Globalisation, digital transformation, and climate change have transformed the way we live, work, and conduct business today. Inheriting this radically transformed world is a new generation with distinct priorities from their baby-boomer predecessors. In the private wealth space, the transition has been dubbed ‘the greatest wealth transfer in history’, with some of the world’s wealthiest families placing the fate of family businesses and family offices in the hands of the next generation. Wealth management is set to have a new face: millennials.
This represents a significant transition for family offices both in terms of talent retention and succession. Succession is a pivotal moment in a family office’s history and can represent both a huge challenge and opportunity. Family business leaders of the baby-boomer generation are seeking ways to not only sustain their legacies but also ensure that the next generation is poised to take the reins successfully. In many ways, the questions around legacy and intergenerational succession reflect the challenges of talent-retention that many businesses face today.
Businesses often state that the single biggest constraint on organisation success is the ability to get and hang on to the right people. In ‘Leading Organizations: Ten Timeless Truths’, McKinsey senior partners Scott Keller and Mary Meaney highlight the significant benefits of attracting and retaining the right talent, their research revealing that top talent can be as much as 800% more productive than average employees.
