Succession planning for Township Developers: who runs the next phase when a head moves on
A township outlives careers. Heads retire, move or get poached long before the last phase is done, so the firm needs names for each key post and a plan for readying them.
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Share your requirementsWhy succession planning matters in township developers
In many township firms, a project director has been with the founder for fifteen or twenty years. His knowledge of land, authorities and vendors is not written anywhere. If he leaves, the next phase suffers for a year. The same applies to the sales head and the estate manager.
Succession planning begins with a list of key posts. For each, name someone who could step in now with help, and someone who could in two or three years. Then write one development action per person. It is not a promise of promotion. It is a way to avoid a gap.
How to set it up
1. List the key posts
Pick the roles whose loss would hurt a phase: project directors, department heads, estate manager and a few specialists.
2. Name successors
For each post, write a ready-now and a ready-later name, or write none and mark it as a risk. Review with the founder.
3. Write the development action
Specify one thing each successor should do in the next year, such as lead a sub-phase, attend a meeting with authorities or take over a vendor relationship.
4. Capture what the current holder knows
Ask the holder to write down key contacts, sequences and lessons, with the successor reading and asking questions.
5. Review yearly and after any exit
Update the list, record who moved and why, and check that development actions were done. The manager programme can feed it.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- Pick the three most critical heads and ask whether a successor is named for each.
- See whether any head has written down his contacts and sequences.
- Ask a named successor what he has been asked to do to prepare.
- Check whether the list was reviewed last year.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach succession planning in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
Usually yes, with care. Explain that it is a development plan, not a promise of the post, so they can prepare and the firm can hold them.
Mark it as a risk, plan an external hire in time and use the interim to develop a junior. It is better to know than to be surprised.
Present succession as a firm-wide practice for every key post, including the founder's, and recognise handing over knowledge as part of a head's work.