Help Family Member Employees Find Their Place

Running a family business can be rewarding all around, but you must balance personal commitment to relatives with the company's needs. Otherwise, you run the risk of damaging the bottom line and staff morale.

You might feel pressured by blood ties to hire family members and, in some instances, they may be a good fit. In a best case scenario, the relative handles assignments and responsibilities flawlessly.

But what happens if you hire a relative who doesn't have the skills the company needs? Or perhaps a relative loafs on the job or feels entitled to special privileges? Although these situations aren't good for business and can demoralize the rest of your staff, family ties may keep you from firing the culprit.

Here are a few steps you can take to help turn things around:

• ‍Train and counsel. Cultivate a talent that will contribute to the business. Let's say the relative is in management and has poor people skills but is a whiz at numbers. Offer some accounting training and move the employee into that end of the business.‍
• Assign projects. Let the family member undertake tasks that can benefit the company, reduce negative contact with other staff members and provide an opportunity to develop skills you need.‍
• Mentor. To gain skills, arrange for the relative to work with a non-family member who's a top producer.

The key is to transform an unenthusiastic or minimally skilled relative into a productive employee as quickly as possible. The sooner this is accomplished, the less likely you are to lose key employees and managers.

Nevertheless, you may still be plagued by a sense of nepotism among your non-family staff members. These employees are likely to leave if most promotions go to relatives. If you're experiencing high turnover, exit interviews can help determine whether the root cause is a real or perceived feeling that your company's policies differ for relatives and outsiders.

A non-family member may never rise to the highest ranks in the company, but you can structure career paths that are attractive to outsiders and provide your business with the top-level staff you need.

Here are a few more proactive suggestions:

• ‍Examine your needs for executive and management talent. There may be several areas best filled by non-family members. Consider whether expansion would help you take advantage of family and non-family talent.‍
• Make sure that salaries, benefits and incentives reflect the value of your top performers, regardless of blood ties.

Surveys have shown that compensation isn't always the biggest issue when employees quit. In some cases, staff members may place a higher value on opportunities for advancement, contributing new ideas, being involved in management decisions, and seeing consistency in the handling of those decisions.

If you keep these ideas in mind, you'll increase the chances that both family and non-family staff will stay content and productive, leading to continued success for your business.

A Feasible Plan

The Small Business Administration has offered these tips to keep a family business running smoothly:

• At work, the success of the business must be the paramount issue.
• Family members must accept the boss/employee relationship.
• Job descriptions should be clear, written and enforced.
• Problems at home should be left there and workplace problems should not be brought home.
• Language should be more impersonal than it is at home. Attitudes should be more objective.

These behaviors can help avoid strained personal relationships and send a message to all employees that, in the workplace, business comes first.