Frequently Asked Questions About Succession Planning
What is succession planning?
Succession planning is defined as the process of identifying and building up talent within an organization to fill key leadership positions in the future. In relation to family businesses, this means training and planning around one of your family members to take over leadership or ownership positions in the company or at minimum be responsible owners. This is ultimately around setting the business and the individuals up for success through analysis of their skill sets and passions. This may or may not include an executive leadership role.
Succession planning is used to ensure business continuity despite the changing of hands and involves extensive preparation through training and development opportunities.
How to plan for succession of family business
How to plan for succession of family business is one of the most common questions we get. This is what Family Business Consultants was made to do. We determine what your key objective is and how to achieve it. Are you a Business First focus, where the family is there to serve the business in order to stay successful, or are you Family First, where the business supports the family?
Each family and business is unique and comes with its own sets of challenges and opportunities. Once we decide on your goals, we build out a plan tailored to your needs and begin the succession process.
How do we measure the effectiveness of our succession plan?
It can be difficult to accurately measure succession plan success, but Family Business Consultants provides deeper insights into metrics to watch.
We can measure effectiveness by using the Board of Directors, governance, keeping tabs on accountability on both sides, holding true to timelines and expectations, 360 feedback, and financial metrics, and more.
We help you determine potential milestones and implement measures to minimize or eliminate these risks in order to best to utilize the strengths of the new leadership, how this will impact the company, and how to gauge the effectiveness of the process.
Still Have Questions?
What development opportunities are needed to prepare successors?
We help you develop targeted training and mentorship programs to get the next leader or owner ready to take on the position. This includes cross-functional exposure, leadership courses, coaching, shadowing, and more.
How do you handle sibling rivalry in a family business succession?
It depends on your goals as a family and as a business. It is often said that 'Fair is not Equal and Equal is not Fair' which can create obstacles. Sibling rivalry and everything it entails, especially in a family business, can be tricky to work around however it must be addressed.
Luckily, Family Business Consultants has experience navigating these waters. Where needed we can help work through the issues and act as a mediator and respectfully and at the right time with the right information put the issues on the table.