Succession planning for Corporate brokers: so that a client does not leave with one person
In a broking firm, clients stay because of a person. Succession planning means every large client and rare skill has a second person who is known, trusted and ready to step forward.
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Share your requirementsWhy succession planning matters in corporate brokers
A corporate broker may have fifty clients, but ten of them make up most of the income, and each is tied to one relationship manager or director. If that person resigns, falls ill or retires, the client may follow. Nobody wants to discuss it in advance, because it feels like planning for someone's departure. The risk grows each year the relationship stays with one person.
Succession planning here is a practical exercise. It lists the key clients, the key people and the key skills. It names a second person for each, brings them into meetings and files, and trains them in the specialist knowledge. It also looks at the top of the firm: who will lead in five years and what they need to learn. Done openly, it helps people see a future.
How to set it up
1. List key clients, people and skills
Identify the clients that matter most, who holds each relationship, and the skills that only one or two people have. Keep the list on a single sheet.
2. Name a second person for each
For each key client and skill choose a successor or cover. Discuss the plan with both people, as they will notice anyway.
3. Bring the second person into the work
Add them to client meetings, email copies and renewal discussions. Over six months, let them lead parts of the work with the first person present.
4. Build the successor's skills
Identify gaps in knowledge of classes, insurers and the client's business. Arrange training, shadowing and stretch tasks to fill them.
5. Review the plan twice a year
Check who has moved, who is ready and where the plan is weak. Update names, and speak to successors about what they want from their future.
Check these first
Before changing anything, find out what is true today. These take an afternoon and use your own records.
- List the ten largest clients and who else knows each.
- Ask a director which skills would be lost if one person left tomorrow.
- Check how many successors have attended a client meeting.
- See when the plan was last reviewed.
GullyHR can do this with you. Read how we approach succession planning in general, or share your requirements and we will tell you where to start.
Questions owners ask
It can if handled badly. Explain that the plan protects clients and the firm and gives the current holder a route to grow into larger work, and involve them in choosing the second person.
Prioritise the largest clients and rarest skills. A partial plan is better than none. Even naming a second contact for the top five accounts reduces the risk.
Now, and not when someone resigns. Plans take months to take effect because the second person needs time to build the client's trust.