Issues & trends - solutions

Question:
I am a 19-year-old university student, my parents are second-generation operators of a reasonable sized family Business and I have two older siblings who also work full-time in the business. I am constantly being pressured by my family to provide a commitment to working in the business after I complete my studies. However, there does not appear to be any clear or defined career development process for any of the employees in the business. How critical is a career development process to the success of a family Business?

Answer:
Career development in any business is vital. For a family Business nothing could be more important to its continuity and the preparation of next generation leaders. Unfortunately though, career development is often neglected in many family Businesses. By definition career development is a continuous process of building leadership capacity to meet the needs of the future. Such leadership is unlikely to emerge on its own. A family Business needs to engage in a well-planned career development process that meets the needs of the business and the individuals within it. It needs to enable individuals to learn and grow in ways that meet their desires whilst supplying the business with the performance and talent it needs to meet its strategic objectives.

A well-planned career development process does more than just prepare the next generation leaders employed in the business. The process needs to cater for the next generation of talent who are considering whether they should enter the family Business. Many best practice family Businesses create a Next Generation Involvement and Development Program as a precursor to career development. Such programs can produce higher quality candidates for the career development process and help assure that there will be family members in the pipeline for roles in the family Business. Initiatives included in such a program may include vocational employment, sitting in on board and family council meetings or a mentoring program. Another very important initiative maybe a requirement that the family members must acquire relevant work experience outside of the business for a minium time period before taking up a full-time position with it.

As in any business as individuals gain experience and skills the career development process will influence the company's promotions decisions. At this point the processes of performance appraisals and career development interact. It is important however that everyone from board members down to the family members outside the business understand the difference between performance appraisals and the career development process as well as why they should be kept separate. Basically, performance appraisals look at the past and provide feedback and reward for performance whereas the career development process is about developing and building leadership capacity for the future.

Finally, it is important that the process can stand alone from the emotion of a family Business but at the same time take advantage of family Business flexibility