Building Tomorrow’s Leaders Today: Succession Planning Meets HR Tech

SuccessFactors
SAP

Succession planning and career development are no longer optional – they are essential to long‑term business success. This report will outline how organisations can identify high‑potential talent, build confident leadership pipelines, and harness HR technology to secure their future.

By Caroline McDonald - SAP SuccessFactors Consultant

High-potential talent, high-impact results

Hiring externally is costly and risky, so organisations need to identify, develop and retain their future leaders internally. What this means in today’s competitive business landscape, is that succession planning and career development is no longer optional, it’s a strategic imperative.

Talogy’s 2025 Global Research shows that most organisations identify high-potential talent to support succession planning, but many still don’t feel confident they are getting it right. Their research reveals what works – and what doesn’t – when building a strong leadership pipeline.

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7 tactics to enhance your succession planning strategy:

Succession isn’t a secret: It thrives on transparency and development. Keep it open and growth-focused.
Think Beyond Titles: Define “high potential” before starting. If titles didn’t matter, who would you choose as a leader? Labels aren’t everything.
Tech and Talent: Decide which skills stay human and which go to AI. Success means learning to work with technology, not necessarily handing everything over.
Talent Intelligence Matters: Strong collaboration between internal and external talent teams is critical for aligned decisions. Build and use that collective muscle.
High Potential ≠ Future Leader: Be realistic about gaps and encourage leaders stay transparent in pursuit of growth.
Act on Identification: Once you’ve identified high potential employees, provide targeted coaching and development opportunities.
Measure Success: Best-practice programs work. Over two-thirds of participants move into their next role successfully according to research.

Unlocking strategic succession planning with SAP SuccessFactors

SAP SuccessFactors Succession Management equips organisations with the tools to identify, develop, and retain top talent, ensuring leadership continuity and organisational resilience.

Why SAP SuccessFactors for succession?

The platform enables HR teams to move beyond reactive replacement planning toward proactive talent pipeline development. By leveraging integrated data from Employee Central, People Profile, and Talent Intelligence Hub, organisations gain a holistic view of employee performance, potential, and aspirations. This data-driven approach ensures succession decisions are based on objective insights rather than subjective judgment.

Key features driving impact

Succession Org Chart: Visualise key positions, incumbents, and identified successors in an intuitive hierarchy.
Source: learning.sap.com/

Talent Pools & Nominations: Managers can flag high-potential employees and nominate them for future roles.
Development Plans: Once talent is identified, development plans are put in place to support the successor to get ready to step into their role. Development provides a work area to add development goals and actions. If the employee has been nominated successor to a position, the development goals created are critical to their success in that particular position.
Growth Portfolio & Skills: Employees can build a dynamic profile of skills, competencies, and aspirations through the Growth Portfolio, powered by AI-driven recommendations. This integrates with Opportunity Marketplace to match employees with development opportunities.
Source: Describing the Growth Portfolio
- Talent Intelligence Hub acts as the central nervous system for skills management. It consolidates skills data across the organisation, enabling HR leaders to identify emerging skill gaps, map competencies to roles, and personalise development paths. By leveraging AI-driven insights, organisations can align succession planning with future skill needs, ensuring that talent pipelines are not only ready for leadership roles but also equipped for evolving business demands. This capability supports a shift toward skills-based workforce planning, helping organisations stay agile in a rapidly changing market.
  
  Business benefits
  Implementing SAP SuccessFactors Succession Management fosters engagement and retention by aligning career development with organisational needs. Combined with Talent Intelligence Hub and Growth Portfolio, leaders can create a future-ready workforce that thrives on continuous learning and mobility.
  
  Final thoughts
  Succession planning is about more than filling vacancies, it’s about future-proofing your organisation. HR leaders: start today by reviewing your critical roles and exploring how SAP SuccessFactors, combined with Growth Portfolio and Talent Intelligence Hub, can transform your succession strategy.