approaches depending on whether succession planning is driven by managers or by employee self-service. Selecting the appropriate default editor helps establish a consistent process across the organization.
Best practice
Choose the ownership model that aligns with your organization's succession planning process before enabling the feature. If managers are responsible for evaluating successors and maintaining talent information, use Manager ownership. If employees are expected to maintain their own succession plans as part of career development, use Employee ownership to give them direct responsibility for keeping their plans up to date.