90-Day Succession Acceleration Plan: Protecting Your Talent During Economic Uncertainty

Economic uncertainty often triggers HR budget cuts exactly when companies need to secure their top talent. In this environment, future-focused efforts like succession planning can fall behind immediate business needs. But building a strong leadership bench is key to long-term stability and performance.

High-potential employees are 3.7X more likely to leave when they lack growth opportunities, according to DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast 2025. This creates major risk, especially when development budgets are under pressure and top talent plays a considerable role in driving results.

Succession planning reduces this risk and helps companies stay competitive. The same research shows that organizations developing leaders from within are 2.8X more likely to outperform their industry peers.

Despite external instability, there are practical steps talent teams can take to safeguard their leadership pipeline. With a focused 90-day plan, you can protect your critical talent—even on a lean budget.

In uncertain times, succession planning isn’t a luxury. It’s a business necessity. Here’s how to accelerate your succession strategy in just 90 days.

Month 1: Identify Critical Roles and High Potentials

Start by quickly determining which roles are most essential to the business. Focus on positions that directly affect revenue, operations, or customer outcomes. This is especially important during economic instability.

Next, use objective assessments to identify high-potential employees and evaluate their readiness to step into larger roles.

To keep high potentials engaged and feeling valued, use quick-win visibility strategies. For example, pair them with senior leaders for mentorship, invite them to contribute to strategic projects, and recognize their achievements. These low-cost actions clearly show valuable employees that their growth matters.

Month 2: Create Retention-Focused Development Plans

Offer targeted development experiences that close skills gaps and keep high potentials engaged. Prioritize skillsthat address current business needs, such as managing change or driving cost-saving initiatives.

Transparent career conversations are also critical during unstable times. Honest dialogue provides clarity and tells top talent that their growth is still a priority—reducing the risk they’ll seek opportunities elsewhere.

You don’t need to have all the answers. Acknowledge the uncertainty while reinforcing your commitment to their development.

Finally, shift the focus from promotion to growth. Even if upward moves aren’t possible right now, meaningful stretch opportunities can build trust and prepare high potentials to step into a different role as needs evolve.

Month 3: Implement Accountability Systems

In the third month, focus on sustaining progress and making measurable impact.

Assign clear ownership to leaders to retain high-potential talent. When accountability is shared, retention becomes a business priority, not just HR’s responsibility. Support leaders with a simple, consistent talent review process to keep succession efforts on track.

Use early warning systems to detect high-potential flight risks. Recurring check-ins build trust and offer insight into emerging engagement or succession concerns.

Finally, track succession plan health with tangible metrics:

• High-potential engagement scores

• Internal mobility rates

• Behavior change in future-focused skills

Conclusion: Protect Your Talent, Protect Your Future

With a focused 90-day plan, you can protect your company’s leadership pipeline on a tight budget. Prioritize vital roles, develop high potentials, and sustain systems over time to strengthen organizational capability and reduce costs.

And remember: the cost of replacing a high-potential employee far exceeds the investment to retain them. In an unstable business climate, succession planning isn’t optional. It’s your most reliable strategy for resilience.

Now is the time to act. Taking the right steps today can help you shape a stronger, more stable future.

Explore how DDI helps companies build stronger pipelines, even in uncertain times.