Baby Boomer Succession Planning

Management transition challenges and opportunities

Recently we have been asked to help several companies replacing senior staff. Many organizations have had a stable senior management team for some time. Those folks are often members of the baby boom generation and they are thinking about leaving. The business challenge is greatest where there is a narrow distribution of ages in the management team. This can be at the senior or mid management levels.

In a few of the organizations we are working with, several people in critical positions are expecting to leave within a couple years of each other. The organization is then faced with a situation where there is both a great opportunity and a great risk. The risk is, if the organization has been doing well, disrupting what works. Negative effects may be reduced cash flow, product quality, customer service, employee morale, etc. On the other hand, opportunities exist to make changes that might be difficult to achieve with people who had been in place for years. New people, who come in with different skills, will probably look at circumstances differently.

The CEO, board, and senior management team must work together to get through these transitions most successfully. They need to set up a process that collects information to begin defining the best collective vision for the organization. As we look at the future what will be happening to this business over the next several years? How can it most successfully meet the needs of the community it serves? What technological changes are coming? What financial challenges will it face? What is happening to the market? How will our product/service direction be different from how it is now? What is our internal culture like and what does it need to be like? What political influences are likely?

Organizational needs assessment

Once there is a clear sense of current status and future needs it is time to look at organizational structure and results expected from specific positions. When the results are defined you can begin to create a list of competencies required of the person in the position. Now it is time to set up a recruitment and assessment process to evaluate candidates for the positions.

Somewhere in this process it is important to look at scheduling which positions will be vacated when. This is often a very sensitive issue, especially if people have been around a long time and have enjoyed what they have been doing. A number of personal issues are involved, including whether or not they have established a life that is comfortable and rewarding without the structure of work.

Successor evaluation process

The organization facing several changes in key positions within a short period of time truly needs strong collective leadership. This is not a time when the second in command gets automatically slotted into the position because "they put in their time". This is a critical time when the organization has the opportunity to stagnate, flounder or grow significantly. Evaluations of successors must be done very consciously with a clear understanding of the organizations current state and a vision of the future.

Over the next few years we will face this situation more and more frequently because the generation in power is aging. As you see this coming in your organization speak up, don’t wait, start your process early enough to diminish negative effects. Make this time the one you look back on and say with pride, "We handled that really well."

About the Author: Ken Kasner is president of Positive Options, Inc. Dr. Kasner specializes in helping organizations with hiring and pre-employment selection systems, executive coaching, organizational change, team building and planning.  For comments or questions, his phone number is 602-357-4399 and his e-mail address is: ken.kasner@gmail

Make this time the one you look back on and say with pride, "We handled that really well."