How to attract high-performing ‘non-family’ talent

Attracting and retaining high-performing talent is one of the biggest challenges facing family businesses in Australia today.

Few would argue that the ability of a business to attract ‘top talent’ – real performers – will to a large extent dictate how successful the business will be in the longer term, as it moves beyond requiring just the founder’s expertise.

Yet many family businesses struggle to attract that talent.

I’ve worked with family-owned enterprises, of all sizes and across many industries, in Australia for the past 12 years and am constantly seeing businesses battle with this critical issue.

In my experience, it’s not that the talent isn’t there – the issue is in attracting the right people. A significant percentage of candidates I interview for roles within family owned businesses will either decline to pursue the opportunity or will show hesitancy for the role through our discussions.

My process then involves dispelling some of the common concerns prospective staff have in working for a family business. So, what are these concerns? They include:

  • The perception that career advancement opportunities will be limited.That the opportunity for profit-sharing, or potentially equity, rarely exists.
  • That they will never be viewed as a true leader in the business – the owner will always be regarded, internally and externally, as the top dog.
  • That they will never fully have the owner’s ear – they’ll always be competing with family members for it.
  • That they must always be prepared to have a family member brought in to become their boss. Being the owner’s son or daughter trumps any education, experience, longevity or history of performance with the company they may have.
  • Longer-term certainty or future potential is unclear, given the nature of succession issues inherent in family businesses and the fact that a relatively small percentage of family businesses successfully transition across generations.

Do any of these issues sound familiar? I’m sure you’ve heard at least some of them yourself, but what really concerns me is the regularity in which I hear these fears and how often I see top talent choose not to pursue terrific career opportunities because of three little words – family owned business.

So, what to do? Well, acceptance that these are (potentially at least) real issues and a genuine desire to do something about them is a great start.

A realisation on the part of the family owners that they are not the stores of all knowledge, and that bringing top talent into their business will not harm its growth and longevity prospects – in fact, quite the opposite – is the second step.

Once we’ve made the psychological leap and accepted that we have a perception problem, addressing it can be relatively simple. For instance, if I address the concerns raised above, they might be countered by:

  • Being able to provide examples of career advancement within the business by non-family staff members.
  • Offering a realistically achievable, transparent incentive scheme that rewards performance.
  • Ensuring that clear lines of authority exist, that senior staff are empowered to make decisions, and that that empowerment is clearly communicated internally and externally.
  • Ensuring that decision-making is made on sound commercial grounds and that, should there be ‘family’ issues that may impact on those decisions, they are clearly communicated to non-family staff who are impacted by them.
  • Employment decisions are made on merit and that the appointment of family members to senior positions can withstand objective commercial scrutiny.
  • Ensuring longer-term vision and succession plans are clearly communicated to non-family members, to the extent that they can have confidence in the future of the business on which their career aspirations are founded.

These are just a few examples, but I’ve found that being able to clearly address the initial concerns of prospective candidates results in them choosing to progress their interest in the role I’m recruiting.

It can be confronting and it can mean having to make some uncomfortable decisions at times, but improving the prospects of attracting high-calibre talent is surely the only way forward for the family-owned businesses that represent the back-bone of Australia’s economy.

Michael Simonyi is a Senior Consultant with Davidson Corporate. 

Enjoyed Michael’s article? Here are some other suggested articles by Michael:

Share this content

The hidden edge: What volunteering taught me about leadership

by Paula Price • 27 April 2025
Senior executives are constantly navigating complex decisions, inspiring teams, driving results, and carrying the weight of corporate leadership. We are conditioned to lead — to solve, to direct, to deliver. But in this relentless drive to lead, we often forget the power of simply following. Over the years, one of the most transformative experiences in my professional development didn’t come from a boardroom, a leadership program, or a keynote at a summit. It came from volunteering. And more specifically, from being the manager of a number of high-performance rugby teams. At first glance, the role seemed simple: logistics, admin, support. Not exactly the stuff of strategic leadership. But there, on the sidelines, filling water bottles, washing jerseys, preparing paper work, and coordinating team meals, I rediscovered a truth that too many senior professionals lose touch with — the power of service, and the dignity of the roles that go unnoticed. These menial, often thankless tasks, were crucial to the team’s success. And in doing them, I was reminded of how often in our organisations we overlook the people who create the conditions for performance — the unsung operators, coordinators, assistants, and enablers. This experience fundamentally shifted the way I lead. I no longer see these roles as peripheral. I see them as the bedrock of any high-performing culture.  More importantly, stepping out of a leadership identity — even temporarily — gave me the space to remember who I am without the title. Not the CEO, not the CFO, not the strategist or the fixer — just a person in service of something greater than themselves. That humility is grounding. It makes you more empathetic, more observant, and more connected. And paradoxically, it makes you a better leader when you return to your day job.
A man and a woman are giving each other a high five in an office.

Keeping business operations on track with the right administrative talent

by Marketing Davidson • 23 April 2025
Behind every high-performing organisation is a team of administrative professionals who keep everything running smoothly.

Optimising supply chains with industry-leading talent

by Marketing Davidson • 10 April 2025
In today’s fast-paced business environment, procurement and logistics professionals are the backbone of efficient supply chains. As global challenges reshape industries, organisations must adapt by recruiting top-tier talent to ensure resilience, innovation, and sustainability.