We often hear family office principals and executives complain about how difficult it is to find the “right” people. But does this really signal a shortage of qualified candidates or, instead, a hiring process that is somehow lacking?
In my view — having built and led two large single-family offices — it’s usually the latter. The problem begins with unrealistic or simply poorly constructed position descriptions based on outmoded or inefficient organizational design. Next, we too often fail to put the most important attributes we seek — loyalty, discretion, teamwork and integrity — at the heart of the selection process. Finally, we fail to take seriously enough our responsibility for creating meaningful growth prospects for those we seek to bring onboard.
The Myth of the ‘Talent Shortage’
Family offices often claim they can’t find qualified professionals who can succeed in the family office environment. Yet, the problem is less about a lack of attractive candidates and more about unclear or outdated expectations.
Many position descriptions still resemble corporate templates that don’t fit the unique and often highly dynamic nature of a family office. For instance, a CFO in this context must manage both technical finance and deeply personal matters — philanthropy budgets, family trusts, even art purchases — where emotional intelligence can matter more than accounting depth.
I’ve interviewed many CFO candidates with impeccable Big Four accounting credentials and clear mastery of the investment and tax topics that occupy most of the family office agenda. But it’s not so common to find one who has the maturity and steely nerves needed to adapt to quickly changing circumstances or the challenging personal attributes of a principal.
The “perfect candidate” who has prior family office experience, institutional credentials and cultural fluency almost never exists. But I’d argue that it’s up to us to find “almost qualified” candidates and help them develop themselves into what we seek.
The Organizational Design Problem
Before recruiting, leaders should pause and ask: Do we have the right structure for this hire to succeed? Family offices evolve organically — one investment entity here, a philanthropic trust there — and roles often accrete responsibilities over time.
Without a deliberate design, professionals end up in no-win situations: a “chief of staff” balancing family schedules, investment projects and estate logistics without clear authority; or a junior analyst reporting simultaneously to the CIO and a family member.
When a family office redesigns around purpose and well-thought-out business processes – rather than simply copying a template – clarity follows. A well-structured organization doesn’t just make hiring easier, it ensures that, once hired, people can perform and grow without tripping over invisible boundaries.
Re-centering Values in the Selection Process
Technical qualifications are necessary, but they’re rarely decisive. The most highly valued family office professionals are defined by their loyalty, integrity, discretion and teamwork. Yet few hiring processes measure those directly.
Traditional interviews reward polish and pedigree. They often miss subtler signals, such as how they handle ambiguity, how they respond when asked about mistakes, etc. And when a candidate starts reeling off intimate details of a current or former principal’s financial life (and I’ve seen this many times), that’s a red flag. Often, though, the clues are more subtle, and we need to listen that much more carefully.
Integrating values into hiring practices means deliberately testing for them: reference questions about trustworthiness, role plays that simulate ethical dilemmas and multiple interactions with staff to gauge collaboration.
Building Career Pathways Inside the Family Office
Even when we hire well, retention falters if employees see no future. Many family offices assume flat hierarchies mean limited opportunity. But “career growth” doesn’t have to mean promotion; it can mean expansion.
Offering exposure to new areas, funding professional development or involving staff in cross-functional projects fosters engagement. A senior accountant could shadow the investment team; a property manager might coordinate sustainability initiatives.
It’s a virtuous circle: in promoting personal and professional development, we’re building our team’s capabilities and the kind of loyalty that can’t be bought. Over the course of my career, I’ve been the beneficiary of this kind of professional generosity, and I’ve sought to “pay it forward” as I’ve taken on leadership roles. It’s been one of the most gratifying parts of my work.
When employees feel seen and developed, turnover drops. And continuity in a family office — where institutional knowledge compounds over time — is invaluable.
Let’s Talk About Money
The typical excuse for our failure to achieve staffing goals is that candidates have unrealistic expectations about compensation. That is, of course, sometimes indeed the case. When private equity and investment banking firms pay what they do, young professionals are often priced beyond the range of family offices of modest size. Candidates usually don’t need much convincing about a better work-life balance, but family offices have other arrows in their quiver: long-term incentive programs and, where regulation allows, co-investment opportunities.
If we did a better job of explaining the unique work environment and path for professional development, I suspect we’d have fewer turndowns from the candidates we really want. Over nearly 20 years of hiring, I can’t think of more than a handful of “ones that got away.” It was often the less credentialed but more adaptable candidates who made me look good.
Practical Steps for Better Hiring
Drawing on lessons learned, here are concrete steps family office leaders can apply:
- Start with design, not description. Review your org chart annually and eliminate role overlap before recruiting.
- Test for values early. Ask scenario-based questions about confidentiality and teamwork before diving into credentials.
- Offer growth beyond title changes. Use project leadership or external training as advancement paths.
When implemented systematically, these practices transform recruitment from reactive to strategic. In the end, hiring excellence in family offices isn’t about chasing unicorn candidates — it’s about disciplined leadership. Principals and executives must take ownership of the human-capital strategy with the same seriousness they bring to investment or tax planning.
When leaders define purpose, align structure with mission and invest in people, recruitment challenges fade. The office becomes a place where capable professionals want to stay because expectations are clear, values are shared and growth feels possible.
Over the course of my career, I’ve seen talent-packed family offices that never achieved much more than “good enough” performance. But I’ve also seen lean teams of highly motivated individuals come together to accomplish extraordinary things.