A SECTION FOR ENTREPRENEURS: Crash course - The right way to promote

A key management vacancy is coming up and an internal appointment seems obvious. In your opinion, there's only one candidate, but colleagues are championing their own proteges. And you know there'll be resentment from those who miss out. So what's the best way to handle a promotion?

PLAN AHEAD. Succession plans have their limitations, because they close off options and are overtaken by events. The answer, says Angela Barron, adviser to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, is to develop all your people on a continuous basis. 'Find out where individuals want to go in their career and provide them with the training, so that when a vacancy occurs, you have a choice of qualified people,' she says.

THINK AGAIN. Don't assume that because a position is being vacated it must be filled in exactly the same form. 'A lot of organisations are increasingly looking to 'vacancy management' - using every vacancy to re-think the boundaries of jobs,' explains Andrew Forrest, learning and development director at the Industrial Society.