With retirement on the horizon, are you preparing for the arrival of your successor?
You are about to take a well-deserved retirement. You have been working as a manager for many years, sometimes alongside your colleagues and employer. The search for a successor is imperative. The date of the transition is becoming clear. Your management is getting restless, taking steps to find your replacement. Externally, or internally, among the people you have helped to develop. "This period is often a shock, because the executive realizes that he or she is not irreplaceable, that his or her professional entourage is very well projected without him or her, and that he or she is even happy to welcome someone younger, more dynamic, who will bring something new to the table…", notes Corinne Cabanes, founder of the HR consulting firm Corinne Cabanes & Associés.
Get some distance
This disillusionment is sometimes compounded by the fact that they have to “pass the baton” to someone who will approach their position in a completely different way. “An executive is generally a person who is very committed to his or her work, but not only does the situation require him or her to distance him or herself from his or her responsibilities for the first time, but also to pass the baton to someone who will often work differently, perhaps with less investment… And this is difficult, especially when the succession is accompanied by a period of transition during which both must collaborate,” observes Corinne Cabanes.
Anticipate and negotiate
Here again, another disappointment can arise. “Some people think that, given their responsibilities, a minimum of six months will be necessary, but they forget that they are part of the company’s largest payroll, and that the company is not going to pay their salary plus that of their successor for months. Therefore, the financial aspect must be considered, as well as all the details of the departure, well in advance. The mistake that many executives make is to rely on the goodwill of their employer. But the key to a successful succession remains anticipation, by making a retirement assessment, defining a timetable, negotiating the financial conditions of the departure… and of course to show clear-sightedness and detachment in order to pass the baton in the best possible way,” concludes Corinne Cabanes.
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