"Have you tested your family for talent, Mads Skjern?"
You may be familiar with this situation. You and your family own, develop, and run a business. However, the distribution of responsibilities does not reflect transparent HR considerations.
Perhaps the head of the family has distributed the positions based on traditions and family dynamics that have nothing to do with skills. It is possible that random circumstances have prevailed.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
Many companies test their employees to identify their talents and match them with the teams to be created and the job functions to be performed.
A talent test highlights an individual's abilities and potential, strengths and weaknesses – but also how a team can best be put together and work together. And why shouldn't an owner family also be able to use talent tests when roles need to be allocated and fine-tuned?
Some family businesses still follow the 'Mads Skjern method', whereby the firstborn son must head up the company's senior management, regardless of whether he would actually be better suited to working in product development, internal services, or HR.
But it is not only in Matador that this method will cause problems for the family and for the company's operations and development.
That is how reality is – fortunately, I am tempted to say.
It is sound logic that roles (also) in family businesses should be distributed according to the skills and talents of each family member and the needs of the team. This is in the best interests of both the business and the individual.
My own experience tells me that many owner families have untapped potential that can be identified if the family is open to creating the best possible team. To this end, a talent test conducted by an independent consultant can ensure the necessary objectivity in the process.
"But what about family members who don't have a talent for leadership?" you may ask.
Large family businesses have just as many professional and work areas as other companies. This means there are plenty of opportunities to find a good job match for family members who want to contribute to the company's development with the skills they have.
Both the business and each family member benefit in the long run when everyone finds their niche—and when the family learns to see each other's talents as complementary rather than competitive.
