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THE GENERATIONS GAP
By Donalee Moulton
PlanninG ahead is common sense. Yet the reality is that many companies simply aren’t prepared for a shift in ownership, let alone one that
bridges a generational outlook gap.
“Everybody recognizes that succession planning is a critical factor for a
successful organization. Our survey results tell us very few organizations
do as well as they should,” says David King, Canadian president of Robert Half Management Resources in Toronto.
According to the TD Waterhouse Business Succession Poll released
last year, Canadian small business owners haven’t fully prepared for the
day when they will no longer be running their company: 76 per cent of
the more than 600 owners polled admitted they do not have a succession
plan in place.
“It tends to get pushed down the priority list often because they don’t
anticipate a change, but change is not always predictable,” King says.
“The older generation of baby boomers is more adverse to the perception of change on the horizon. Culturally, their parents would have
preached staying with the company for the life of your career. For the
newer generations, they anticipate five to eight moves in their career.
They’re polar opposites.”
