Home Successes Building a succession planning framework for critical roles at BeoBank

Building a succession planning framework for critical roles at BeoBank

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Background

At Beobank, the need for a structured succession planning approach had become clear. Until then, no formal process existed to anticipate transitions in critical roles. A gap that posed strategic risks in terms of talent continuity and business stability.

 

Nathalie Moens de Hase, Head of Talent Acquisition & Development at Beobank, recognised this as a strategic HR priority. However, she faced a complex challenge: how to introduce such a forward-looking initiative in a way that would be accepted and understood by both leadership and the broader organisation.

 

The initiative raised fundamental questions internally: Why do we need this now? Is it a signal that I am being replaced? In a context where succession planning was previously uncharted territory, building clarity, trust and buy-in around the purpose of the exercise was essential.

 

The project was led on the client side by Nathalie Moens de Hase, who partnered with Laurence Janssens, Partner at Altesia HR. Together, they co-designed and implemented a methodology that would not only structure the approach but also ensure buy-in across stakeholders.

 

“Succession planning simply didn’t exist at Beobank. We wanted to put it in place because it’s a strategic HR tool to anticipate what can’t always be anticipated, especially for people in critical roles. Laurence helped us turn that idea into something concrete, structured, and embedded across the bank,” explains Nathalie Moens de Hase.

 

Client’s feedback

  • Nathalie Moens de Hase Beobank

    Laurence brings a broad and rare HR expertise. She’s seen multiple organisations from the inside, knows the tools, the models, and most importantly how to make them work in practice. On paper, succession planning looks simple. But selling it internally, aligning it with business priorities, and making it stick: that’s the real challenge. That’s where Laurence made a real difference.

Our Approach

Succession planning meant introducing a cultural shift. To make it work, we structured our support around three key steps:

  • 1

    Making the case internally

    The first challenge was to get buy-in for a new approach to succession planning. Since the topic had never been formally addressed at Beobank, initial reactions ranged from curiosity to resistance.

     

    To prepare the ground, Nathalie Moens de Hase and Laurence Janssens worked together to frame the initiative around three key business drivers:

    • First, the cost of external recruitment for critical roles — such as a c-level roles — is extremely high and puts pressure on both HR and business resources.
    • Second, bringing in external profiles can dilute the company’s culture, while internal successors already understand the values and ways of working.
    • Third, identifying and developing internal talent helps to recognise and retain high-potential employees, even if no immediate role is available. As such, it reinforces engagement and long-term employability.

     

    “The first reactions were: why are we doing this? Are we preparing someone’s exit? But Laurence helped us explain the ‘why’, show the value for the business, and build the trust we needed to make it work,” recalls Nathalie Moens de Hase.

  • 2

    Building the approach

    Once the initiative was validated internally, the next step was to structure and implement it across the organisation.

     

    Nathalie had a clear vision of the need and the final objective, but had never developed a succession planning strategy before and lacked a ready-to-use methodology or toolkit.

     

    A step-by-step methodology was then designed to identify, assess, and prepare successors for around 25 critical roles across the bank. A key focus was to involve HR Business Partners in the process, empowering them to engage operational leaders and act as bridges between central HR and the business.

  • 3

    Roll-out

    Laurence supported the internal team throughout the roll-out, including the preparation and facilitation of key sessions with the Executive Committee.

     

    “I had never done this before, but Laurence helped me shape the process, present it to the Executive Committee, and I felt strongly supported. It was very well received, and two years later, we’re still using some of the same methods,” shares Nathalie.

Results

Two years after the initial launch, the succession planning framework remains firmly in place and continues to be used internally. This shows both its relevance and the ownership built within the HR team. Several elements of the original methodology are still applied today, especially in critical role mapping and talent reviews.

 

The approach proved its value quickly. Since implementation, Beobank has seen five departures from critical roles and each time, the successor selected was the one identified in the succession plan, and trained accordingly. This reduced the need for

urgent, external recruitment, cut costs, and ensured smoother transitions. It also had a positive impact on internal talent mobility and employee engagement by recognising potential and creating visible development opportunities.

 

Perhaps most importantly, the process helped shift the internal mindset: what was once perceived with suspicion is now embraced as a strategic and people-centric investment. The HR team, previously unsure of how to begin, now leads the topic with confidence, supported by tools, practices, and a strengthened role as a strategic partner to the business.

 

“It changed the way we look at talent. We built something solid that is now fully accepted and integrated into both Beobank and our company culture”, concludes Nathalie Moens de Hase.