The Missing Ingredient in Your Company’s Succession Plan

December 14, 2018 | Healthcare in Iowa The Iowa Clinic Executive Health Department, The Iowa Clinic, iowaclinic.com/executive-health

A solid succession plan protects your business against both planned and unplanned losses. You’re planning for the departure of a key executive while ensuring a replacement is ready to fill the role.

Most succession plans focus on leadership and development but stop short in one important area: health.

Executive physicals add certainty to your succession plan.

When a catastrophic health problem affects a top executive, that can cause quite a disruption—even in companies with the most efficient and detailed succession plans. You can help protect against that by investing in preventative healthcare and services to make sure your top leaders are healthy.

An executive physical is a comprehensive medical examination that includes a number of screenings, tests and consultations to provide a more complete health picture. In one day, executives get a full workup as well as a health plan to make the necessary changes to improve or maintain their health.

For businesses, executive physicals ensure that top talent is mentally and physically fit to lead the company or addressing any health concerns that could potentially lead to problems down the road.

An executive health program is an investment in your company.

Much like succession planning, an executive health program is an investment to futureproof your business. The cost of providing annual comprehensive exams to your key leaders is small compared to the loss of production that could occur were a health issue to arise.

And the preventative healthcare doesn’t have to be limited to executives. You can include any leader or employee who is a critical part of your succession plan.

One day without your key leaders may be inconvenient. But it protects your business from experiencing long stretches without them, ensuring the health of everyone who participates and, in turn, the health of your succession plan.