Succession plan 2026 to 2030, Morvath Engineering
Succession plan template with critical roles and readiness
A succession plan has to name the roles a business cannot lose, who could step into each and how ready they are, and what will be done to make them ready before the day comes. This five page plan for a second generation engineering firm covers five critical roles, eight candidate ratings, ten development actions, a handover timeline to 2029 and the triggers that bring it forward.
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Section by section
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- Cover
- Executive cover with the firm, the plan period and the approval date.
- 1. Why this plan, and why now
- The firm, the planned exit, and leadership kept separate from ownership.
- 2. Critical roles
- Five roles rated on single person knowledge and likely exit.
- 3. Candidates and readiness
- Eight candidate ratings with strengths and gaps.
- 4. Development actions
- Ten actions with sponsor and due date.
- 5 to 7. Timeline, triggers and review
- Seven milestones to 2029, five triggers with responses and the yearly review.
How to adapt this document
First, start with your own list of single points of failure rather than an org chart; the person who knows the supplier terms may matter more than a department head. Second, if you are a larger organisation, add a column for diversity of the candidate pool and a talent review meeting each year. Third, if the owner is also selling, keep this plan for leadership and run the sale in a separate exit plan, linking the two timelines.
What makes this document work
Risk is rated on what lives in one head
The critical roles table does not just list senior titles. It records the knowledge only the holder has, such as the estimating rates and supplier terms the commercial manager keeps, and how soon each holder may leave. The engineering manager at 62 with sole sign off rates high; the finance manager, covered by an outside accountant, rates low.
Readiness is honest, including for family
Eight candidates are rated on one scale, from ready now to emergency cover only. The founder's granddaughter is rated 3 or more years away and the plan says she is assessed like everyone else, with the managing director chosen in 2028 from whoever is ready then.
Triggers remove guesswork
The plan runs to a timeline, but five triggers each carry a set response: if the managing director cannot work for 4 weeks, the finance manager acts with the board for up to 6 months; if the engineering manager leaves early, a retained registered engineer signs designs.
Questions people ask
Which roles belong in a succession plan?
Roles whose sudden loss would stop work, lose clients or breach a licence or registration, not simply the most senior ones. In small firms this often includes a technical signatory or an estimator alongside the owner. Rate each on how much knowledge only the holder has and how soon they may leave, and plan first for those high on both.
How should successor readiness be rated?
Use a short scale everyone understands, such as ready now, ready in one to two years, ready in three or more years, and emergency cover only. Rate against what the role needs, list each candidate's strengths and gaps, and rerate every year. A role with nobody ready now needs at least an emergency cover name.
Should candidates be told they are in the succession plan?
Usually yes, with care. Telling a candidate lets them agree a development plan and stay engaged, while silence can lose them to a competitor. Avoid promising the role, because readiness can change. A common approach, used here, is that candidates see their own rating and actions while the full plan stays with the board.
How is a leadership succession plan different from ownership succession?
Leadership succession decides who runs the business; ownership succession decides who holds the shares and how they are transferred, valued and taxed. Family firms often mix them up, and the person best placed to lead may not be the person who inherits. Keeping them in separate documents lets each be decided on its own merits.
How far ahead should a succession plan look?
Three to five years suits most small and medium firms, long enough to develop a successor through a professional registration or a management course. Plan for both a planned exit, with a timeline, and an unplanned one, with emergency cover that works from tomorrow. Review it every year and after any trigger.
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