WOMEN IN FAMILY BUSINESS VIA A MULTI-GENERATIONAL OUTLOOK Family Office with Lance Meikle

WOMEN IN FAMILY BUSINESS VIA A MULTI-GENERATIONAL OUTLOOK
The next generation of family business owners are shifting the conversation around diversity and purpose and the need to adapt governance practices for improved performance and succession planning.
 
According to international research by KPMG and the STEP Project, published in KPMG Family Business Planning Diversity Entrepreneurship report;
In Australia, family businesses provide 55% of private sector employment
Only 31% of global family businesses had women on the board, while only 18% of current family businesses were female.
 
A multi-generational outlook of family enterprises by Deloitte’s titled Planning beyond the horizon: a multigenerational outlook report into the role of family enterprises cautioned:
Without the right planning and preparation, some family enterprises may fail to successfully transition to the second generation, and the process becomes even more challenging for third or fourth generations.
According to the report, families that can define 10–20-year aspirations and six to 12-month initiatives, with a clear line of sight from one to the other, will be more likely to stay ahead of the game.
The report offers three tips for embedding a multigenerational outlook in your family enterprise:
Formalise planning processes – put capability-building on a schedule, deploy actual resources toward chosen initiatives and put in place metrics to measure whether they are progressing as planned
Put family governance in place – family enterprises typically have excellent business governance, but few operate with the same level of rigour when it comes to family meetings or communication. Yet to plan beyond the horizon, it’s essential for the next generation to be included in their long-term decision making to align family strategy with business strategy
Prepare the rising generation – letting go is not simply about the incumbent generation giving up power. It’s about preparing and educating the rising generation. Heirs to family businesses can’t sustain their leadership through raw power. The previous generation and their stakeholders must grant them the authority to lead. Preparation should be focused on how to nurture the rising generation, setting multigenerational targets together and using deviations from meeting these targets as learning experiences. Learning together as a family sustains the family’s power to adapt to disruption.
The metrics of Australian family businesses
The source for the data I’m about to give you is from:
Grant Thornton, Family Business Australia Survey 2021
8 in 10 family businesses are forecasting revenue growth in the coming year
76% said COV-ID 19 had no impact on succession plans
56% of family businesses have plans to transition leadership
65% of those will transition to another family member
30% have not considered succession | leadership transition
32% have considered change of ownership
8% of family businesses have a retirement plan for the CEO | Managing Director
70% of Australian businesses are family businesses
$4.3 trillion is the estimated value of the family business sector in Australia