Strategies for Cultivating Attractive Business Cultures

Whether directly or indirectly, family dynamics impact the business’ ability to be successful, profitable, and, very importantly, scalable.  Whether blood-related or not, how family influences business decisions is either an asset or a liability to your culture.  Family comes in those blood-related to the owner, key leaders, and even extended family.  Creating boundaries early and communicated often throughout the organization acts as a fortress of EXPECTATIONS protecting your business from needless and distracting drama.  

People know a good gig when they see it. Meaning, if your business is growing and well-known in the community,  you will be “hit up” for an inside leg-up for a job.  Setting boundaries, or what is also known as developing ‘Governance Policies,” provides you a strategy to avoid awkward situations.

Governance Policies are a set of policies and procedures to create guidelines for how family members interact with other family members, and how the business interacts with the family.  Simply put, governance policies for business owners are policies and procedures to set the guidelines for:

• Who can be considered for employment in the business? Criteria, job history, experience, etc.
• What are the performance expectations as an employee in the business? Behaviors & Attitudes
• How to develop compensation plans, perks, and benefits for employees in the business?
• Who can be involved in the decision-making/and the process for decision making?

As an entrepreneur, whether you have family currently in the business or not, governance creates healthy boundaries between personal feelings and business decisions when a family member, friend, or friend of an employee shows interest in employment.

Family and Business alignment is hard to find when business issues liven up family dynamics.

However; with proper process, governance policies, and mutual respect built over time, a Family Business can thrive through multiple generations. Click the following links for more drill-down resources on  Family Dynamics and Family Governance.

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