Managing Partner, Leon Stephan, Shares Insights about the Importance and Long-Term Benefits of Succession Planning to Your Family Business
For family business owners who have put their heart and soul into growing their business, developing a succession plan can be a daunting task to face and one that is too often overlooked. However, if you want your business to continue to flourish, succession planning should be one of your highest priorities. The best succession plans are living, breathing documents that get reviewed and refreshed on a regular basis. It’s a process that, once you start, you need to continue, it takes time to implement the strategies, but it is worth it. It’s something you, your business, and the family involved, should revisit annually to make sure people and plans are on track and to see if there have been any changes or movement within the business and the family goals that require “tweaking”.
Successfully passing the baton to the next generation is a goal for many family business leaders. It can also be a sound business move if the right steps are taken early enough and development plans initiated, this normally requires a gap analysis, where are we now, where do we want to be and then what do we need to do to create a successful transition?
By clearly communicating family succession intentions, developing strong relational bonds, and proving the fitness of next generation leaders, family businesses can achieve buy-in from their non-family employees. Not only will this make for a smooth leadership transition, but it can also increase the identification of non-family members for potential leadership roles. This encourages progression with both the family, the staff and the overall business, creating a more productive and satisfied workforce that propels the business for years to come.
Why is it important?
Developing an early succession plan is beneficial for your business for the following reasons:
- Let your business grow and prosper. Developing a succession plan ensures your legacy and the benefits of all your hard work result in the business survival, as well as allows your business time to grow and evolve into an even stronger entity.
- Peace of mind. When you plan your succession early on, you have plenty of time to train family and staff on both the strategic and operational operations of the business. This means you can rest easy knowing that your business is in good hands when you leave.
- Boost your office morale and employee engagement. Preparing employees for their future roles by giving them greater responsibility and investing in their long-term growth keeps them focused, motivated and loyal to your business.
- Maximise the businesses’ value. A good succession plan will involve a review of business strategy to identify areas of growth and opportunity, an action plan to clean up existing or looming weaknesses, and the grooming of business leaders coming through. A business less reliant on a single person is more valuable to others.
A good succession plan will help your business transition smoothly to the new owner. More importantly, by planning your exit early, you can maximise the value of your business and use it to meet future needs.
