Background The effectiveness and stability of a healthcare organisation’s workforce, including nurse managers, can be negatively affected by many factors, including illness, retirement and low levels of retention. One way of mitigating these effects is through succession planning, which can be defined as a strategy to employ the appropriate number and quality of people in key positions such as management to account for factors such as turnover, which can cause instability in a workforce. Many healthcare organisations understand the importance of having trained individuals who are ready to be promoted into leadership and managerial roles vacated by those who leave or are promoted into other positions. However, few formal education programmes specifically target the leadership development of nurses and their potential to progress into more complex leadership positions.

Aim To assess the effect of nurse managers’ knowledge of succession planning on leadership practices and organisational resilience.

Methods A quasi-experimental research design was applied using a test conducted before and after sessions on knowledge of succession planning, with a group of 60 nurse managers working at a Saudi university hospital. Each nurse manager attended the sessions. Study variables were measured using structured questionnaires before and after attendance.

Results The results showed significant improvement after the sessions. Improvements were noted in knowledge of succession planning, leadership and succession planning practices, and organisational resilience.

Conclusion This study demonstrated that providing sessions on succession planning resulted in improvements in nurse managers’ knowledge of succession planning, demonstration of succession planning practices, and demonstration of leadership practices.