Many hiring problems in a family office start before the search does. A role is opened in a hurry after a departure, the brief is copied from a job posting, and the family discovers what it really needed only after someone is in the seat. A few honest answers at the start can save a year of disruption later. These are the five questions we ask principals first.
1. Does the family need a new person, or a different structure?
Not every gap is a hiring gap. Sometimes the real problem is unclear reporting lines, overlapping responsibilities, or one person carrying work meant for two. In those cases, promoting someone internally, restructuring the team, or outsourcing a function may serve the family better than a new senior hire. It is worth knowing which problem you are solving before you start interviewing.
2. Who will this person actually answer to?
In a family office, the answer is not always obvious. It may be the principal, the CIO, a family council, or a mix that shifts as the next generation becomes involved. Experienced investment and trading professionals are used to clear accountability and quick decisions; uncertainty over who has the final say is one of the fastest ways to lose a strong hire. Agree on it before the search begins.
3. What does success look like in year one, and in year five?
"Run the portfolio" or "manage operations" is not a brief. A useful definition is specific: building an investment process and reporting the family trusts, for example, or producing clean consolidated statements across every entity. Defining success early gives candidates something concrete to respond to, and gives the family a fair way to compare them.
4. Is the pay realistic for where the best candidates are coming from?
Many strong candidates for family‑office roles come from trading firms, hedge funds, and asset managers, where a large share of pay comes as bonus, and some of it may be deferred. A candidate who moves may be walking away from unvested compensation. Families don't always need to match those numbers — stability, a long time horizon, and a close working relationship with the principal carry real weight — but the offer has to be built with that trade‑off in mind.
5. What will make the right person stay?
The best hire is one the family doesn't have to replace in two years. That means thinking ahead about how the role can grow, how the next generation will be involved, and what happens if a key person leaves. A family that has planned for succession is also more attractive to the candidates it wants most.
Working through these questions
We help principals answer these questions, sometimes as the first stage of a retained search and sometimes as standalone advice before any role is opened. Occasionally the honest answer is that the family doesn't need to hire at all, and that is worth knowing too.
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