Business owners are increasingly aware of how much value their employees provide to their organizations and, indirectly, to their assets.
When you initiate a leadership transfer, it’s in your best interest as the seller to take into account your existing workforce. This is true across all sectors and specializations.
Recognizing the value of sought-after workers
Your potential successors are your employees or children (if you run a family business), but these workers are also likely to be solicited by the competition. Headhunters will go to great lengths to lure them to new positions, offering them the opportunity to take on important roles, collaborate on shared projects and get valuable training and coaching along the way.
In addition, most future leaders have a clearly defined set values and beliefs that they hope to find in the company they choose. And with the labour shortage being as serious as it is, top talent can be selective about which company they want to invest in and develop. This makes the prospect of a talent drain all the more threatening to companies.
Involving the next generation of leaders
The new market reality is forcing outgoing business owners to pay closer attention to the needs of next-generation leaders. This means enlisting their help in developing a realistic succession plan that includes concrete steps and a clearly defined schedule.
The more recent wave of uncertainty has only amplified this need.
Current leaders need to put their emotional intelligence to use and be transparent when transferring leadership. This strategy will help ensure their successors remain committed during the transition period.
Young workers are educated, perceptive and sophisticated. They have specific expectations and want current management to be frank and deliver on tangible commitments. They’re looking for a real transfer of responsibility and leadership. If they find the handover process unclear or poorly planned, these talents—who are otherwise known for their loyalty—could very well accept offers at other companies.
Employees and children involved in family businesses need to be patient during the transition. Sellers need to prove to buyers that they can be relied on throughout the process.
Anyone hoping to sell their business should take action right away by implementing a transparent succession plan that engages workers. After all, good talent is hard to find and productive employees drive growth.
Planning a gradual transfer
Too many entrepreneurs fail to take the time to properly plan their business transfer. Eventually, they may try to make up on lost time, only to find themselves faced with a dizzying list of consultants and organizations promising quick-fixes. This can lead to hasty decisions and considerable damage that’s sometimes irreparable.
In most cases, you need a comprehensive succession plan based on a gradual transfer of management responsibilities and property over three to five years.
The plan should be based on a solid assessment of the situation and lay out the financial considerations and other details, including the new generation’s involvement and capabilities. More specifically, a succession plan should provide for:
- Stronger governance
- More fluid communications
- Concrete qualifications of the successors and key persons
- Successor emotional intelligence
- Roles, responsibilities and assignment of duties
- Successor goals and expectations
- Sellers who have benefitted/are benefitting from their assets
- Satisfied sellers who act as ambassadors
A new governance structure, such as a succession committee, family council, management committee or board of directors is needed to oversee the plan and ensure its successful implementation.
A leadership transfer plan should reflect the needs of both the sellers and buyers, while ensuring that all changes are approved by all parties to boost engagement.
Finally, since business transfers always come with uncertainty, the succession plan should be paired with a strong internal and external communications strategy and plan.
Getting help from seasoned professionals is essential for building a viable leadership transfer plan.
09 Dec 2020 | Written by :
Éric Dufour is a management consulting expert at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton.
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Updated on June 6, 2023
The pandemic has highlighted the importance of worker health and wellness. These issues are now more important than ever and businesses must take them into account when developing action plans.
According to the World Health Organization, promoting health in the workplace is a process that gives employees the means to take control of their health.
For businesses, creating a healthy workplace that fosters overall wellness can result in a wide range of benefits, such as:
- Higher job satisfaction
- Increased feeling of belonging and engagement
- Improved productivity
- Lower insurance costs and incidence of occupational injuries and illnesses
- Decreased absenteeism
These are just some of the benefits of creating a corporate culture that actively promotes employee wellness.
Creating environments that foster employee wellbeing and personal growth can also help companies boost their employer brand. Since this strategy can help businesses attract talent, it’s especially useful for industries facing a labour shortage.
A brief history of occupational health and wellness
Corporate concern for worker wellbeing is relatively new. The shift started in the early 2000s, when managers started including worker health promotion in their management practices.
For the first time, employee health was an organizational responsibility. Between 2010 and 2020, worker health promotion gained prominence in workplaces and the responsibility became shared. Employers and employees are now expected to uphold the principle of worker health promotion, which is defined as the art and science of helping people make healthier lifestyle choices.
Employee health initiatives
The workplace is the ideal location for implementing health-promotion initiatives. Why? The reason is simple: work is where we spend most of our waking lives. In addition, employers have the opportunity to repeat messages over time to create a shared culture and promote common goals.
