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OPINION
Demystifying ownership transition
Ignoring the elephant in the room won’t make it go away, but it might be what pushes your top talent to leave.
I t’s no secret that ownership transition is a hot topic in our industry. If you’ve attended any AEC conference in the past few years, you’ve undoubtedly seen plenty of content centered on ownership transition and succession planning. It’s a complex issue that is inextricably tied to workforce shortages, and one that has an even more significant impact on small to mid- size firms. As company leaders are approaching retirement age, many employees are left with the question of who takes the wheel once they’re gone.
Shelby Harvey
The good news is that there are a variety of options available to firm owners. The less-than-ideal news is that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach that guarantees success. Not to mention it’s a sensitive topic that can breed uncertainty and fear amongst your employees if not handled well. Which begs the question – what can we do to address ownership transition to our people in a productive way? ■ Make no mistake – no news is not necessarily good news. If you or the leaders in your company are in a position where you are starting to think about about ownership transition, it is undoubtedly going to be top of mind for your
employees – whether they’re telling you directly or not. Engagement surveys such as Zweig Group’s Best Firms To Work For survey are great tools for collecting anonymous feedback on topics employees otherwise may not feel comfortable discussing. Keeping a pulse on the concerns of your people is critical in creating strong, consistent communication to staff about where you are in the process. In the absence of clear communication, people begin to invent their own narratives, which can lead to incongruous or detrimental messaging about the subject.
See SHELBY HARVEY, page 4
THE ZWEIG LETTER MARCH 24, 2025, ISSUE 1578
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