Succession planning for business owners: Key tips for success

Succession planning for business owners: Key tips for success

It’s an inevitable truth for any long-standing business that, sooner or later, there will have to be a change at the top of the organisation.

In cases where this can be proactively prepared for, this truth translates into a need, sooner or later, to replace successful, long-serving senior managers with the next generation. A process which always brings question marks about how to make the right choices.

Experience suggests that, while some companies manage to make these changes without any noticeable bumps along the way, others experience significant difficulties when a new pair of hands takes over at the helm.

So, if your business is to avoid any similar trepidations, what are some of the key things to consider around succession planning?

Perhaps the most crucial thing to note is that succession planning should ideally be a long-term process that is aligned to a company’s commercial objectives, rather than something done as a reaction to an immediate situation.

This gives organisations the best possible chance of identifying outside opportunities or nurturing the existing talent to manage its growth objectives from within the business.

If you are looking to sell to a third party, seeking out potential buyers some time in advance of when you would actually want to sell can be a great advantage. This allows all parties the time to communicate their expectations, to negotiate the terms of the deal and to undertake some levels of due diligence on each other and the target business. It also allows the parties sufficient time to obtain professional advice on the transaction rather than rushing into an arrangement at the last minute that may not put both parties on even ground.

It’s important to look inside as well as outside your business to identify, nurture and maximise your available talent, and to examine both current performance and future potential. This would not only be appealing to a prospective outside buyer who would have confidence in the work force but may also open up the possibility of a management buyout whereby the business is bought by the existing managers and executive directors.

Just as good ideas can come from anywhere in a business, so can good people – your future company leaders might not yet have had the chance to show everything they can do. Giving them access to training and development opportunities which could help them realise their potential will benefit everyone in the long run. It may help you spot hidden talents in less obvious areas and notice characteristics required for later down the line.

Communicating future plans for the organisation and their individual prospects within it will encourage them to remain in the business for the long term as they will be invested in their future ownership potential.

What are some other things to consider?

• Do you want to go and enjoy the fruits of your labours straight away or are you willing to stay with the business for an agreed period to ensure a properly managed transition?
• If you’re looking to sell to a third party, what provisions do you want to be made for the company’s employees as part of any deal?
• Being clear on these points from the beginning, and ensuring staff, clients, suppliers and other business stakeholders know what’s happening – most especially if it’s a family business – will help to make the whole process as smooth as possible.

Before any of this though, you will need to consider your position.

Do your company’s articles of association or shareholders’ agreement dictate a process for selling shares? For example, if you are a majority shareholder looking to sell to a buyer who wants to buy all of the shares in the company, do your company’s articles of association or a shareholders’ agreement dictate whether you can force the minority shareholders to also sell?

Alternatively, are the minority shareholders’ interested in buying out your share? These are questions that you will need to ask yourself or seek professional advice on before taking any steps to sell the business, particularly if all of the shareholders in the company are not in agreement with the sale.

Overall, as the old saying goes, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.

If you need any advice or assistance when it comes to your own succession plans, please do not hesitate to get in touch.