A new survey reveals the majority of supervisors could wind up in the wringer if the job market continues looking up. 

The survey, which was conducted by SmartBrief, revealed roughly 75% of managers are poorly prepared to replace either some or all employees who hold key positions.

In fact, only 2% of managers nationwide claimed they were in an excellent position to keep moving full-stride, having already put a system in place for maintaining productivity by slotting someone else into each front-line position.

The final 23% of respondents claimed they had a succession plan in place for dealing with the loss of key personnel in most – but not all – positions.

It’s considerable food for thought, given how many studies reinforce the notion that more than half of employees plan on testing the job market once conditions improve.

Three proactive measures front-line managers may want to consider:

1. Train several people in each department to handle key responsibilities of subordinates, so all bases are covered in the event of an emergency.
2. Have people write out step-by-step instructions for how they carry out daily tasks and generate weekly reports. Maintain these instructions in an online folder, so everyone has access to the guidelines if and when the need arises.
3. Always consider yourself in an active recruiting cycle, so you don’t miss any potential superstars due to a case of poor timing.