One of the characteristics of a great leader is their ability to recognise potential in a subordinate and nowhere is that ability more important than in developing a succession plan for their business or organisation. Many CEOs have the skills to generate increasing profits and expansion opportunities for their company, and are lauded for their foresight and planning. However, when they decide to move on or retire, a number of those companies struggle to maintain their former levels of profitability and statistics show that a significant number of them fail after just five years under new management.
There is an influential school of thought that points the finger for these failures not at the new management, but at the retiring CEO who did not invest sufficient time, effort and money in training the people who were to succeed him or her. This is a sobering thought as developing succession plans is an area of management that is receiving unprecedented attention as the population ages. In fact, many accountants are now including assistance with succession planning as an additional service to their clients.
One of the criticisms of formal succession plans is that they focus too heavily on the executive level of the organisation, and ignore the technical skills and product knowledge of the operators at the lower levels. Succession plans, then, should be focused on identifying jobs at all levels requiring specialised knowledge and skill sets that are critical to the overall success of the business, and that can’t be easily recruited from outside. This approach will encompass all levels, from the CEO right through the organisation.
Once these jobs are identified, the succession planning process should assess these skill sets and the likely candidates who, with training, could acquire these skills in the time frames needed to prepare them to step into the positions as they become vacant. They may require technical skills training or the gaining of a higher level tertiary qualification to fill this gap, but if this is recognised and factored into the succession plan, resources can be set aside and forward plans put in place to start this up-skilling process. The critical roles may indeed be at executive level, but they could just as easily be in product testing, quality control or at trade level.
Structuring and documenting a comprehensive succession plan is time-consuming and often gets put aside in the day-to-day operational melee of running a business. It’s a specialised process that may require skills and knowledge that are not fully present in the business. This is why many leaders looking towards the day they step away from the helm, are asking their accountant for assistance with putting the plan together.
As organisations struggle to picture what they will look like in five years time without any clear roadmap and transfer of responsibility, they are increasingly turning to outside sources to help them with this vital task. Their accountant is the logical resource, as they know the business and have access to external resources and alternative points of view. If your company is struggling with succession planning, have a chat to your accountant.
