Is your family-owned business suffering due to Nepotism?
In a family-owned business, members are often given jobs merely because they’re related to the owner.
This can extend to an owner’s siblings, spouse, children, cousins, and nieces and nephews. These workers may find it necessary to prove themselves, especially in family-owned businesses that hire non-family members.
For those who inherit ownership of a business after a relative retires, employees and others in the community may have difficulty accepting the new owner.
For best results, leaders in family-owned businesses must make an extra effort to enforce policies uniformly to ensure things are fair for non-family members.
Separating Business from Personal Feelings
One of the biggest issues family-owned business workers face is separating business from personal feelings.
If one family member is going through a divorce, for instance, relatives may give that person more flexibility during that time. Professional decisions can also be affected by long standing personality differences, interfering with daily operations.
Personal events can also suffer from the professional relationships between family members, with resentments coming out at dinners and holiday celebrations.
Family members should make an agreement to only discuss business matters during work hours.
