HR problems are more than business issues if they involve family members. In family-run enterprises, promotion decisions of family members often trigger unexpected family emotions. Incoming generations find it hard to communicate their career aspirations, especially if their career plans do not align with the views of the patriarchs or the development of the family firms.
Such difficulties oftentimes cause family discussion to break down even before it begins.
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) recently organised a workshop to help business families and their advisers to identify and analyse the career development issues from the family systems perspective. Winton Au, a Professor in Industrial and Organisational Psychology at CUHK said, “An unclear distinction between family and professional relationships deprives family firms the chance to advance their overall corporate structure. Business families need a set of protocol in career planning for the next generations.”
Pearl Lau, a clinical counsellor specialising in family therapy commented, “Unlike other enterprises, it is very important to understand the relationships between members of the family systems before solving the problems. The use of a genogram is useful to diagnose the situation. Different aspects of the business families such as age, gender, illnesses, and perceived family dynamics can be visualised to open up discussions. These elements can also be linked up with career decision making.”
The two specialists also advised that business families should begin the career development process at an early stage. “Stages of career awareness follow a child’s cognitive abilities,” said Lau.
Professional counsellors can facilitate clients’ orientations towards power, gender roles, social values, and self- perception—important in the different developmental stages that shape their career awareness.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
