Almost all senior leaders struggle with retirement and less than 10% of businesses are prepared for staffing changes in the top team.
That’s the latest findings of new research surveying 92 organisations across 10 countries which looked at how successful change in senior management is for companies.
The report also found that 4 out of 5 businesses don’t put proper plans in place for top level changes, which can ultimately lead to reputational damage, lack of confidence amongst staff and even financial losses for companies.
The study was carried out by ‘Stepping Out from the Top Team’ a consultancy that specialises in succession planning for large firms. Its founder Oliver Johnston set the business up using his own experience of leaving a high-powered job just before the pandemic.
Oliver says top level changes have become more frequent now as workforces adjust post-Covid: “The New Year is a time when people reflect on the past and re-evaluate the future. Since the pandemic, people at all levels in the workforce are more unsettled about their working lives. Senior leaders are no exception. Many are quietly contemplating leaving the executive suite earlier than might have been expected. Yet what our research has found is that many firms have not addressed this looming problem and don’t have appropriate transition plans in place.
“Senior executives lead high-octane lives. They work under relentless pressure to deliver results. They commit long hours year-on-year to their jobs, and often find that they are called to make sacrifices in their personal lives. Yet, they love it. So, facing up to the end of their career can be bittersweet. It’s not only a matter of working out what to do next. It impacts on personal identity, lifestyle, family ties, finances, and daily routines. Many senior leaders are daunted by retirement and worry about what life will be like without work so it’s not surprising that many put off making the decision for too long.”
Stepping Out has a network of coaches in Ireland, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Europe and USA. They’ve worked with major blue-chip companies including KPMG, Clyde&Co, CRH, Farrans Construction and Kingspan.
Teresa Kilmartin, Chief People Officer, Europe Canada Life and Irish Life witnessed first-hand the benefit of putting support plans in place: “Ensuring the effective transition from one senior leader to the next is critically important for us. We can’t afford to get it wrong. Working with Oliver and the Stepping Out Team we are now able to support our senior leaders approaching retirement, and new leaders feel well-prepared for the role. Our senior leaders feel valued and supported, going on to be advocates and ambassadors for our organisation. It also means that we have much greater clarity about when our senior leaders will be retiring and that allows us to select and develop their successors earlier and more effectively.”