“About a third of successors fail”

In the coming years, more than 90,000 SMEs will have to decide who will be responsible for the company in the future. If they fail to find a successor or a buyer for the boss or entrepreneur, there is a risk of collapse. Jobs, tax revenue, and large amounts of information will be lost as a result.

The time factor is very important. The successor must be dealt with in time: “Such a succession process can quickly take five to ten years,” says Jörg Sennrich (49) of the KMU Next successor platform. If you don’t take the time to hide a successor issue for too long, your company is in danger of going bankrupt.

Communication is very important

“About a third of successors fail,” says Sennrich, who has advised many companies on these issues. Successful succession has a lot to do with communication, fairness, and the boss. “First of all, every company should be clear about how it wants to organize the successor,” Sennrich says. And then answer a very important question: “Who am I when I am no longer the boss?”

Then the communication process begins. It’s about talking openly with children about whether they are willing and ready to follow in the footsteps of their parents’ generation. “I’ve also met fathers who can’t accept that their kids don’t want to take over the company and put the company under pressure for years.” In addition, the question of what to buy children who are not interested in the family business should be answered. Or whether children are even suitable for a managerial position in the family business.

Successful succession planning

An important example of successful succession planning is the chocolate manufacturer Läderach. Here, three brothers from the third generation are currently running the sweet business very successfully. Sennrich gives other examples: for example, the fashion house Goldener from Appenzell, which is maintained in the fourth generation by four family members. Or Mühlebach Mühle from Würenlingen AG, a company whose roots date back to the 14th century. Today, the fifth generation brothers Stefan and Corinne Mühlebach are in charge.

In an interview with the Agricultural Information Service (LID), Corinne Mühlebach explained the recipe for the success of long-lived companies: “In family businesses, discussions are more open than in companies, and sometimes a decision is taken longer. It’s a different entrepreneurial culture.”

A culture to protect and nurture – especially when it comes to succession planning. About a third of the larger Swiss companies are family-run or controlled. Successful cooperation between generations secures jobs and added value in Switzerland.