A Direct Line Blog

By Donya Parrish, MCU VP-Risk Management

Most of you have probably discussed succession planning in your boardroom in recent years. Whether the reason is to plan for an executive retirement or to satisfy your regulator, it is an important discussion. Let me add another element to your discussion — are you simply planning for the replacement of a person or are you planning for succession and the future of the credit union?

As this article explains, there is a difference. “Replacement planning does not focus on the development of people you already have within your organization. This can lead to missed opportunities. The more proactive you can be in the development of your team, the better off you are as an organization. It helps to secure your future.”

Those are powerful words, and it helps to start thinking about it as future planning. We recently hosted a 97-minute webinar (and slides) with our partner Jim Kasch from Canidae Consulting as part of CUNA’s Small Credit Union Webinar Series. Jim covered staff development and did a great job explaining the need to look at your organization’s depth. I encourage you to take some time to hear Jim’s message and think about whether your planning is for success or for replacement.