Succession planning as a tool to manage leadership turnover in Historically Disadvantaged Higher Education Institutions in South Africa.

Abstract

Leadership turnover remains a worldwide perennial challenge to institutions of higher learning. Against this background, this to study investigated how Historically Disadvantaged Higher Education Institutions in South Africa use succession planning as a tool to manage leadership turnover, focussing on the management of leadership turnover, establishing current practice in implementing their succession planning policies, analysing how they mediate the tension between succession planning policies and recruitment policies, ascertaining the implications of their succession planning policies and practices for leadership development, and investigating if leadership succession planning is incorporated into their talent management strategies. The descriptive research design was adopted to understand the effect of succession planning on leadership turnover. Qualitative research was conducted to understand and explain the subject matter under investigation. Seven Historically Disadvantaged Higher Education Institutions in South Africa, located in four provinces: Western Cape, Limpopo, Eastern Cape and KwaZulu Natal, were selected for this study. The targeted population was approximately fifty participants, comprising Deputy Vice Chancellors, Registrars, Deans of Faculties and Executive Directors. Using the purposive sampling technique, twelve participants, who constituted the accessible population, were further selected. To collect primary data, semi-structured interviews were used. The data collected was then manually transcribed and analysed using the NVivo, Version 13.0 software, and thematic analysis to generate, organise and report the main and sub-themes emerging from the study. Findings showed that turnover at leadership levels in Historically Disadvantaged Higher Education Institutions could be managed through different strategies including, offering favourable terms and conditions of employment, internal and/or external recruitment, internal promotions, employee training and development, identification of people with potential, leadership involvement, and advance human resource planning. This study provides an in-depth understanding and knowledge of leadership succession planning in the seven Historically Disadvantaged Higher Education Institutions in South African and recommends that they continue to invest and implement in succession planning to manage leadership turnover through customised formalised processes.