Having a Good Succession Plan Can Keep Your Business Successful

For businesses small and large it is important to have a succession plan in place should a leader leave the company. The key to succession planning is to always have several candidates for each position, and to always be prepared for the worst. If your company doesn’t have a succession plan in motion there is still time to create one. Continue reading for advice on how to create the best succession plan for your business. This Free Technique Takes The Pain Out Of Succession Planning. Forbes: “As a general rule, if you don’t have 2 or 3 succession planning candidates for most key leadership or management positions coming up, it’s time to fix that. Start by applying these 3 categories of succession planning assessment to the people you lead. For best results, these metrics should be updated yearly. Ready now: these are the folks who are ready to be leaders. They should be considered for the best positions and assignments coming available. Ready soon: With the help of some leadership development opportunities (so don’t hog all the cool assignments for yourself) these folks will soon make the leap to ‘Ready Now.’ Keep watching: these folks need some nudging with developmental activities and mentoring.”Succession Planning in Business, the Smart Way. Manager’s Resource Handbook: “Set aside time to talk succession planning. The first step in effective succession planning is to simply set aside the time to focus on it.  In my firm, we dedicate one day every year to talk about staff succession plans.  Sitting down with your senior managers and the various leaders in your organization once a year can make a world of difference should someone exit the business.  These plans also help managers outline training needs for the organization for the year to come.”10 Steps for Effective Succession Planning. Fredrikson & Byron: “Contemplate both long-term and emergency transitions. Craft long-term succession plans with an eye toward various time horizons and the company’s long-term goals. Use emergency succession plans to ensure interim appointments within a short time period after an absence event. The basis for selecting an interim leader will be navigating crisis rather than accomplishing long-term objectives.”Going Beyond The Rhetoric: Succession Planning That Works. Ted Magazine: “Defined as a process for identifying and developing internal people with the potential to fill key business leadership positions in the company, succession planning increases the availability of experienced and capable employees that are prepared to assume these roles as these positions become available. And while the concept sounds simple enough in theory, it's one that distributors rarely address in any systematic manner. Smaller companies, for example, tend to be so tied up with other organizational challenges that thinking about who the next leader will be can quickly fall off the priority list..”Bonnie Kraham: Business Succession Plan Ensures Continuity. Record Online: “The major tool used in effectuating a business-succession plan is the ‘buy-sell agreement.’ The buy-sell agreement stipulates that the seller must sell and buyer must buy, at a predetermined value (adjusted from time to time between the parties), and upon a predetermined event, such as retirement, disability or death. The most common buy-sell agreement is the cross-purchase agreement, in which the remaining shareholders or partners agree to purchase the departing owner’s share of the enterprise upon retirement, disability or death.”Success Labs is a leadership development and management consulting firm in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.