Managing and Real Estate

How to coax a retiring executive to pass on her vast knowledge. Plus, setting up a New York satellite office on the cheap and the found of Zingerman's on hiring employees who will mesh with your company's culture.

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Managing

Q My CFO is retiring in 18 months. She has been with us for more than 40 years and also acts as our comptroller and office manager. Passing on her formidable knowledge is vital to the success of our business, but she seems reluctant to share it. What do you recommend?

Name Withheld

Your CFO probably doesn't expect to keep managing your books from a retirement villa in Fort Lauderdale, but by now her job has likely become a big part of her identity. After shepherding your business through decades of financial planning, balance sheet audits, and intraoffice squabbles, she will undergo a drastic life change by relinquishing that role. Your CFO may fear becoming irrelevant. She might also lack confidence in her replacement.

You won't know what's holding her back until you ask. Talk to her about her retirement--and open with the good stuff. Mention the tremendous contributions she has made to the company. Then let her know that passing on her expertise is part of the job--and critical to the future of the business. "Her motivation to transfer that knowledge then becomes a sense of ownership in the company's success," says Shelly Funderburg of Right Management, a Philadelphia-based HR consultancy that helps businesses with succession planning.

And remember, goodbye doesn't mean forever. If it works for her--and for you, of course--there are ways to sustain the relationship. You could suggest she stay on as a consultant, join your advisory board, or do some work from home. William C. Byham says that while researching his book 70: The New 50, he found that many older workers prefer a phased retirement that lets them continue to work--just in a lesser capacity.

Also consider that your many-hatted manager may be reluctant to share her expertise because there's just so much of it. She may not know where to start. If that's the case, schedule some chunks of time in which you and her successor can ask questions about how she does what she does (and does so darned well). Ask about the routine stuff, of course, but also about how she has handled crises or finessed sticky situations. After all, being asked for insight is more flattering than being asked for straight facts. And document everything so you can pass it on to her successor's successor as well.

Finally, emphasize that gleaning all the gold from her storehouse of experience can't be done in a single conversation. Undoubtedly you will have to keep badgering her with questions, even after she leaves. "Sorry about that," you can say mock-regretfully. "I hope you don't mind if we keep in touch."

Real Estate

QI am looking to open a satellite office for one to four employees in New York City. Do you have any cost-saving tips?

Ryan Buchanan
CEO
Eroi
Portland, Oregon

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