Why promoting without support hurts: How HR can build better transition plans

A promotion is a big milestone for a lot of employees, but without the right support, it can lead to confusion, stress, and poor performance. Learn how HR can help organizations build effective promotion plans for employee success.

A promotion is often considered a win: a recognition of great performance and a step forward for career growth. But the reality can be a little more complicated. Without strong support, promotions can become stumbling blocks rather than stepping stones. High-performing employees may struggle in their new roles, teammates can feel uncertain, and your organization’s productivity can take a dip.

Here’s how to tackle promotions and provide the right support to your employees.

A Promotion Isn’t Enough

When an employee is promoted, especially to a leadership role, their skills that made them successful before might not be as beneficial in the new role. A top-performing employee might be outstanding at their own tasks, but leadership requires a different skill set - task delegation, communication, and decision making. In management, this gap is referred to as the Peter Principle, meaning that people are promoted beyond their existing skill set. 

Without the right support, new leaders can feel overwhelmed, anxious, and unprepared. They may make avoidable mistakes, struggle to earn respect from former peers, or even decide the new role isn’t for them. When this happens, companies lose momentum and talented people.

Unsupported Transitions Can Become Costly

From a business perspective, weak transitions cost your time, money, and morale:

• Decreased team performance: A new leader who isn’t supported may struggle to drive results effectively.

• Increased turnover: People often leave a manager, not a job, so struggles at the leadership level can lead to broader departures. LinkedIn Article 

• Unclear expectations: Without structured guidance, promoted employees and their teams often wonder what success looks like in the new role.

Rather than hoping people will “figure it out,” HR can work with leadership to build clarity and confidence during transitions.

How HR Can Build Better Transition Plans

Here’s how HR should partner with leadership to make promotions work, not just happen.

STEP 1: Assess ReadinessBefore a promotion is finalized, HR can help leaders assess whether the employee has the skills and support needed for the next role. This could include conversations around expectations, strengths, and areas of growth. Identifying gaps early allows leaders to build support plans before the start date.

STEP 2: Define Clear Expectations

A great transition plan begins with clarity: What are the responsibilities of the new position? How will success be measured? HR can guide leaders in crafting a clear performance framework so that both the employee and their team understand what comes next.

STEP 3: A Structured Onboarding Process

Just like new hires, promoted employees should have an onboarding process that is focused on their new responsibilities. Conduct training sessions, provide role‑specific resources, access to tools, and introductions to relevant stakeholders. This gives new leaders a foundation to build confidence and capability.

STEP 4: Coaching and Mentoring

Instead of leaving new leaders to learn on their own, HR can help set up coaching or mentorship relationships. This might involve pairing them with experienced leaders, scheduling regular check‑ins with HR or a supervisor, or offering leadership skill workshops.

STEP 5: Monitoring Progress

Transitions aren’t one‑and‑done. HR can help leaders set regular checkpoints to review how the promoted employee is performing and progressing. Are they meeting goals? Are they comfortable with their new responsibilities? These conversations ensure early challenges get addressed before they grow into larger issues.

Conclusion

Effective transitions aren’t accidental; they’re intentional. They require HR and leadership to work together on planning, support, and follow‑through.

At Executive Compass, we help leaders navigate these transitions by building structured support plans that make promotions successful and sustainable. Our approach is rooted in the belief that every transition should strengthen the individual and the organization as a whole.

If you’re ready to build promotion strategies that work, we’re here to help.

Visit https://www.executivecompasshr.com/ 

Call 760-504-6352

Email to serena@execucompass.com