Having a talent management and succession plan in place enables your organization to respond more effectively to emergencies and crises. It’s much easier to make informed decisions when the pressure is low. During high-stress situations, you can refer to your plan and focus on implementation, rather than scrambling to identify who can operate specific equipment, like the bottle-capping machine.

While it’s ideal to have a designated emergency short-term successor for each key position, this is often not feasible. In many cases, you may have identified successors for critical roles, but they might not be prepared to step in for a year or even several years.