IBA, as the premier business brokerage firm in the Pacific Northwest, is firmly established as a respected professional service firm in the legal, accounting, banking, mergers & acquisitions, real estate, and financial planning communities.  Periodically, we will post guest blogs from professionals with knowledge to share for the good of owners of privately held companies & family owned businesses. The following blog article has been provided by Jack Mellanios, Founder, of All Occasions Tents (https://tentrental.net/)

Navigating Business When Your Co-Workers Are Family Members

The pressures of operating or working in a business are a considerable challenge, and that challenge can often become even more complex when you add family members to the mix. Adding members of your own family to your business as fellow employees can be difficult, and business owners must be cautious of the pitfalls that can arise from the practice. Hiring family sometimes leads to accusations of nepotism, favoritism, and other conflicts resulting from a mix of work and home life, but there are ways you can alleviate or prevent these issues from arising. This article will lay out a few key methods to help you navigate a business owned by or employing family members, ensuring that your business can thrive no matter what challenges you face.

Prioritizing Fair Hiring Procedures

If you are a business owner who is looking to hire or employ members of your own family, one of the key things to keep in mind is the importance of fair hiring practices. Family-owned and operated businesses can easily fall prey to nepotism if they are handed over to the care of family members who aren’t qualified for their work. This can also irritate and alienate non-family employees who may feel underappreciated or disadvantaged in comparison to family members.

To put fair hiring practices into place, make sure that you always treat family applicants the same as other applicants, ensuring they have proper qualifications, understand their roles and responsibilities, and will not be overpaid compared to other employees. By hiring fairly, you can actually help out your wider community in addition to your family, as studies show that family-owned businesses account for a high percentage of jobs across the country.

Treating Family and Non-Family Co-Workers Equally

If you have a mix of family and non-family employees or co-workers in your business, it is vital that you treat all employees and co-workers professionally, regardless of whether or not they are family. It is absolutely crucial that you avoid any preferential treatment towards family members, such as overpaying them, delegating them more work, more important work, or even less work, and granting them preferential consideration for promotions, bonuses, and other rewards.

When it comes to the work environment itself, be sure to maintain a professional environment by not treating family members too casually and being fair with both praise and criticism to all employees and co-workers. A good working environment prioritizes comfort, both physical and emotional. Just like an outdoor job site might help make workers comfortable by installing a heated or air-conditioned tent, you can help make your workplace comfortable by treating everyone equally.

Resolving Conflicts Effectively

Any business environment is going to have conflicts arise from time to time, but in businesses that employ multiple family members, these conflicts can be a bit more unique. In addition to conflicts over work or the direction of the business, family employees can sometimes bring personal conflicts from their family life into the work environment. These conflicts can cause a lot of damage and bad blood and need to be resolved expeditiously.

There are a number of ways you can help prevent or resolve family conflicts in a business. Classic conflict-resolution methods such as employing an effective HR department, seeking third-party moderation, and even offering paid employee counseling can help offset the impact of personal issues between family members. Additionally, even though it might be hard, all family employees or co-workers need to be held accountable for their mistakes via regular performance reviews and, if necessary, termination in the event of an unsolvable issue.

Maintaining Strict Work-Home Boundaries

Strict home-work boundaries are vital to making any business function, even more so when the actual employees are family members. All employees need to be aware when coming into work that they are expected to leave family conflicts or issues at the door, focusing on their work rather than issues that should be resolved at home. Employees should also refrain from discussing work-related matters with each other at home.

Ineffectively addressing home-work boundaries in a family business can easily lead to the development of power struggles and grudges between family co-workers. To avoid this, consider consulting a third-party company or business broker, such as IBA Business Brokers, who can help offer strategies for maintaining harmony when working in or selling a family-owned business.

Planning Effectively for the Future

No matter how many or how few family members a business employs, all companies should have plans for their corporate future, and this is even more true when a business is family-owned. Leaders of family businesses must always engage in vital processes such as succession planning and training to prepare for the future, anticipating potential family conflicts regarding matters such as sales or mergers of the business.

In a way, you can think of future planning for a business as analogous to the process of renting and installing a large tent. Just as setting up a spacious tent involves extensive planning, visualization, and management of expectations and responsibilities, the future of your business has to be well-planned, and every employee and family member should feel as though they have a role and responsibility in your business’ future. Future planning is another area in which you should consider employing a business broker like IBA as a consultant to handle sensitive family matters regarding succession, divorce settlements, or sale negotiations.

Conclusion

When you own or work in a family business, it’s vital to treat the business delicately and with strict attention to the law and personal accountability. It is absolutely possible to work with family members in your business, provided that you maintain professionalism at all levels. This can seem like a daunting task, but there are many resources available to help in addition to the tips we’ve covered above. With the help of consultants such as IBA, who can help you navigate the challenges of working with family members, you can further improve your business’ ability to employ your family without fears of nepotism or personal conflicts.

If you have questions relating to the content of this article, Jack Metallinos, Founder of All Occasions Tents, would welcome the opportunity to answer them.  Mr. Metallinos can be reached at (800) 799-8368 and info@tentrental.net.

IBA, the Pacific Northwest’s premier business brokerage firm since 1975, is available as an information resource to the media, business brokerage, mergers & acquisitions, and real estate communities on subjects relevant to the purchase & sale of privately held companies and family owned businesses.  IBA is recognized as one of the best business brokerage firms in the nation based on its long track record of successfully negotiating “win-win” business sale transactions in environments of full disclosure employing “best practices”.