|
::: WHEN THE NEXT GENERATION enters the business
STRATEGIES of Jurg Burger
-----------------------------------------------------------
Family ties are
an important
psychological
factor, capable
of generating
great motivation
and commitment.
But not entirely
without risks.
The right steps
are called for.
Family-run businesses evolve
in their own specific way,
quite different to those of
non family-run concerns. Family
ties are an important psychological
factor, capable of generating
great motivation and commitment.
But not entirely without
risks, as when family members
do not get on.
There are two particularly crucial
moments in the life of a family
business: the entrance of the children
and the handing-over to the next generation, when the children
take over the actual running
of the business.
Although there is usually a long
gap between these two events,
they are part of the same life cycle
and depend on each other.
It is when the children enter the
company that they either gain a
passion for their parents’ business
or decide to keep their distance.
In the first case, the right conditions
are created for normal family
management and then natural
succession. In the latter case,
however, the parents may end up
running the company for as long
as their health and enthusiasm allow
them, after which they
will either sell or wind up
the business.
We do not intend here to discuss
whether or not it is right that children
work in their parents’ firms.
The many factors that may influence
- positively or negatively -
this decision are too many and often
subjective in nature.
What we do want to explore in
this article is how the best conditions
can be created to favour the
entrance of the children in the
business and how to find out, a
few years down the line, if the
children intend to carry on their
parents’ business and whether
they have the right skills, knowhow,
aptitude and motivation to
do successfully and to their satisfaction.
The first step is one of free
choice, not an obligation. The
children may start to work in the
family’s showroom for various
reasons: to gain some money
while still students, because they
cannot find any other job, to try
it out and see, to gain experience,
to be financially independent
of their parents, to cover a
gap in staffing… Whatever the
reason, it is always best that
everything is made clear to the
children so that they can make
an informed decision.
The first few months at work
are important for all young people,
as their first impressions
and early work experience will
leave a last ing mark: they
“learn” what work is all about
and this view will accompany
them for many years through
their professional life.
So how can we ensure that a
child’s entrance in the business
will be smooth and positive?
::: A ROLE WITHIN THE FIRM
First of all, the owner’s son or
daughter, like any new employee,
must not be used as a “jolly”, given
odd jobs here and there to suit
the needs of the moment. Nothing
is more demoralising than to feel
oneself a mere carrier-out of orders:
a couple of extra hands that
obey another’s will, without understanding
why or what it is all
about.
If we want the children to become
passionate about their
work, we must give them a proper
role within the company with
specific and well explained tasks
to carry out. Roles and tasks may
vary over time, of course, to allow
them to gain wide experience
in the various areas of the business,
but each time the role and
task must be clearly defined.
This is the only way for then to
gain a professional identity, to
feel that they have a real role
within the firm and so strive over
time to improve and use their
own heads.
::: SOMEONE TO TUTOR THEM
When learning a new job, it is always
useful to have a “tutor”, someone who explains the work
involved and h elp the new entrant
take his/her first steps.
The relationship between the tutor
and the new entrants, or
“pupils”, may be defined by an agreement
that establishes the
roles, tasks and responsibilities.
The tutor’s tasks are:
• to teach them how to do the job
in hand
• to pass on his/her experience
• to help them overcome difficulties
• to assess their capabilities and
provide useful advice when
drawing up a Training Plan
• to provide feedback, thus deciding
the criteria needed to assess
whether a task has been
performed well, reasonably
well or badly.
The pupils’ tasks are:
• to follow the instructions and
advice given by the tutor and
put them into practice
• to welcome the tutor’s feedback
and learn how to recognise and
assess by themselves their current
skills and those yet to be
developed.
For example, a young person who
starts out as a salesman needs to:
• know the characteristics and
prices of the goods on show
• learn how to approach customers
• gain experience “in the field” by
meeting and dealing with customers
as they enter the showroom
• receive feedback about his/her
performance and where extra
effort is required.
::: TEACHING A METHOD OF WORKING
One aspect that is often overlooked
when inserting a son or
daughter in the f i rm is the
teaching of a suitable method of
working.
Attention tends to be focussed on
carrying out specific tasks, such
as how to prepare a quotation, fill
in a shipping document, issue an
invoice, etc.
