Developing the People of CU*Answers

Questions about succession planning at CU*Answers are frequently asked during the sales process, or when we start to learn with and about a new partner. Big or small, organizations like ours do need to have a high profile plan on how they build leaders and teams from top to bottom.

While everyone can worry about the vision of the senior leadership and how you ensure the continuity of the long-term business plans should a senior leader leave, there is more to this plan than just “who will replace the CEO?”

Teams have to be built at every level. Succession planning should be the concern of every single employee that might ever stop to think, “Who would meet our clients’ needs should I not be here to fulfill this task?” At any time, any CU*Answers employee might be the most important person to our future, if only for one day, one week, one month…or ten years.

With that in mind, CU*Answers spends a great deal of time developing team-building concepts. Key management personnel are involved in business planning. Key leaders are identified and encouraged to participate with the Board through the monthly team reports for the Board packet as well as leading key focus groups.

It is our intent to build a culture where no single team member ever bears the heavy responsibility of feeling like they are irreplaceable.

To make that a reality, we try constantly to reinforce that no single short-term project is more important than the long-term goal of building a team that can carry the ball into the future.