Ninety percent of family enterprises do not go beyond the third generation. Such family businesses struggle with several circumstances, from overlapping of professional and personal lives to mismanagement during the hiring process to lack of interest in a generation. Add to the mix family drama.
Problems within the family dynamics far outweigh the typical strategy and operations management challenges in businesses. Apart from affecting how a business runs, problems in family relationships can trigger psychological repercussions out of the workplace. Considering that running a business is already hard enough without the family mix, here are six expert tips that will help keep peace with your relatives.
Be Flexible
In some cases, family issues can be too big to defer or ignore as you work, and they will require your undivided attention for your business to grow. At the same time there may come a time when your business needs override familial ties, demanding your total focus for resolving. It’s recommended that you are ready and willing to solve the issues and shift your focus to working on your family or focusing on the business as required.
Support the Needs and Goals of Family Members
It’s time you remember that all the family members involved in your business are also individuals with their own vision of the future, needs and priorities. However, these are likely to change with normal aging and changes in life events that are likely to affect individual family member aspirations.
It’s critical that you understand their individual needs, both personal and business, and you will address most issues and objectives before they become major problems that are likely to affect the running of the business.
Every Generation Should Have a Direction and Purpose
While your parents have successfully run the business for years, it does not mean that you should also do the same things they did, especially if you feel some changes, like the use of technologies like Clockspot, are critical for the business’ long-term growth. Every generation running the business needs to come up with its own strategies that will protect and grow the business. A growth-based culture is the best litmus test that will keep your business in the pink and your management team busy and committed.
Manage Family Dynamics
When working with your family, personal matters will not stay at home, sometimes. However, you should set boundaries that will help keep personal drama where it belongs, at home, instead of it ruining everyone’s work environment. Leaving such things to good judgment or to chance is a recipe for disaster.
Creating positive family dynamics requires you take on proactive management. Ensure that there is a process in place for addressing family conflict at both the office and out-of-office. Remember, most family centered conflicts revolve around George Isaac’s Four C’s – Consideration, Communication, Connectivity, and Compensation. One of the most important things to consider when running a business is to make sure all of your staff have the correct security checks, getting a DBS from Clear Check is a very simple process.
Have a Governing Body that’s Not Part of the Family
While family members take active roles in the running of the family business, it’s better to have an independent board of directors who include non-family. The members of board should also include individuals that will make up for missing experiences, skills, and will help in guarding family interests in case of conflict. A family independent board of advisors or directors will also bring objectivity and professionalism needed for board meetings.
Have Fun
Because you are running a business revolving around insert molding, for instance, don’t make construction the primary topic of discussion with family members. In fact, understanding that everyone has outside interests in the family will keep everyone grounded. Set up some family time where you enjoy and appreciate each other at a human level.
