By Mark Barnard, CEO of SnapDragon Associates, LLC
June 2, 2015
What can an owner or manager do to stiffen up his team to be ready when he or his employees decide to move on or retire? Like a professional sports team we need to start preparing a backup plan for our superstars. The term used by sports teams is “rebuilding” but in fact it is all about succession planning. Identify and bring in the next superstars. Your team needs a similar plan, as strengthening the bench is the key to succession planning.
Definition
Succession planning can be defined as the process of identifying critical roles in a company and the core skills associated with those roles, and then identifying possible internal candidates to assume those jobs when the incumbents leave. In addition, these candidates need necessary training and development. Not all roles are critical and not all will need clearly defined succession plans. Key leadership roles or positions that are historically difficult to fill are good starting points for succession planning. Succession planning, the process of deciding who will take over a business when the owner and other key leaders leave or pass on, is a detail that not too many new small business professionals consider. Some small business owners assume that a family member will take over the business, but it’s best to create a formal plan and discuss any issues with the potential successor you have in mind.
Succession planning is important to any business to ensure a steady flow of talent to fill positions that become vacant in the future. But not all succession planning efforts are equally effective. By following some simple best practices, companies large and small can ensure that their succession planning efforts are successful.
Inclusiveness
Effective succession planning efforts are inclusive and avoid the potential to single out only high-potential employees, which only leaves the masses feeling underappreciated. If this happens, companies can risk losing employees. Companies that are most successful filling vacancies ensure that all employees feel they have the ability and potential to move into positions that become vacant by providing them with training opportunities to prepare them for future vacancies.
Self-Identification
Succession planning efforts that occur behind closed doors can be ineffective because employees don’t have a good understanding of how succession choices are made or of opportunities that may appeal to them. By allowing employees to indicate their interest in moving into positions of greater responsibility or requiring new skills, companies not only increase motivation, but also are more likely to find out which employees have the interest, desire and aptitude to step into new positions.
Succession planning is important for any business to ensure a steady stream of capable and qualified staff members to move into key roles as they become vacant due to retirement or attrition. Although succession planning offers a number of benefits, businesses need to be aware of drawbacks.
Who Is Involved?
Succession planning generally involves human resources leaders in companies that have them and/or the senior leaders of the company. Board members may also be involved in succession planning activities for the top positions, including CEOs, in a company. The role of those involved is to identify positions that may be at risk and then begin the planning process to identify successors and possible skills gaps. In addition, those involved in succession planning need to consider how these efforts will be communicated to the organization and its staff members, which can lead to one of the drawbacks of succession planning.
Business Lives On and Grows
Without a succession plan, the business expires with the owner. When you make plans for a successor to take over your business, you ensure that your company can live on even after you’re gone. If you want your business to continue to grow to higher levels, from a small business to a mid-level or large corporation, it will take time. Some Fortune 500 firms have been in operation for four generations or more. So one clear advantage of succession planning is that you allow your business time to grow and evolve into an even stronger entity.
Eliminates Confusion
Succession planning is an important part of estate planning. It helps eliminate confusion as to who will carry on the legacy of the business when you are no longer available to make decisions. It defines the new owner and a point person for matters pertaining to the company to limit family or business associate disputes. The succession plan outlines specific details of importance (such as the transfer of ownership for business bank accounts and assets) for a smooth transition between owner and successor.
Peace of Mind
Appointing a successor formally also helps give you peace of mind while running your business. Since you, the owner, have taken the time out to carefully select this person (or people) to run your business, you can rest assured that it’s in good hands when you leave. Because you decided to create a succession plan well in advance of your departure, you have plenty of time to train this person on the day-to-day duties and larger concerns regarding the business.
Succession planning is the process of identifying important positions throughout a company, identifying possible successors for those positions and preparing those successors, through training and experience, to step in to leadership roles when needed. Succession planning is an ongoing process that allows all companies, large and small, to ensure a continuity of quality leadership and knowledge retention.
Geoff Keifer, VP Consulting – SnapDragon Associates, LLC
Jun 2, 2015
SOURCE
Are You Stuck in “Fireman” Mode?
One of the most frustrating things a Manager can face is coming to the office with a well thought out “To Do” list each day, and spending the day putting out fires. At the end of the day, he has dealt with the fires, but has made no headway on his initiatives… never a chance to get ahead. It may make you feel “Needed”, but are you doing your job?
This situation is indicative of serious gaps in responsibility and accountability in the organization. There are gray areas that are not being covered effectively in the route from order creation, to delivered, paid, and customer happy.
Some time ago (1992) I read an article called “Staple Yourself to an Order” published by The Harvard Business Review. The title alone describes perfectly what the process involves… walking the route that the Order Management Cycle takes from beginning to end. This journey can uncover choke points and fuzzy areas in which things can fall apart. It’s a trip worth taking, and may be the best way to identify problem areas so they can be repaired. You need to have a system in which each “hand-off” is made without dropping the baton.
As far as your customer is concerned, it’s simple. “He calls, you haul, and that’s all”. Internally the story can get complicated and needs to be made seamless. You need to make it so by walking the route and ensuring that it is “roadworthy”.
Once the system is established to be effective and reliable, the associates responsible for each phase need to clearly understand and take ownership of their turf. Clear and Defined Job Responsibilities need to be set and held.
When fire breaks out, and you are forced to drag out the hose, make sure you have the individual who lit the fire at your side, fighting it with you. Otherwise, he will not be motivated to avoid that same mistake in the future. People who do not have to clean up their messes don’t seem to mind making them.
