Linda C. Mack Shares Best Practices in Family Office Recruiting and Compensation at The 50 Conference in Atlanta, Georgia April 24-25

Linda Mack, Founder of Mack International LLC, co-led a session on trends, challenges and best practices in Family Office recruiting and compensation at the fourth annual “The 50” at The St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.

Linda C. Mack, Founder and President of Mack International LLC, the premier boutique firm that specializes in providing retained executive search and strategic human capital consulting solutions to single and multi-client family office s on a national and international basis, co-led a session at The 50 fourth annual conference, held April 24 and 25 at The St. Regis Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia.

The 50 originated in 2014 as a private closed door conference for 50 senior family principals/family office executives from around the country, with the goal of sharing their peer-to-peer experiences, ideas and strategies on topics that are of mutual high interest. In addition to general sessions, attendees were invited to choose from a variety of subjects offered in six breakout sessions led by thought leaders invited to present their respective areas of expertise.

On Tuesday, April 25, Mack was joined by Patricia Botoff, Principal of Botoff Consulting, LLC, in leading the session titled, “Recruiting and Compensation of Family Office Executives.” Linda offered insights into compensation trends and best practices to ensure success when recruiting and retaining Family Office executive leaders. She also presented ways in which challenges in recruiting and retaining leadership roles might be overcome with proven best practices. According to Linda, it was a very interactive session where people posed interesting questions and were engaged in lively conversation around the topic.

Ms. Botoff began by presenting highlights from the 2015 SFO Executive Compensation Study and the recently released 2017 Family Office Compensation Trends survey, conducted by Fidelity Family Office Services and Botoff Consulting. These studies are regarded as the most robust compensation studies done to date on Family Office executive compensation. Trish addressed key challenges around bench-marking family office positions and compensation.

“To remain competitive, we are seeing an increasing trend to more formalized compensation plans incorporating both short and long term incentives,” said Linda. “We’ve also observed an expanding use of multiple LTI’s to address different objectives. Some vehicles are designed to reward performance while others are focused on retention and retirement.” Linda emphasized that regardless of the specific intent, it is critical that the design of any incentive vehicle be aligned with family philosophy, objectives and culture or it can backfire. “Incentives work. They drive behavior. So be certain you are driving behaviors that will be in sync with your goals.” Linda also stressed the importance of testing compensation plans against a variety of scenarios, including three sigma ones, to prevent unintended outcomes such as those experienced during situations like 2008.

On the subject of recruiting and retention, Linda Mack explored challenges to attracting and keeping great talent. “Most families want an executive for a generation. That is why it is so critical to clearly define responsibilities, performance expectations and success metrics as well as culture fit requirements in the context of a 15-20 year horizon, before launching a search.” According to Linda, the top 2 reasons Family Office searches fail are actually 2 sides of the same coin–either the family hires someone they trust but he/she is not qualified to perform the job required OR the family hires an experienced and talented Family Office professional, but he/she is not the right culture fit. Linda talked about how these scenarios can be prevented by carefully defining the position and culture fit requirements and criteria to be used to assess candidates. Linda described Mack International’s proprietary 360 process that accomplishes this. “Our 360 process enables us to paint the bulls eye clearly…to get it right the first time, every time.” Once the position specifications have been clearly defined, the family can determine the skill, knowledge, experience and competency requirements for each role. Then, they must define the personal characteristics and attributes, values, behavioral characteristics, and other motivators needed to ensure a good “culture fit.” “Finding someone with the requisite experience and skills to perform the job required is just the first “cut” in the process; 95% of each search we conduct is about culture fit. Getting the “fit” right is critical for success and effectiveness.”

Linda explained two additional reasons why searches fail— the lack of a comprehensive search strategy and process and an ineffective onboarding process. “Hiring the ideal candidate requires a comprehensive approach to identify, target and engage, assess, and design the appropriate compensation package. This is one of our distinct competencies at Mack International.” Linda emphasized that an onboarding plan designed to help the leader become acclimated to their new role promotes credibility and allows the executive to quickly contribute by building necessary relationships and accomplishing wins. “Commitment to the success of the new leader by creating an environment to foster that success is critical,” said Linda. “No family can afford to depend upon luck or sheer coincidence. Extraordinary candidates are in short supply. You need to have a proven process for recruiting and retaining those in leadership roles that ensures an optimal result.”

About Mack International LLC
Mack International is the premier, boutique retained executive search and strategic management/human capital consulting firm serving national and international clients in the family office, family business enterprise and the wealth management industries on national and international basis. Founded in 2002, the firm has achieved an exceptional track record of success as evidenced by its unmatched industry expertise, in-depth market knowledge and unparalleled track record of success. Founder and President, Linda C. Mack has established proprietary methodologies such as the Mack 360© and is credited for having coined the term “expert generalist” in the industry.

About The 50
The 50 is a unique conference focused on community and collaboration to encourage interactive and thought provoking discussions among the family office community. The name of the conference stems from the objective of having at least 50 senior family office executives from around the country in attendance with the goal of sharing their ideas and experiences for the benefit of all who are attending. General sessions focus on topics that are of keen interest to Family Offices. Highly interactive and informative breakout sessions are offered on a variety of subjects led by thought leaders in the industry.