[Excerpt] Proper succession planning is the process of building the right quantity and quality of candidates to fill future vacancies. To do this, the organization must have a firm understanding of the knowledge, skills, and abilities of current employees, future roles that will have vacancies, and organizational gaps in talent that may prevent the firm from reaching its goals. The role of human resources is to understand the knowledge and skills necessary to execute short-term business strategies, as well as gaps in talent required to fulfill long-term business goals.