Yesterday we addressed the importance of planning in the very beginning of a business. Equally essential to survival is ensuring that every family member who is contributing clearly understands not only what their role is to be moving forward, but also what all other family members' roles are. I think this can also be associated with transparency. In family business, everyone has to be aware of everything, there are no secrets.
Before assigning roles to specific people, first define the roles themselves -- actually write job descriptions. Then begin having discussions as to who best fits the requirements for each position. An expert in the Inc. article also suggests planning formal business meetings to avoid utilizing actual family time as company time. This will blur the lines and lead to confusion and conflict down the road. Don't let the dinner table double as a conference table!
When working on the roles themselves, don't think of the family members first. View the job descriptions and requirements as entirely separate from the family members who will be involved in the the immediate future as well as down the road. Do you want those involved in the business to have a college education? If so, you have to make this a clear requirement from the very beginning.
Setting guidelines for some type of employment policy as a part of a great strategic HR plan will go a long way in avoiding discrepancies in the future. Take the time to define standards for compensation, time off, performance and reviews.
The Inc. article stresses defining compensation over everything else and it makes sense. Money can be the root of all problems for small or family owner businesses.
In his book, The Survival Guide for Business Families, Gerald Le Van stresses the importance of fair compensation. Reasonable benefits should come "along with an understanding of money, it's meaning, its potential, its limits, what is involved in making, spending and saving money…" There is a relationship between money and self-esteem, he notes, and as the manager of a family business, that's something you need to be cognizant of nurturing.
Before assigning roles to specific people, first define the roles themselves -- actually write job descriptions. Then begin having discussions as to who best fits the requirements for each position. An expert in the Inc. article also suggests planning formal business meetings to avoid utilizing actual family time as company time. This will blur the lines and lead to confusion and conflict down the road. Don't let the dinner table double as a conference table!
When working on the roles themselves, don't think of the family members first. View the job descriptions and requirements as entirely separate from the family members who will be involved in the the immediate future as well as down the road. Do you want those involved in the business to have a college education? If so, you have to make this a clear requirement from the very beginning.
Setting guidelines for some type of employment policy as a part of a great strategic HR plan will go a long way in avoiding discrepancies in the future. Take the time to define standards for compensation, time off, performance and reviews.
The Inc. article stresses defining compensation over everything else and it makes sense. Money can be the root of all problems for small or family owner businesses.
In his book, The Survival Guide for Business Families, Gerald Le Van stresses the importance of fair compensation. Reasonable benefits should come "along with an understanding of money, it's meaning, its potential, its limits, what is involved in making, spending and saving money…" There is a relationship between money and self-esteem, he notes, and as the manager of a family business, that's something you need to be cognizant of nurturing.
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