Employers aren’t there to save people. Their role, however, is to be an important actor that provides workers with helpful tools to positively impact their personal, social and family lives.
It all starts with caring
Caring is an attitude that shapes the way we interact with others. A caring management style involves being attentive to the wellbeing of your employees and others who contribute to your projects. It involves showing genuine concern for how they’re doing. Caring comes from the heart and manifests itself in day-to-day actions such as taking the time to listen, thank, reassure and advise your team. In short, it’s about showing that you’re interested in them as people.
A commitment from the top
Promoting health and wellness isn’t the sole responsibility of the HR manager or the OHS committee. To be successful, the entire management team has to get behind the initiative. Don’t hesitate to contact our team to help with your strategy.
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E-Commerce in Canada by Non-Residents: New GST/HST Obligations on Sale of Digital Products and Services
As of July 1, 2021, certain non-residents of Canada providing digital products (intangibles) and services to Canadian consumers could be required to register for Goods and Services Tax and Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) purposes.
On November 30, 2020, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Canada, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, tabled the Fall Economic Statement 2020 which proposes to broaden the obligation to register for and collect GST/HST for certain foreign suppliers working in e-commerce.
Currently, the GST/HST system provides that only one person making taxable supplies in Canada in connection with a commercial activity or business that the person operates is required to register for and collect the GST/HST.
Additionally, a consumer or any person who acquires intangibles or taxable services in Canada outside the person’s commercial activity is required to self-assess and pay applicable GST/HST directly to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Currently, the GST/HST is not collected on the purchase of intangibles or services from non-resident vendors and is not paid by consumers who do not self-assess.
Generally, the new measures proposed will require that non-resident suppliers register for and collect GST/HST when they provide digital products or services to consumers in Canada. These new rules will also apply to digital platforms that facilitate third-party sales.
With the announcement of these new measures, the federal government has put in place similar rules to those that went into effect on January 1, 2019 for the purposes of Quebec Sales Taxes (QST), which are in line with market trends, as recommended by several international jurisdictions. Download our document for an overview of the proposed measures.
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As a result of temporary stoppages in the local and global economies, many transportation companies in Quebec have experienced major difficulties. What have been the biggest challenges in this sector?
The onset of the crisis brought about a series of new challenges for trucking companies in Quebec: economic slowdowns, changes in the supply chain, and new measures for cross-border travel. The most significant issue for many trucking companies was profitability and transportation logistics. What makes a trucking company profitable is its ability to manage outbound and inbound delivery logistics.
Profitability of transportation
The transportation industry is highly dependent on the dynamics of the supply chain. Production stoppages for many companies around the world have had an impact on delivery and distribution needs. The decline in the flow of goods, caused by the global economic downturn, has affected the demand for deliveries to and from Canada.
For transportation companies, this meant that it was not uncommon to have a delivery request, but with no guarantee of a return trip with goods, which affected the profitability of a truck trip. As a result, transportation sector companies negotiated higher prices, with some of them having to increase prices by 40% in order to respond to the logistical changes caused by the pandemic.
Today, the impacts of the pandemic on the transportation and distribution sector are somewhat less pronounced in some companies since the production of several goods has resumed. In addition, the transportation sector remains an essential service in our economy.
Labour shortage
However, one of the biggest challenges affecting this sector, which was already very prevalent long before the pandemic, is the labour shortage.
This shortage of truck drivers has more devastating impacts within the sector than the pandemic. Even if companies increase wages, they are not able to meet their market demand. Across Quebec, it is projected that by 2023, there will be a labour shortage in 117 of the assessed occupations, including the transportation sector, where a large number of vacancies will need to be filled.
This labour shortage has rapidly worsened due to the pandemic as many truckers now refuse to make deliveries outside of Canada.
However, international recruitment can solve this problem. Auray Sourcing, one of our subsidiaries, offers Quebec and Canadian companies a recruiting and international mobility service to address the labour shortage issue.
Ensure the longevity of your business in times of crisis
Although transportation and distribution companies have been able to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, particularly thanks to their status as an essential service, this sector still faces significant challenges. In these times of crisis, it is essential to have a well-established plan in place to ensure your business’s sustainability.
Watch the interview with our expert on the new normal in the transportation and distribution sector.
03 Dec 2020 | Written by :
Guy Fauteux is a vice-president at Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton. Contact him today!
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