Does your company have a documented succession plan you can turn to in order to plan for a possible departure in the future? What happens if you suddenly need to step out of the business or a disability renders you unable to work in the company any longer?
Your business succession plan should include many different elements but should most importantly address the systematic transfer of the ownership and ongoing management of the company.
This is so as to minimize the possible disruptions to the company and ensure that existing team members continue to operate successfully. Management succession planning can be one of the most complicated aspects of this entire process. It can start with training development and support of successors, which begins by identifying the very people who may already be in the business or those experts who need to be brought in from outside.
After these people have been tapped and confirmed in terms of their interest, delegation of authority and responsibility should be a next step. For the purposes of looking into the long term, it is key to think about maximizing retention for other existing key employees too, such as thinking about equitable compensation planning for non-family employees, for management and for active and inactive shareholders.
The process of management business succession planning can take anywhere from a few months to years depending on the scope of the business’s needs. This makes it very important to identify the support provided by a business succession planning lawyer well in advance.
At our Pasadena business succession planning office, we work with company owners to determine what a future plan looks like and how to put that in place to your advantage. If you don’t have a succession plan or need help getting that process started, contact us today to learn more.
