The hiring of family members is not something that should be taken lightly by any family business. Family members should be required to work for a company not associated with the family business, and gain experience and be successful in that position, before being hired into the family business.
The premise of a family business and the premise of a family are not the same. Because the foundation for acceptance in the family is different from the business, there is a fundamental disconnect between the two systems that many people do not recognize. No business will be successful if the leadership is not competent.
In family business, there is a clearly defined but invisible control mechanism called the family system. This system is often referred to as the family business psychology. In family business, the keys to implementing solutions to business problems are often locked up in the psychology of the family. Business solutions cannot be effective if family business psychology is ignored.
If the business is to thrive, there should be conditions attached to the hiring of family members. Every owner of a family business faces the issue of whether to hire particular family members. It's important to set a fairly high bar before hiring family members, or the business will end up employing less than competent people.
As a family business grows, the need for a well-defined family business structure becomes more important in order to keep the business growing. Once the entrepreneurial stage passes, more family business structure is required to define how the founder will interface with the business and find solutions to family business issues that arise.
When considering family business growth, an important task of the family business is to ensure the family business assets are compounded over the generations. This means that it is the responsibility of a business successor to work towards leaving future successors with more than was there at the beginning. It's important to have clarity with this task.
A successful family business is one that respects the privacy of the family members who work for the business. It's important to respect individual privacy as well as the privacy of each family unit in an extended family. By respecting the privacy of all family members, positive relationships can be maintained at work and at home.
Assisting and supporting family members are two keys that promote a successful family business. Support comes in many forms, and it is imperative - especially when a family member is experiencing grief, loss, pain or shame. Support is important even if one family member does not agree with the decisions another family member makes.
The most successful family businesses are those whose members always do their best to show mutual respect for all members of the family. Mutual respect is built on the trust that comes from knowing that one family member can depend on other family members. Without mutual respect, it can be extremely difficult to run a successful family business together.
There are many keys to success in family business. Over the course of his career, David Bork compiled a list of 10 of the most common traits for success in successful family businesses. There are many identifiable qualities shared by successful family businesses - all of which became important tenets of Bork's family business consulting philosophy.
