A recent survey found that 58% of family offices are concerned about losing key staff members — one of the top three operational risks cited by survey respondents. The report found that recruiting and retaining staff is a challenge for even the largest family offices: For example, 92% of large family offices said they have difficulty recruiting staff, and 54% said the same about retention.
The report advised family offices to treat talent management as a core strategic function — which will make it easier to retain the staff who can support the family’s goals over the long term.
One key to a talent retention strategy: offering staff both formal and informal development paths.
“The learning and development that family offices give to their employees is a huge way to incentivize people to stay,” says Chris Dickson, family office advisory leader for RSM US LLP. “Family offices are complex, and for employees with natural curiosity who are looking to learn, the opportunities in the family office world are what excites people to join and remain in these types of organizations.”
Families that establish single family offices are often engaged in a wide range of high-impact activities — from investing to philanthropy.
“The proximity to the family and the impact the family is having is huge,” Dickson says. “If an employee believes in the value that families and family enterprises bring to the community, working at a family office is a great opportunity to stay at an organization truly making an impact. It’s also an opportunity to learn from and engage with the family’s broader ecosystem — from operating businesses and advisors to farms, resorts and other holdings — experiences many employees find both enriching and unique.”
When it comes to learning and development, some family offices support continuing education, peer groups or industry events. These investments help employees while also strengthening the family office community and building valuable relationships.
Day-to-day operations also provide powerful on-the-job learning — from exploring new trust structures and structuring investment vehicles to navigating complex tax and estate plans, or assessing the implications of a family member moving overseas and how that will impact the structure and the assets.
“That type of learning and development, I believe, is what entices a lot of people into the space,” Dickson says.
Although many family offices experience relatively low staff turnover, departures can also create new opportunities for those who remain.
“In many cases, families have developed long-standing, trusted relationships with senior staff — some of whom have been there for 25 or 30 years and hold a deep understanding of the family and how it operates,” Dickson says. “When one of those individuals leaves, it can be difficult to replicate that level of trust and breadth of responsibility with just one person. As a result, families often don’t look to a single replacement. Instead, they may distribute responsibilities among existing team members or hire multiple new employees, creating opportunities for growth and development across the family office.”