Voice of Business: Majority of Businesses Are Not Prepared For Leadership Change
/There is a topic that is often not discussed or planned for until late in the process – succession.
Here at the Chamber of Commerce we often have conversations with businesses who are thinking about selling their business. It’s something that has hit them fairly recently. They’re tired. The last few years have been a lot. They want to look after their mental and physical health. They’re getting older and want to spend time traveling and hanging out with the grandkids. It’s all understandable and frankly, they’ve earned it after years of long hours, high stress, and financial risks.
The problem is they’re tired right now. They’re hoping to get out some time in the next 12 months or so.
There’s a new report on this subject from the Northern Policy Institute in partnership with the Ontario Chamber of Commerce and Société Économique de l’Ontario called Taking Care of Business: The State of Business Succession and Planning in Ontario.
The report’s survey found that 73 per cent of business owners do not have a succession plan in place, even though the leaders of many organizations plan to sell or retire soon. Most business owners report planning to sell or retire in the next 15 years.
From Taking Care of Business: The State of Business Succession and Planning in Ontario:
Business Owners’ Responses to “Do you have a succession plan in place?”
I don’t know/prefer not to answer: 9 per cent
No, we do not have a succession plan in place nor have one in the process of being created: 44 per cent
No, but it is in the process of being created: 29 per cent
Yes, one is completed: 18 per cent