Yet it is equally important how
to organise one’s work, how to
prioritise jobs, how to avoid paper
merely pilling up on the
desk and how to find documents
when needed, especially if you
want to train up a colleague who
knows how to do his/her job efficiently,
autonomously and responsibly.
A good working method includes
the skills and activities that will
make all the difference between
“running” the company and “improvising”.
In the case of a wooden flooring
showroom, for example, a good
working method should allow
one to:
• organise and plan the day’s
work and that week’s work
• establish priorities
• plan routine activities
• manage and meet deadlines
• take appropriate decisions
• draft work procedures
• write work plans
• manage and file documents correctly
• organise computer files logically
• deal with emergencies and customer
complaints quickly and
efficiently.
A company’s working method can
be likened to a computer’s operating
system, while the various activities
are the software applications.
A good working method ensures
that the skills and abilities of the
person carrying out a task “function”
efficiently and properly.
Improvisation reigns in the absence
of a proper working
method, leading to a waste of
time, energy skills and resources.
::: THE TRAINIG PLAN
Training courses offer valuable
opportunities for the professional
development of young
people as they learn to work
within the family business. People
living in Europe can benefit
from courses run by many trade
associations aimed at meeting
the specific needs of the sector
involved and at special rates
(thanks to the European Social
Fund).
These courses offer participants
the chance to get to know other
areas of business, increase their
professional knowledge and acquire
new skills, both technical
and interpersonal.
A personalised Training Plan is
the best way to plan these
courses.
The Plan should contain:
• an assessment of skills, by the
tutor or owner of the business
• a self-assessment by the person
learning the job
• a list of know-how to be acquired
• a list of skills to be developed
• a programme of the courses to
be attended, including their
dates, venue and cost.
The Training Plan should be updated
regularly and accompany
the person throughout his/her
professional career.
The world, the market and the
laws are constantly evolving, creating
new training needs and often
statutory requirements (e.g.
“Health and Safety” and “Data Security”).
It is a good practice to collect and
keep all training attestations right
from the start in order to document the investments made in
training and expertise gained as
and when required.
::: AN EYE ON THE FUTURE
After their initial introduction in
the company, if the children show
an interest in the business and
wish to continue working there,
the far-seeing entrepreneur will
consider their future and so stimulate
in his children those skills
and abilities that will allow them
to help him run the company and
take over from him one day.
An aptitude for business is a
mixture of human qualities and
skills that need to be cultivated
over the years. It is never too
early to start developing these
and it is all too easy to ignore
them in the face of everyday urgent
matters.
The biggest risk is that of finding
oneself one day with knowing
everything there is to know
about ceramics and wooden
flooring, for example, but no
clear idea about what it means to
run a company.
Here are just a few of the main
business skills required to ensure
that when eventually faced with
running a company one can do so
calmly and securely:
• the ability to watch and analyse
the market and so appreciate
new trends that may offer new
opportunities for the company
business to grow; to do this,
one needs to be curious and interested
in the products one
sells and to have the critical ability
to distinguish between
passing fashions and the more
profound lasting trends that arise from changes in people’s conscience
and values;
• the ability to generate future visions
for the company; without such a vision
- an entrepreneurial dream -
one runs the risk of running while
standing still and repeating what
has always been done out of habit,
thus favouring the company’s decline;
• the ability to turn visions into concrete
objectives and, especially, to
think and to organise activities to
ensure that the chosen goals are
met;
• the ability to involve and motivate
the workforce;
• the ability to build relations with
the most important clients: such as
the architects and craftsmen who
regularly buy in the showroom;
• the ability of good management control
in order to get realistic monthly
updates of the sales, cost and
profit margins of every product
type.
Those who manage to introduce a
son, daughter or other member of the
family in the business smoothly will
have the chance to assess their potential
and so build the foundations
for profitable collaboration.
Relationships in family-run businesses
are more complex that those found
in other types of company and can all
too easily introduce existing family
problems into the running of the business.
Having said this, when the family
relationships are constructive and
there is a clear distinction between
professional and family roles, family
ties will prove to be a positive resource
that unites, activates and stimulates
people far more than is the
case in other companies consisting of
shareholders and employees.
|
Keep up-to-date on latest developments with Parquet International ...
All the latest products and services in the Professional Parquet showcase ...
Go to reserved