Analía turned 18. He goes to the Faculty, does sports, but still has a few hours off during the day. He asks his mother to let her collaborate a few hours in the company founded by her grandfather, but her mother says: – I don’t see you starting to work now. That will distract you from the faculty, and the important thing is that you do well, and that you receive yourself. ”
The situation is very different from that of Juan, who since the end of the secondary has failed to decide what to do, and his parents ask him to get up early and work in the company that both founded, but Juan resists. He is with video games late, and it is very difficult to get up before 10.
Matías, Juan’s older brother, was received as an engineer. His parents would receive him in the company with his hands open, but he decided that he wants to run to work in a corporation, to gain experience. Then you will see, if you integrate the family business or not.
Different stories, and of course, there are many more. Its common point is that it is a significant issue, when the family owns a company, and the integration of children is raised. In our observation over the years we can argue that business families adopt different models, which in turn evolve from one generation to another.
1.- The mandate of belonging and continuing. All children are expected to integrate into the family business, to grow it, and prepare it to pass it, then, to the next generation. This is the most common model in immigrant families, which base their business development on the work and commitment of its members.
2.- Children always have a place in the family business. Regardless of the level of preparation of each, they will always have a space in the company, and, most importantly, a source of income. If for this you have to invent a position, or you have to resign that the results are not as good as if the place were occupied by a third party, it is not too important, since giving work to the family is seen as one of the functions of the company.
3.- The company gives a chance under certain conditions. There are previously established requirements as a condition to join and remain in the company. For example, there must be a duly described vacancy, and the relative must have the necessary training and attitude to occupy it. In general, under this model the parents avoid being the direct superiors of their children.
The company is not at the service of family’s work needs, but its successful continuity is a primary value, whether family members can be integrated or not.
4.- Working in the company is an achievement and a commitment. Generally in third generation or later, and especially when it comes to professionalized companies, restrictive clauses are established so that no one is incorporated due to their family member. Therefore, when there is a vacant position they compete with non -relatives to obtain the position, so that their incorporation and permanence is the result of their personal deserves, without advantages due to being members of the owner family.
5.- Total freedom. It is prioritized that family members do not feel obliged to participate in the family business, to the point, that sometimes they are given little information about the company, not to influence them.
Rummaging in the reasons for taking this model, we often find parents who have had the bad experience of feeling forced to participate in a family business, and therefore adopt the opposite path.
6.- “Better inside outside “. When the parents observe that the children do not find work, or do not look for them, and that they can be surrounded by bad companies, they usually think of the company as a shelter, a safe space for the problematic son to occupy their time away from dangerous influences. The priority value, then, is family tranquility, and depending on that important value until guidelines that the business family had established, in order to avoid a greater risk.
Understanding these models helps avoid discussions and align expectations. To be able to choose the best model for each family and for each company is a way to contribute to business success and family happiness.
*Leonardo J. Glikin. CAPS CONSULTORS
By Leonardo J. Glikin
