With a continued wave of industry leaders retiring, now is the time to ensure your credit union takes a strategic approach to succession planning. There is a wide range of approaches to this critically important process.

Some institutions simply point to a box on the organization chart to identify who is next in line or has been there the longest. Others are moving beyond one-time or occasional conversations toward a more strategic, relevant and effective succession planning process, which is a critical and valued factor supporting organizational health and sustainability. The size and complexity of the organization impact the availability of succession planning resources. Larger and complex organizations have more executives at the senior level, whereas smaller credit unions might rely solely on the president/CEO as its only executive leader, limiting succession possibilities.