Human Resources Roundtable: Succession Planning for a Changing Workforce

The U.S. labor force is shrinking while millions of workers are nearing retirement, leaving both a shortage of talent and a widening skills gap. Yet, only 19% of organizations have a formal succession plan, and most small businesses wait until someone gives notice before thinking about replacements. By then, there’s little time to recruit, cross-train, or transfer institutional knowledge- even though a smooth role transition often requires six months of overlap between outgoing and incoming employees. For manufacturers, laboratories, and other industries with aging workforces, the loss of technical and leadership expertise poses a significant risk to stability and growth.

This course equips small business owners with practical, accessible strategies to get ahead of retirements before they disrupt operations. Together, we will review workforce demographics to identify at-risk roles, build mentorship programs to transfer knowledge, create cross-training opportunities to prevent single points of failure, and explore partnerships with colleges to strengthen recruitment pipelines. By putting these tools into place, companies can retain critical expertise, prepare future leaders, and ensure that when today’s employees retire, the business is ready to keep moving forward.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
1. Identify workforce risks by reviewing demographics and spotting roles most vulnerable to retirements.
2. Apply practical strategies such as mentorship programs, cross-training, and college partnerships to strengthen their succession pipeline.
3. Create a clear action plan that combines data review, knowledge transfer, and recruitment efforts to ensure smooth role transitions and long-term stability

About the presenter:
Julie Guerette-Vafaee
Founder and CEO
Humanalyze Consulting 
www.humanalyzeconsulting.com