New findings reveal a gap in succession planning for the chief HR role
Organisations that hold off on recruiting a new HR leader until the incumbent has left are leaving the role vacant for more than five months on average, new recruitment data suggests.
That is more than double the 2.1 months it takes when the search gets under way while the departing leader is still in the business, according to HR Recruit. The firm analysed 32 HR leader searches it conducted across North America between January and September this year.
"When an HR leader resigns, the business sometimes waits until they have gone before starting the search, and that costs them months," said Jo Thompson, HR Recruit's Regional Director for North America.
Thompson said departing leaders who remain during the search can help steer it, including by supporting her advice on pay.
"When they stay to hand over, they back up what I tell the chief executive about salary, and the business makes its decision faster."
Of the 26 searches to replace an outgoing leader, 17 began only after the incumbent had exited, while in the other nine, the search started before they left.
In 14 of those 17 cases, the leader had served their full notice before the employer began recruiting. Two had been asked to go early, and one left without serving notice.
Thompson said early exits were unusual. They typically stemmed from a policy that senior staff leave as soon as they resign, or from an assumption that a deputy could fill the gap.
The problem is sharper at smaller firms, where the HR director is often the sole senior HR professional. Most of the searches were at privately owned businesses with 30 to 400 staff. When the HR director leaves, it falls to the chief executive or owner to brief recruiters, often without a clear sense of what the role now pays.
Succession planning for HR leaders
The findings point to a gap in planning for the HR function's own leadership.
HR Recruit said few organisations name a successor for their top HR role. Incumbents have little incentive to plan their own replacement unless they intend to leave. Chief executives, meanwhile, tend to assume the role is already covered by wider succession planning.
Deputies are common but rarely ready for promotion, the firm said, as those who wait too long for the top job tend to move on. That leaves many employers recruiting externally, where a proper handover counts for more.
Guidance from HR software provider HiBob suggests the HR director role can be planned for like any other critical position.
It recommends starting with a profile of what the role requires, such as setting HR strategy in line with business goals, mentoring HR managers, recruiting for senior and executive roles and handling escalated disputes.
The profile can also cover strategic thinking, knowledge of labour law, budget management and using data to measure HR's effectiveness.
From there, HiBob advises mapping the typical HR career path to find feeder roles, such as HR manager or HR coordinator, and then assessing potential candidates through performance reviews, 360-degree feedback and leadership assessments.
It also suggests nominating more than one successor in case circumstances change, and preparing them through mentoring, shadowing senior leaders and leadership training.
According to the guidance, succession planning usually takes one to three years, and time-to-fill for key roles is one measure of whether it is working.
Formal succession planning gaps
Formal succession planning remains the exception overall, HR Recruit noted.
Just over one in five HR leaders (22%) said their organisation had a formal succession plan in 2025, according to Society for Human Resource Management research cited by HR Recruit. The share rose from 16% among smaller organisations to 44 per cent among the largest.
HR software provider BambooHR argues that succession planning pays off beyond simply filling a vacancy. It says employers cannot predict when a strong external candidate will come along, so preparing staff in advance lets them step into a role as soon as it opens and avoids lengthy vacancies.
Sourcing successors internally also reduces spending on recruitment, onboarding and training, according to BambooHR, and helps organisations retain top talent and hold on to institutional knowledge. It adds that a succession plan lets employers gauge an employee's aptitude and enthusiasm before promoting them, so it acts as a filter for internal hires.
