METHODS AND APPARATUS HAVING APPLICABILITY TO SUCCESSION PLANNING

Techniques having applicability to succession planning may include providing an option, in a computer-implemented professional networking platform, for a first member of a professional community to designate a second member of the professional community as deserving of promotion. In response to the designation, a nomination may be received from the first member, via the computer-implemented professional networking platform, of a third member of the professional community as a potential successor for the second member. Further techniques may include receiving, from an employee, information about the employee's professional characteristics, and presenting the information to human resources (HR) personnel. One or more automated similarity algorithms may be applied to identify, based on the information about the employee's professional characteristics, information likely to be of interest to the employee, which may be provided to the employee in return for the information about the employee's professional characteristics.