Hiring, Firing and Retaining – Issue 43, August 2019

Like any other business, a family firm is no more and no less than the sum of its human capital. The diverse skills an organisation’s talent brings to the boardroom table, shop floor and front desk are the pillars and buttresses of business sustainability. The interpersonal relationships that define the collaborative potential between these employees are the joinery enabling a company to adapt to an environment in flux while staying true to its values. Unlike other businesses, however, family-owned companies contend with the added advantage or disadvantage of family involvement usually on both the operational and ownership level of the company. This has consequences for talent management as it leads to family businesses facing particular challenges such as creating policies on family member hiring, attracting the next family generation to the business or the delicate situation of having to fire a family member.

Success, therefore, is dependent on utilising the various aptitudes of those in the family business and ensuring the health of their relationships to cultivate an environment that fosters productivity, innovation and general well-being. Talent management, whether it is attracting and retaining the best talent, letting go of those who decide they no longer wish to contribute or even doing the requisite self-work as owners to ensure we are contributing at the highest possible level, is a critical task. We are kicking off our Summer 2019 issue with a Special Feature entitled Hiring, Firing and Retaining – The Ins and Outs of Talent Management in the Family Business.

In this issue we have family business stories and contributions from Peru, Australia, Spain, Canada, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Hong Kong, the US, the Philippines as well as an examination of Sibling Rivalry by four experts.