Succession planning for the information professional

It is estimated that more than 70 percent of Australian businesses are family-owned. A succession plan is usually prepared and implemented to transfer the ownership of a business as smoothly as possible so the business can continue to grow and prosper. The selection and grooming of a successor, or successors, is built into the plan to allow for the preparation and transition of responsibilities to be gradual, and to also manage the entry and exit of family members.

According to a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers survey, ‘transference of business ownership is likely to be at its highest levels in the next 10 to 15 years as baby boomers seek to leave the workforce’ (Molina 2004, p. 6).

A snapshot of Australian family businesses:

  • The average age of the business owner is 56
  • 55 percent of family businesses are first-generation, 26 percent are second-generation and 16.5 percent are third-generation businesses
  • 50 percent of business owners are actively planning to sell their businesses now or within 10 years
  • 76 percent say they will sell now, if approached
  • 68 percent of family-business CEOs plan to retire in 10 years
  • 32 percent want their businesses to remain in the family, while 33 percent foresee the family relinquishing management control
  • 69 percent have concerns about the future of the family business
  • 82 percent regard succession planning as important, but only 23 percent have a documented succession plan.
    (‘Family business & succession planning’ 2004)

Why a focus on family business? Unfortunately, the statistics and trends are uncannily close to the future outlook of Australian education, particularly the supply of qualified classroom teachers, which includes teacher librarians.

The average age of the classroom teacher/teacher librarian is nudging the eligible age for retirement within the next five to ten years. Will a large proportion of the teacher librarianship workforce leave? What will happen to the management of school libraries, and the future of school libraries and teacher librarianship?

A snapshot of Australian education:

  • The average age of the classroom teacher is 45, while the most frequently encountered age among teachers is 49
  • Teacher shortage is real and will reach a crisis in three to five years (estimated national shortfall in 2005 is 5000 teachers)
  • 27 percent of the teaching workforce (more than 68,000) is eligible to retire in 2007
  • About 45,000 to 50,000 graduates will enter teaching between 2002 and 2007, but will still leave a shortfall of 20,000 to 30,000 teachers
  • An average of 20 percent of graduates will leave teaching within five years
  • 35 percent of teachers are in the 40–49 years age bracket in 2001, so another 50,000 teachers will be eligible for retirement between 2007 and 2012
  • 24.5 percent of public primary and 28 percent of public secondary teachers are over 50
  • 69 percent of school programs are not being taught by teachers who are fully qualified in the curriculum or teaching area.
    (Australian Education Union 2003; Brierley 2001)

I foresee a couple areas of concern.

What will happen to your school library when you move on or retire? Do you care? A succession plan could, at least, identify the knowledge, skills and attributes of your successor.

What will happen to your professional associations when you move on or retire? No professional association is immune to the phenomenon of ‘family’ members planning to retire in five to ten years!

A Succession Plan with the purpose to:

  • identify and prepare members of the association for future achievement
  • ensure continuity of leadership
  • address continuity of responsibilities to fulfil the strategic plan
  • develop and nurture potential candidates for current and future directions of the association
  • immerse members in the culture of the association
  • avoid transition problems.

will be a wise move.

We live in interesting times!

References

Australian Education Union 2003, ‘AEU Parliamentary Brief’, Hands Up, no. 1, October 2003, Australian Education Union, Southbank, Vic, viewed 15 January 2005, http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Publications/HandsUp/1-Oct2003.pdf

Brierley T 2001, ‘Wanted: Leadership!’ in Opinion, Australian Secondary Principals’ Association.

‘Family business & succession planning’ 2004, Media release, Family Business Australia, 23 March 2004, viewed 17 January 2005, http://www.fambiz.com.au/files/Succession_Planning_230304.pdf

Molina L 2004, ‘It’s essential to have a plan for passing on ownership’, The Courier-Mail: Business owner, 10 November 2004, Brisbane, p. 6.