The recruitment needs and challenges of an evolving industry

The family office sector is flying. With $ trillions under management, family offices are changing the financial sector. And as with any major disruption, opportunities follow.

Significant roles also come with significant compensation: family office CEOs can often earn seven-figure packages.

But despite the progress, the industry remains frustratingly opaque.  

This week, we spoke with Paul Westall, the cofounder of Agreus Group, a recruitment consultancy that works exclusively with family offices. He shares thoughts from over 13 years of family office recruiting on what makes the industry unique.

Last year’s Global Family Office Compensation Benchmark Report produced by KPMG and Agreus Group showed the extent to which family offices are growing. 

With 40% of family offices worldwide looking to expand their team and 33% of family office employees planning to find new roles, there’s never been more need for efficient family office recruitment.

Culture is key

Last year’s global compensation report noted that 92% of family office professionals believe cultural fit is more important than qualifications in the hiring process, something Paul reaffirms.

“Cultural fit is the biggest difference when recruiting for a family office,” says Paul, “There is a greater emphasis on emotional intelligence, as you will be working for a wide number of stakeholders from various backgrounds, and often family members without financial acumen.”

Career limitations, shifting roles

Paul cites the lack of clear career progression as a major challenge for those in the industry, which makes sense since most family offices have less than five employees.

While for family offices and recruiters, finding suitable candidates to replace a long-standing employee whose role has evolved over time, can present a major hurdle.

Find your purpose 

Recognizing the differences in family offices and how this affects the recruitment process is crucial. Established family offices that aim to expand philanthropic activities are very different to new ones looking to develop an identity.

“Define what the purpose of the family office is,” says Paul, “Since all decisions will be based on this: from who to bring in-house, to how to structure compensation.” 

Professionalization and performance

He noted that while the industry is in different stages across global regions, the most common trend is family offices professionalizing and bringing on more expertise in-house. This also calls for tighter performance management.

“Family offices need to define what ‘good’ means and use this as a framework for yearly reviews. And make sure you include all stakeholders or decision makers in the interview process.”

Not always glamorous

For candidates looking for a move into the family office industry, a common misconception Paul sees is overlooking the hands-on element often required.  

“A lot of candidates are attracted to family offices through seeing wealth and glamor, and expect access to exciting projects, but teams are quite lean and therefore mean they will need to roll their sleeves up and do the mundane aspects of any role too.”

Loose lips sink ships

And a common mistake candidates make when engaged in the hiring process?

“Either talking too openly about their past experiences working with a family office, especially highlighting negative parts, or probing too much personally in the early stages of the interview process.”