Bench strength refers to a qualified field of replacement players.  In EMS, this specifically applies to those people qualified and ready to step up to management, chief executive positions, or true EMS leaders such as Jay Fitch, Jack Stout, Jerry Overton and others who have helped shape current and future EMS systems across the nation and around the world. 

There are probably several reasons for this phenomena.   First, we are a ‘young’ industry by most standards.  Modern EMS has only really been around since the 1970s.  As such, there is a dearth of formal education programs for EMS management.  EMS professionals who wish to pursue an actual degree in EMS have very limited choices and programs with actual Bachelor’s or Master’s level programs are extremely difficult to find.

Second, many of us who grew up watching “EMERGENCY!” and got into this business in the late 70’s, are reaching our maximum useful professional life (yes Jerry, even you may retire someday!).   The hyperturbulence of EMS life often pushed issues such as succession planning to a back burner.  Consequently, we have not cultivated self-replacements two or three people deep. 

Finally, our industry has not historically placed a lot of value on formal education, or even management training in general for that matter.  Promotions have been more commonly made based on street experience, excellent clinical skills, or some type of promotional-civil service examination process.  This poses a problematic conundrum; we have a host of middle and senior managers without degrees who in turn, do not see the value in formal education.  Couple that with the virtual wasteland of EMS degree programs and “presto”, the current state of a weak bench!

If you are in a management or leadership position, you owe it to your organization, your community and our industry to develop a succession plan for your role.  Years ago I was blessed to be a senior manager for Rural/Metro.  One of the main responsibilities we all had (and a responsibility which was a main component of our performance appraisals) was the development and implementation of succession plans for myself, as well as assuring all managers on my team also had succession plans.  This was a very wise strategy since good managers were often offered promotions to other areas and developing your replacements helps make you ‘available’ to be promoted.

How do you develop a good succession plan??  Here are some key concepts you can use to build your bench!

In some cases, deciding on a replacement can be an immediate and obvious gut decision.  In other cases, it may be less obvious and more difficult.  Succession Plans are usually confidential documents containing the names of people designated as immediate or long?term successors.  By themselves, Succession Plans are neither developmental plans nor are they a means to motivate designated successors.  They are, however, a trigger for targeted development of potential successors.

Before initiating the planning process determine which key positions you feel require a Succession Plan.  Obviously, your own position, but also consider requiring your entire management team to create succession plans for their positions as well.  In doing so, assure them that the need for creating a succession plan IS NOT because their current employment is at risk, but rather a way to be sure they are ‘promotable’ if that option becomes available.

Consider potential successors in light of their abilities and their demonstration of the core values you feel are important to the mission and vision of the organization.  You do not need to limit potential successors to those within your immediate organization or even those within the EMS industry.  If the position is truly management/leadership, the core skills are the key element.  Anyone can be taught the EMS business.  In fact, there is often great debate on whether it’s easier to take a field medic and teach them management and leadership skills, or hire a person with great management and leadership skills and teach them the EMS business.  My bias is to the latter.

Once you identify a successor, or two, share with them your opinion that you feel they would be a good successor.  Through open dialog both of you can lay out some goals and expectations to prepare the successor.  Be sure not to indicate that simply through the identification and development process, you are guaranteeing a future promotion, but rather simply creating options for the future.

If the potential successor agrees to be part of the succession program, work together to develop a written plan to prepare the successor appropriately.  This may include formal education programs, workshops, job shadowing, internships at peer organizations, or any other developmental opportunity you both feel would be valuable.  When establishing these goals, set reasonable time frames for completion, as well as a written expectation of how costs and logistics will be handled.

The last step in the planning process is to determine with the potential successor an estimated time frame to ‘get ready’, with specific dates for milestone completion.  The overall development period may be six months or six years.  The time does not matter as much as setting the actual goals.  This way, the expectations are clearly understood on both sides.

Finally, you should ask all your managers to go through the same process, submit their written plans to you and make it part of their expected job duties.  One promotion or change in the management team may create a cascade effect, requiring the most junior supervisor to have identified a few field providers who have been groomed, educated and prepared to become a field supervisor.

If you would like any additional information on succession planning, here are a few good resources I’ve found that may help you. 

You may also contact me and I’d be happy to share with your some planning templates and tools for developing successions plans for your organization. 

http://www.score.org/article_succession_plan.html

http://www.tva.gov/foia/readroom/policy/prinprac/intstaffplan1.htm

www.astd.org/NR/rdonlyres/8920CE23-5EA9-4C60-91A3-169CCB3C62DF/0/pp_GAO_HC_Report.pdf

Matt mzavadsky@co.volusia.fl.us