People are the greatest asset of a Family Office. Like everywhere, Family Office employees determine the success or failure of their company. However, Family Offices are generally quite small, so often lack the infrastructure, time or knowledge to recruit the right staff.
Here are the most common mistakes in hiring for Family Offices and how to avoid them.
- Writing a vague job description
Unclear job descriptions create conflicts over responsibility, and lead to poor organisational performance. A well-written job description will help attract the right candidates and saves you time in the later stages of recruitment.
Make a list of job responsibilities and the skills, knowledge and experience the candidate should ideally have. Try to be realistic. It’s fine to aim high with an ideal candidate, but it’s better to be specific and accurate about which skills and experience are actually essential for the role. This will provide you and the candidates with a realistic picture of their job.
However, working in a Family Office can often mean going above and beyond their job description, so it is worth making it clear that they need to be adaptable.
- Having a poor Cultural Fit
We always say: “Once you’ve seen one Family Office, you’ve still only seen one Family Office.”
Family Offices are often so focused on hunting for competent professionals they neglect to consider how well they’ll fit into the office and the family they work for. Every family has unique needs and preferences that define the culture of their office. That makes it essential to align your prospective team around a shared vision and objective.
Family Offices are also, by their nature, highly personal workplaces. Staff members usually have close relationships with the family they serve and are likely to stay in their jobs for a long time. This unique bond sets family offices apart from other corporations and is the reason why Cultural Fit is particularly important.
Identify the idiosyncrasies and characteristics of the family that may impact your next hire, including the family’s purpose, beliefs and behaviours, then balance them with the values, priorities and goals of a candidate.
- Hiring a friend of the family
Without the resources of large corporations, Family Offices often resort to hiring people they know or who know the family. It’s easy to understand why. Family Offices need to be discrete so hiring someone they trust seems like a good idea. The recruit may also have an existing relationship with the family making them a good Cultural Fit.
However, the goal of a Family Office is to professionally manage the family’s finances and assets. Putting their exceptional wealth and sensitive matters into the hands of a person who may not be as competent as they should be puts the office and family at risk. Allegations of nepotism will also undermine morale among the other employees.
If you do decide to consider hiring a family member or close friend, first make sure to conduct a thorough and honest interview, screening and reference process. If they pass, then be sure to set clear boundaries and expectations for their role within the Family Office. This can help avoid conflicts of interest and ensure they are held to the same standards as other employees.
- Ignoring the importance of EQ
Emotional intelligence (EQ) means being able to communicate effectively, to empathise with others and to defuse conflict. Family Office professionals need to deal with the family’s personal matters on a day-to-day basis and are often required to report to different family members and stakeholders, all with varied expectations and personalities.
When interviewing candidates, ask for examples of how they have managed multiple stakeholders and how they deal with conflict. Dig deep into their answers and don’t just take what they say on face value.
- Lack of diversity
Mirror image hiring is when a hiring manager unintentionally recruits someone almost identical to them in cultural background, beliefs and other attributes, but especially in physical likeness, such as ethnicity.
A diverse team gives the Family Office access to a wide range of talent and perspectives, contributing to a high-functioning workplace. It creates a mix of personalities, which compensates for individual strengths and weaknesses. Using a recruitment specialist allows you to avoid this and helps you to identify the most qualified candidates.
Hiring for a Family Office is a challenging process and the cost of a bad hire can be high financially and organisationally, and adversely affect the office’s relationship with the family.
Agreus is a full-service resources and recruitment consultancy dedicated to working exclusively with Family Offices. Our sole purpose is to find elegant and effective solutions to the problems faced by Family Offices globally.
We offer insights, opinions and thought leadership on Family Office issues, such as the importance of Cultural Fit and a standardised recruitment process. Access a full report on the topic here: https://www.agreusgroup.com/the-complete-guide-to-cultural-fit/
For a more tailored conversation about hiring for your Family Office, please do get in touch.