Elite - Professional Training & Development

Structure and succession problems tend to build up slowly. Layers and job titles multiply, spans of control narrow, similar work is done in several units, and the same few people are named as successors for many roles. Workforce data exists in HR systems but is rarely analysed for trends such as retirement risk, turnover in critical roles or the time needed to develop internal candidates. When change comes, leaders have little evidence to guide it.

This programme connects organisation design, succession and workforce analytics into one practical approach. It moves through five stages: analysing the current organisation, redesigning structures and processes, identifying critical roles and talent, building and managing succession pipelines, and using workforce data to forecast trends and report risk.

Built on recognised practice. The programme references ISO 30409 on workforce planning, ISO 30414 guidelines for human capital reporting, established organisation design models such as the Star Model, and widely used talent review and succession planning methods. Participants learn how to apply them with their own data, not only what they say.

Decisions this programme improves. Whether a structure has too many layers or narrow spans; where work is duplicated; which roles are genuinely critical; who is ready to succeed and when; where to invest in development or external hiring; and which workforce trends need action before they become a service risk.

How it is delivered. Twenty hours across five sessions, built around one running case: a public sector organisation facing retirements in technical and leadership roles while preparing a restructure. Participants analyse an organisation chart and workforce data set, map a key process, run a talent review, build a succession plan and produce a trend forecast using spreadsheet models.

In-house option. For organisations, the programme can be tailored to your own structure, job architecture, HR data and nationalisation objectives, and delivered for HR, planning and line management teams together.

Who Should Attend

HR practitioners: HR business partners, HR officers and organisational development staff

Workforce planners: manpower planners and workforce analysts

Talent professionals: talent management, succession and learning and development staff

Line managers: department heads and section managers responsible for team structures and successors

Strategy and business excellence staff involved in restructuring and process improvement

Objectives

Analyse an organisation structure using layers, spans of control and staffing ratios

Map a core business process and identify duplication, delay and opportunities for redesign

Propose structural options and assess their impact on roles, cost and service

Identify critical roles using criteria such as business impact, scarcity and vacancy risk

Run a talent review and assess performance, potential and readiness

Build a succession plan with named successors, readiness levels and development actions

Measure the strength of succession pipelines and report succession risk

Analyse workforce data for trends in turnover, retirement, absence and demographics

Produce simple forecasts of workforce supply using spreadsheet methods

Present organisation and succession findings clearly to senior management

Course Outline

Analysing the Current Organisation

How structure follows strategy, and signs that it no longer fits
Organisation charts, job architecture and grading
Layers, spans of control and management ratios
Workload and activity analysis
Collecting and cleaning organisation data from HR systems
Benchmarking structures with care

Redesigning Structures and Processes

Organisation design models and design criteria
Functional, divisional, matrix and shared service structures
Business process mapping and process improvement
Assessing the people and cost impact of structural options
Managing restructures, mergers and the transition of roles
Communicating structural change to staff

Critical Roles and Talent Review

Identifying critical and hard-to-fill roles
Competency and capability frameworks
Assessing performance and potential, including the nine-box grid and its limits
Running fair and evidence-based talent review meetings
Reducing bias in talent decisions
Developing national talent and building local capability

Building Succession Pipelines

Succession planning versus replacement planning
Readiness levels, successor pools and emergency cover
Individual development plans, rotation and mentoring
Knowledge transfer from retiring and departing staff
Succession metrics: coverage, readiness and bench strength
Governance and review cycles for succession plans

Workforce Trend Analysis and Reporting

Key workforce metrics and ISO 30414 reporting areas
Turnover, retirement and demographic trend analysis
Simple forecasting methods: trend lines, ratios and cohort analysis
Scenario analysis for workforce supply
Dashboards and the modest, well-governed use of people analytics and AI tools
Action plan: applying organisation and succession analysis in your organisation

Competencies

Organisation structure analysis

Span of control and layer assessment

Business process mapping and redesign

Critical role identification

Talent review and potential assessment

Succession pipeline planning and measurement

Knowledge transfer planning

Workforce trend analysis and forecasting

Workforce reporting for senior management

Vienna

Elite Academy can deliver its complete portfolio of professional training programs in Vienna. With a major international center for business, diplomacy and professional services, the destination suits both scheduled learning and tailored arrangements for organizations or individual professionals. As an Elite Academy training destination, Vienna provides access to our full portfolio rather than a city-specific set of specializations. The city is a major international center for business, diplomacy and professional services, creating a suitable environment for organizations developing their teams and for professionals attending independently. Upcoming scheduled courses are listed on this page, while any other Elite Academy program can also be requested for delivery in Vienna, subject to scheduling and delivery requirements. Explore the schedule or browse our training areas to find the right option.

Workforce Organisation, Succession Planning and Trend Analysis