- The selection should see candidate's vision, management and principles.
- Long term Customers and suppliers should be informed and prepared for the Successor.
- The transition is mainly about the assets, employees, loyalty, customer trust, market position.
“Time waits for none” the saying goes right when it comes to business also. Initial days of business took a lot of time in planning, selecting and performing in different areas to make it a go. But as soon as your business starts running successfully the owners should start to reason out the future of the business with or without the owners themselves. Here comes the discussion of who would succeed the business after its existing owner?
The businesses are of various volume, for a public company, succession plan has to in place with the concern of its board of Directors and shareholders. But for a private company the owner has to foresee the plans himself, he needs to provide a succession plan for the benefit of his working employees, family, long-term Customers and suppliers. The pro-active approach on the selection of Successor could help in circumstances of untimely death or disability, the loss of key employee, or the owner no longer wants to continue his position.
The process of selecting the business successor can be tricky. The selection criteria have to deal with many factors, viz. selling the company, passing ownership and management to family member or partners, retaining the ownership to family and not the management
Therefore, selecting the right successor to lead your business, after you retire or leave to pursue other opportunities, can help your business continue to succeed. Then, how do you determine the best person to carry on your vision? Let us look for some points which can be considered;
- Selection of Eligible Successor
The selection should not only be based on relations or trust, one must ensure the candidates eligibility when it comes to vision, management and principles. The prospective candidate should be a good fit to the culture and core of your organization. He should have the related vision of company which is in-line with his predecessor. The attributes like integrity, professionalism, commitment would show the strength of character, whereas ability to motive subordinates, influence and to co-operate are some traits which would showcase the leadership skills. Many more area like intelligence, insight, attitude and presence of mind can be taken into account when choosing a successor.
- Set the time for the transition
One cannot take the decision overnight when it comes to successor. The important changeover requires a lot of thinking and planning beforehand, therefore, one must decide on the target date and time. It depends on the available time, e.g., if the owner has planning to step down in short notice, better to look for the candidate within family or present group of acquaintance who requires least training and development and is already prepared for the role. Thus, it makes the process easy within the time limit. On contrary, if there is enough time for selection, then one can look for various factors and can decide on the person without much hassle.
- Formulate existing team, customers and suppliers
The part of business includes its team, Customers and suppliers and in order to maintain a balance while the transition, it is recommended to prepare them early. Most of the time, sudden change in the Ownership can cause uneasy atmosphere in the company and can add up to the stress. Early communication about the changes, taking feedbacks from the team smoothens the transition. The long term Customers as well as suppliers who are comfortable with their business with the company should also be informed and prepared for the Successor, in fact, a face-to-face approach is recommended.
- Clarity on division of responsibilities in initial stages
There will be a time during transition period that predecessor and successor works together for smooth adaptation. During this overlapping period one must be very clear on the responsibilities to be executed without duplicating the efforts and avoiding conflicts. The best method is to jot it down in writing, clearly stating the last dates of the respective responsibilities, making it easy for the Successor to takeover without any apprehensions left.
- Changeover is a process not a day’s program
The transition should be long affair, signing a piece of paper is not a final statement, the day long involvement during the transition makes the process smooth. The owner has to take care of every aspect while handing over the responsibilities. The transition is not only about the power, it is mainly about the assets, employees, loyalty, customer trust, market position and many more. Any business starts with a vision and changeover is the torch which passes that vision to the future.
Conclusion
When owners decide that preserving a successful business for future generations would be the best legacy they could leave behind, they need to begin the process of choosing a successor. With planned and careful steps one can effortlessly do the transition.
Image Courtesy: Freepik