There will always be fires, and as a manager you will need to have an extinguisher handy. Good “Fire Prevention”, however, will limit them to the rare exception, rather than the daily rule.
-Geoff Keifer
Snapdragon Associates
SnapDragon Associates is pleased to welcome Geoff Keifer to the team as a Vice President of Consulting!
Geoff joins SnapDragon Associates with over 35 years in the Building Materials Industry. His start in the industry began with The Andersen Corporation, who provided him with the tools to navigate in the industry as a professional. His experience includes windows, doors, millwork, specialty building products, and engineered lumber and within our mutual industry focus – manufacturing, wholesale, distribution and retail. Geoff has held roles including sales, sales management, national accounts management and general management and has been tasked with management, P&L and “turnaround” responsibilities with annual revenues up to $75 million.
Since he began consulting, Geoff has been invited to speak before groups and has developed a long list of professional industry contacts and has helped small businesses with sales and management challenges. He is personable and builds long-lasting relationships easily. With his strong industry experience, Geoff is sure to be a natural when it comes to helping you with your recruiting and management needs. He currently resides in Connecticut.
By Sharon O’Malley |
Construction employers added 45,000 jobs in April, helping to fuel nationwide employment growth and push the country’s unemployment to its lowest level since May 2008.
April was the best month for construction employment since January 2014,U.S. Labor Department figures showed on Friday—and not just for job creation. Unemployment among construction workers fell to its lowest level since 2006.
The news was better than expected after the industry lost 9,000 jobs in March.
The construction industry added more jobs in April than any other industries except professional/business services and healthcare.
Bloomberg called the construction numbers “one clear bright spot.” Associated Builders and Contractors Chief Economist Anirban Basu called the report “a relief” and said the unemployment data “strongly suggested that employers viewed the recent bout of economic weakness as temporary.”
Nonresidential building
The soft spot in the otherwise buoyant report was nonresidential building, which lost 7,800 jobs last month, even as other construction sectors gained positions.
Still, job creation in non-residential building construction increased by 16,600, or 2.4%, since April 2014. And Robert Murray, chief economist for Dodge Data & Analytics, said he foresees a “favorable” future for nonresidential building jobs, based on healthy increases in commercial and institutional building starts in 2014.
Specialty trade contractors in the non-residential sector had a good month, however, adding 20,200 jobs for skilled carpenters, plumbers, electricians and others in April. In fact, the industry has added jobs for 76,400 nonresidential trades since April 2014.
Heavy and civil construction employers also came out ahead for the month, adding 8,400 jobs and putting employment in that sector up by 33,100 positions since this time last year.
Residential building
The residential sector added 2,800 jobs between March and April and 41,200 over the past year. That gain reflects an ongoing need in the homebuilding sector for employees—and the ongoing struggle both homebuilders and commercial contractors have had finding qualified workers.
Sales of existing homes were up in March, which most have said is a good sign for the coming months. An increasing number of signed contracts, of course, will spur additional employment in the construction sector as builders staff up to meet the projected demand for new homes.
“The housing numbers in this report are checking off all the boxes,” Neil Dutta, head of U.S. economics at Renaissance Macro Research in New York, toldBloomberg. “None of these things would be happening if the housing market weren’t picking up.”
Homebuilding’s contribution to the positive April jobs numbers could reflect a bouncing back of the industry after an especially tough winter, which restricted housing starts and kept would-be buyers indoors and away from open houses.
As the weather has warmed and the industry has regained its footing, the need for residential specialty trades boomed last month, just as it did in the commercial sector. Construction employers added 20,800 jobs for residential trades in April—and 112,100 since April 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
Unemployment
Fewer construction workers were unemployed in April than during any month since 2006.
The BLS report showed that unemployment industry-wide dipped to 7.5% last month, a 2% improvement from March. A year ago, 9.5% of would-be builders, laborers and trades were unemployed.
The drop in the construction unemployment rate outpaced the national decline. Across all industries, unemployment edged downward to 5.4% in April from 5.5% in March. In April, employers across the board added 223,000 jobs, according to the BLS.
The coming of spring typically lowers construction unemployment, as theweather becomes friendlier to outdoor work. Along with positive residential job creation, the falling unemployment rate could be a sign that the industry is pulling out of a bad weather-induced winter slump, economists have speculated.
In fact, Basu noted, the improved numbers offer hope that construction spending will improve in the coming months, as projects delayed by frigid temperatures and record snowfalls “come to fruition.”
Filling the jobs
A plus in the job-creation column often creates a headache for construction employers trying to find qualified trades and employees, as an ongoing shortage of skilled labor continues to plague the industry.
But one industry’s loss is another’s gain this spring: The mining and logging industries lost 15,000 net jobs in April, making many of those skilled workers available to accept posts on construction job sites.
“While the loss of mining and logging jobs isn’t necessarily a good thing for the economy, it has likely had a beneficial effect on construction employment,” Basu said in a statement. He noted that the migration of displaced workers from those fields likely accounted for at least part of the decrease in the construction unemployment rate in April.
Still, the number of new jobs means it’s a good time for construction workers and those hoping to enter the industry to find well-paying positions.
Fortune reported that job openings in construction are growing at a faster pace than unemployment is dropping. The magazine quotes the latest JOLTS survey, which reported a 36% increase in construction openings year-over-year.
Still, the Associated General Contractors in January reported that 87% of construction companies feared they would have trouble filling professional positions and craft worker jobs.
Credit: Bureau of Labor Statistics
SnapDragon Associates- Recruiting for the Building Materials Industry 