Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the succession planning efforts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) from the perspective of five generational cohort-groups. This study seeks to determine whether there are differences in the perception of recruitment, development, and retention among CBP employees. In addition, this study will determine the influence of generational differences on the effectiveness of organizational succession planning efforts.

Theoretical Framework: This study relies on generational theory (Strauss & Howe, 1991) as a lens to assess the effects of CBP employees’ generational differences on succession planning. This study employs agency, organizational learning, institutional, and human capital theories to establish an analytical framework for understanding succession planning efforts.

Methodology: Secondary data from the 2006 and 2008 United States’ Federal Human Capital Surveys (FHCS) were analyzed to test hypotheses about generational differences and succession planning efforts of CBP. Multiple regression analyses were used to determine the predictive power of succession planning efforts on the preparation of future cohort-groups.

Findings: It was determined, through a review of 2006 and 2008 FHCS data, that generational differences influence the succession planning efforts of CBP. Not all of the identified succession planning elements analyzed, however, returned statistically significant results. Furthermore, several survey items returned statistically significantly responses between generations for only one of the selected survey years.

Conclusions and Recommendations: Generational differences in the workplace have been identified as a potential area of concern in succession planning, but this dissertation is one of the first studies to examine whether generations actually rate recruitment, development, and retention programs differently. This study showed that a number of survey item responses varied by respondents’ generation affiliation. This study has shown that CBP officials need to consider generational differences when drafting and implementing succession plans.