Business Succession Planning

A seamless way to hand over your throne

With Her Majesty The Queen’s passing and Charles III’s ascension into the role of King, succession planning is on the mind of many – here is everything you need to know about the passing on of your business.

Royalists, family business owners and indeed followers of Kendall Roy might already have a vested interest in the area of business succession planning, but for those unsure of its boundaries, this one’s for you. Succession planning is the process of identifying and developing potential future leaders and senior managers, as well as individuals, to fill business-critical roles, if a current post holder leaves the organisation – (Charles has literally been in training for this role for 73 years and in some way so has William, business succession planning at its most astute, one might say).

According to the National Association of Corporate Directors, fewer than one in four private company boards say they have a formal succession plan. This process is oftentimes shelved, de-prioritised under the challenges of the present. Ultimately, however, the reasons people avoid succession planning aren’t as important as the reasons they should embrace it.

Many of the steps needed to deduce your successional heir are the same whether the company is little or large (think your local pharmacy or the contemporary nonconstitutional roles that make up the British Empire). There are five in total, all centred around what is best for you and your business, meaning your employees, key customers and suppliers (your Harrys, your Meghans and some 70+ colonised countries around the world) will all feel you are taking their individual needs into consideration too. Splendid.

Step 1: Define your goals

Do you have a clear idea of what your business is before creating your succession leadership plan? Will they bow, crash your jeep or do a viral interview with Oprah?

Once you do, choosing a new head of state will be far easier. To do this you must:

• Suss out exactly what you need from your successor; roles, skills and personality.
• Deduce what your company needs from your successor; someone well-trained, someone with fresh perspectives, someone who will feed 4000 corgis etc
• Make sure you are clear about your expectations. Eg ‘No divorced American actresses need apply’

Step 2: Create your strategy

You’ll need a game plan here. Think Mosney, but with more at stake. Consider the following:

Where do you want to be as a business? How would you avoid an annus horribilis? Does your business have any specific vulnerabilities that may affect your succession plan? (For example, a high percentage of employees that are due to retire soon) Have you considered adjusting your hiring strategy to account for successor roles? Et cetera. The key here is to be as proactive as possible with your strategy. Anticipate potential gaps in your workforce before they occur.

Step 3: Identifying possible candidates

And now, what we’ve all been waiting for; who’s getting the gig?

Previous steps will have guided you well with this one, but generally speaking, the best candidates will be supportive, proactive and adaptable to boot. Objectivity here is key, especially for family business owners out there.

The most effective way to do this is by using succession planning tools and metrics, speaking to other people in the business, and thinking astutely about what your empire needs.

Step 4: Establish professional development opportunities

As soon as you’ve decided on the shortlist

Get them in check by suiting and booting them with professional development plans. Tailor them to each individual’s needs; what skills would benefit them? Are there any knowledge gaps they might need to address? Create individual development plans (make them curtsy), offer formal training (call you Your Majesty) and encourage continuous feedback and communication (introduce a Black Rod continuously as you go).

Step 5: Implement Your Plan

Congrats! You’ve reached the final stage.

This involves the implementation of your business succession plan and will usually be a gradual transition (and hopefully does not involve death).
Introduce candidates to their mentors, if you are using them, and encourage them to meet regularly. This will show your employees that you support their professional development, and you can see that they have potential. Most importantly, make sure you collect regular feedback to see how your individual development plans are progressing, and if potential candidates are on track to reach their succession objectives.

And there you have it! War of the roses avoided, and sure if those steps aren’t for you – you can just make up a whole new system altogether, as Henry VIII did. For everything else, please see our detailed case study here or get in contact with our dedicated team of Noel Winters and Mary Drought.

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