Looking for and/or grooming a successor to business leadership runs counter to common sense for many people. However, every business leader/owner will face this challenge some day and it is indeed a daunting task if you are trying to plan while at the same time facing a family or business crisis. Passing the torch (more formally known as succession planning), is not a quick or easy process. Moreover, in a family business, succession is even more sensitive because of the complex web of interpersonal relationships that add another layer of challenges and difficulty to the process.

Recent surveys suggest that a lack of succession planning is the biggest threat facing small business. It is also alarming to learn that family-owned businesses often don’t consider succession planning until the owner has already reached age 65. If you want your business to thrive into the future, you have to proactively focus on leadership continuity.

Leadership succession planning, passing the torch, so to speak, requires that you become immersed in an analytical, insightful and thorough planning process that maps out a three to five year plan of action. It is a dynamic process rather than a quick fix, so don’t expect that you can simply take an “off the shelf - one size fits all” succession plan and make it fit your business. Each business has unique requirements that can only be met through a customized plan that considers personal needs, the requirements of the business, and the demands of ownership transition. While there is often a tendency to rush to a solution, the most effective succession planning process requires the following steps:

• An evaluation of the company vision and long range plan to determine the impact on succession issues; creation of a company vision and long range plan if one is not already in place
• An examination and confirmation of the corporate culture, management philosophies, the dynamics of internal relationships and the impact on succession planning issues
• An examination of future skills and management requirements for continuing the business into the future; identifying current internal staff skills and gaps in capabilities, and determining the potential for staff development
• Development of a model of current and future success competencies for each management position and a summary of succession readiness of each staff person or manager
• Development of a custom design training and development plan for internal staff and development of strategies for filling skills gaps from external resources
• Development of recommendations for linking succession strategies to your long range planning
• Development of a plan to facilitate implementation of the succession plan and the resulting organizational transition.

Legacy Bowes Group’s Human Resource consultants are ready to help you. If you would like additional information regarding this service, please call 204-943-0553. After our initial meeting, we will provide you with a written proposal outlining roles and responsibilities, project objectives, timeframes and professional fees.