Choosing a Family-Friendly Compensation Consultant
Does your Adviser have a Backgroun in Consulting to Busienss Families as well as Managing Compensation
Programs in a Variety of Industries?
by Henry D. Lanes and Karl J. Buehler
A family company’s first “compensation consultants” are often other business owners or perhaps business advisers (a trusted CPA or attorney) who try to help but know little more than the business owner about the matter. The founder in effect serves as the first “personnel director,” and hourly wages, salaries, benefits and bonuses (if any) are adopted quickly by “the seat of the pants.”
Most business families can benefit from the deep professional knowledge and the individualized guidance of a compensation professional. The overarching goal is a compensation program that reflects internal equity between jobs as well as external competitiveness with other companies (see box). A compensation consultant ideally should have a broad background both in consulting and in managing compensation programs in a variety of industries including manufacturing, service and financial organizations. More…