The New Dictionary of Hiring

Replacement Horizon

/RI-PLAYS-MUHNT HUH-RY-ZUHN/

NOUN

The Replacement Horizon is the realistic time required to restore a vital capability if the person providing it leaves.

MEANING

Some departures are inconvenient. Others create a nine-month hole that nobody knew existed until the goodbye email arrived.

‍

“We'd really hate to lose her” is a feeling. “It would take nine months to recover this capability” is something you can plan around. The Replacement Horizon turns vague retention anxiety into a specific discussion about succession, knowledge transfer and exposure.

Defined by:
James Ellis,
Employer Brand Labs

Category:

Risk

Related Terms:

→

Single-Person Dependency

MAKE THE CHANGE

Instead of:

Treating all regrettable attrition as equally regrettable.

Ask:

If this person left tomorrow, how long before the business was whole again?

EXAMPLE

A key employee could leave with two weeks' notice. Recruiting a replacement might take four months, followed by another five months before the new person can work independently.

HOW TO USE IT

For a handful of hard-to-replace roles, estimate the full recovery time from departure to restored capability. Use it to prioritize succession, retention and knowledge transfer.

SAY IT TO LEADERSHIP

If this person left tomorrow, we could be nine months away from having the capability back. That's a planning fact, and it should change what we do now.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH

Time to Capability: the Replacement Horizon estimates how long it would take to restore something you'd lose; Time to Capability measures the wait for something you need now.