Family Councils are a useful tool to learn about sensitivities, transmit values and build trust in family businesses.
This Thursday, February 14, a new breakfast of the Family Business Chair of the University of Valencia was held, with the title: "Family Council: A forum for communication between members of the business family."
During the event, the businessmen Pablo Serratosa (President of Grupo Zriser) and Teresa Puchades (President of Avanza Urbana) have transferred to their assistants their experience in setting up the family council in their respective family groups, and the advantages it brings the formalization of one, for his contribution to the improvement of the probabilities of endurance of family businesses.
The speakers have stressed that each family must adapt the composition and functioning of the council to their particular circumstances. However, both have agreed that the formation of a family council is an excellent opportunity to create a family bond with the business project (or the company). Pablo Serratosa commented that "it is difficult to want something that is not known", and that the council allows the values and the project to be transmitted to the new generations of the family. Also, Teresa Puchades added that this forum provides an extraordinary context to train family members in the different roles they have or will have to develop in the future (shareholders, managers, advisors ...), and to support personal and professional development of each individual. These “formal” forums provide an adequate framework for communication to take place in a more effective way and to build trust between different family branches, and are useful for moderating and managing conflicts (inherent in any social relationship) in a way positive and effective
As for the time to start the process, both speakers have agreed to develop a council “when things are going well”, since communication is more fluid, and regardless of the size of the company, it can be very positive to have a council of family. The sooner you start working in this area, the better your results will be, since the transmission of values and the creation of communication channels are key elements for later operation.
The entrepreneurial families that start in this type of governing bodies of the family-business relationship can rely on external experts that build trust and stimulate dialogue in an assertive way. When the dialogue does not flow naturally, it is good to have professionals who know how to channel it and energize it.
The session has been moderated by the Chair Director, Alejandro Escribá, who stressed that the structuring of the governing bodies of the company and the family-business relationship is associated with better levels of competitiveness, and that the shareholding structures and Government systems that encourage accountability to other stakeholders (shareholders, independent directors, etc.) are much more common among more competitive companies than among those at lower levels of competitiveness.
