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A Case Study In
STAFFING A FAMILY OFFICE
Client Situation
The second generation of this wealthy family
determined that they wanted an advocate for
their needs, as their father looked to selling
the family business and structuring estate and
investment plans for the future. Although the
family had worked with trusted advisors over
the years, these advisors were perceived to
be "Dad's advisors," with little interest
in how critical decisions would impact the future
generations.
The patriarch of the family was struggling with
succession planning issues and the need to educate
his children on the responsibility that comes
with the privilege of inheriting significant
wealth.
Demanding Issues and Unique Concerns
The current family advisors had been unsuccessful
at mediating discussions between the various
family members regarding the establishment of
a family office. In addition, there had been
lengthy discussions about the need to hire a
professional search firm to assist in locating
someone to establish and run the office.
To add insult to injury, the opinions and concerns
of the matriarch and her daughter were not considered
important to these discussions.
The Rankin Group Solution
Through a series of individual and group meetings
with the family members, The Rankin Group was
able to identify individual objectives and concerns,
and facilitate discussions to reach consensus
on important issues and next steps.
From here, The Rankin Group guided the family
members through an evaluation process to establish
clear objectives and expectations for a family
office and its staff. It became apparent that
each family member would derive value from someone
who could focus on their specific needs, providing
education, stewardship and financial counseling
for the benefit of all. In addition, this family
office manager would be able to orchestrate
relationships with outside advisors and represent
the interests of both generations in these discussions.
Results
The family retained The Rankin Group to conduct
a discreet search for a family office manager.
At the conclusion of the assignment, they hired
a chief financial officer with general financial
and business management skills, who has the
patience, discipline and insight to handle their
complex family affairs.
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A Case Study In
FAMILY OFFICE HR CONSULTING
Client Situation
This multigenerational, wealthy family established
a family office as an off-shoot of their family
business. The main objective of the office was
to provide financial and investment services
to the family members. However, the control
and direction for the Office came from the patriarch
of the family. As the responsibility for managing
the family business slowly shifted to the next
generation, the family members expressed an
interest in creating a more professional business
structure for the family office. This raised
issues regarding the future role of the family
office, the changing responsibilities of the
family office manager, the need for more clearly
defined standards for performance and formulation
of a realistic compensation plan for the employees.
Demanding Issues and Unique Concerns
To ensure the success of this project, input
and cooperation of family members and family
office staff was required. The first challenge
was to get the time and attention of all the
family members who are scattered across the
country. As independent interviews with family
members began, it became apparent that some
members of the family had greater knowledge
of the business and financial activities of
the family than others. Consequently, there
existed a wide range of understanding about
what the family office currently provides and
what it could offer in the future. In addition,
there were various perceptions on the role the
current office manager plays and how that should
change. Finally, succession issues impacted
the decision-making process to some degree.
The Rankin Group Solution
The purpose of this project was to review the
family's expectations of the family office and
reach consensus on goals, expectations and needs.
The end result was to provide a revised role
description and market value compensation plan
for the Office Manager.
The Rankin Group, in conjunction with HR Mentor,
provided family members and family office management
with the tools to recognize achievement of expected
outcomes and performance goals, and to make
equitable pay decisions. They updated family
office goals and objectives, delivered a results-oriented
role description for the family office manager,
provided a market competitive compensation plan,
and a performance measurement format. Throughout
the process. The Rankin Group and HR Mentor
personally interviewed family members to gather
the input necessary to reposition the family
office so that it is in alignment with the philosophy
and goals of all the family members.
Results
As the consultants completed Phase I of the
project and developed an extensive report outlining
their findings, it was determined that there
were issues that the family members needed to
address before the project could continue. A
family meeting was hosted to assist the family
members in reaching consensus on these issues
so that the assignment could be completed to
their satisfaction.
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