The risk of key personnel: Build resilience without dependence

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the November 2025 print edition of Lawn & Landscape under the headline “When one person holds the key.”

As a landscape business owner, you’ve likely come to rely on certain individuals to keep things running smoothly. That may be your “right hand person,” your trusted operations leaders, account managers or other key people. Strong leadership and a capable “bench” are essential for a company’s ability to thrive and adapt. These key personnel also have a direct and measurable impact on your company’s value, especially if you are considering a future sale.

Why This Matters to Buyers

When buyers evaluate a company, they look beyond your revenues and profits. They consider “How much of this business depends on one or two key people?” If the answer to that question is “a lot,” the value of your company could be discounted. Even if you can take a few weeks away and the company can run without you on a day-to-day basis, that doesn’t capture the risk to the company losing your long-term influence. Buyers want to know if the company has leadership in place that can capably replace you.

Ask yourself: What would happen if one or more of your key people left the business? How long would it take to replace their knowledge of customer relationships, company processes and strategic decision-making? The more difficult the replacement seems, the greater the perceived risk to a buyer and the lower the valuation.

The Risk of Relationship Dependence

Key person dependence doesn’t exist only at the executive level. Larger companies may have a C-suite responsible for strategy and long-term growth, while smaller or midsize businesses often rely on a few trusted managers to interface with customers, direct crews and oversee daily operations. Losing a top account manager can hurt revenue just as much as losing an operations leader can disrupt schedules, profitability and client satisfaction.

Buyers know that losing one or two of these individuals could mean losing major contracts, disrupting operations or damaging your brand. That’s why your succession plan is a vital part of your company’s strategy. If retirement or turnover is on the horizon, replacements should be identified and trained before taking the company to market.

How Valuators Account for It

If your company undergoes a formal valuation, the risk of losing key people will be quantified. Valuators may lower pro forma financial projections or apply a higher company-specific risk premium to the discount rate. In other words, they’ll adjust the numbers to capture the potential financial impact of losing a critical person. That adjustment directly lowers your company’s appraised value.

The Role of AI and Automation

Some owners wonder if automation or artificial intelligence can offset this key personnel risk. While AI can certainly add efficiency in repetitive, process-driven areas such as scheduling, routing or data entry, it cannot replace the complex, relationship-driven roles that drive customer loyalty and business growth. In fact, as AI handles more back-office functions, the human element — trust, creativity and leadership — becomes even more valuable.

Building Value Through People

The takeaway is clear: If you want to protect and grow the value of your business, you need to reduce dependence on any one person, including yourself. That means:

• Developing a pipeline of future leaders through training and mentorship.

• Documenting processes and customer knowledge so they’re not locked in one individual’s head.

• Creating retention strategies — from compensation plans to career growth paths that keep your best people engaged.

Your team is your business. Whether your goal is continued growth or preparing for a sale, building depth and resilience into your bench isn’t just good management — it’s a value multiplier.

Cream of the Crop features a rotating panel from the Harvest Group, a landscape business consulting company. Alison Hoffman is M&A representative. harvest@giemedia.com