The best contractors do this as one of the 9 critical talent processes. What we don’t always pay as close attention to is what Sue Weiler-Doke frames as “Retirement Onboarding.”

This is critical for all key technical and executive roles as people retire. Due to the demographics in the United States, we will have a huge deficit of experienced talent over the next ten years.

Retirement Onboarding is even more critical during ownership transitions because often, the current owner has had nearly their whole life -- 20 to 40-plus years -- wrapped-up in the business. Many of the best business operators have given relatively little thought to their personal retirement.  

With decades in their roles, they are typically involved in many areas of the business and their retirement will create unforseen knowledge gaps. 

Retirement Onboarding must be approached with the same rigor as the rest of the retirement process and should follow similar phases. 

An experienced advisor can help owners effectively navigate their own path as well as help the company create Retirement Onboarding processes for other critical roles, ensuring sustainability.