10 Benefits of Hiring Outbound Recruitment Firms for Family Offices

About the Author
Auria Heanley is co-founder of Oriel Partners, a boutique PA and administrative recruitment consultancy based in Central London, with a specialism in family office recruitment. She is extremely passionate about providing the highest quality of service to both clients and candidates. Together, the founders of Oriel Partners have over 30 years combined experience, an extensive network and an exceptional reputation.

Sourcing the right talent is a challenging process for family offices that require high-calibre professionals. It can be timely and expensive, and every family office will have a different culture, so there is no one-size-fits-all approach. In this article, we look at the benefits of using external recruitment firms when hiring for family offices.

1. Access to Specialised Talent

Given the more boutique size of a family office, they often lack the infrastructure to hire the right talent internally and rely on the expertise of specialised recruitment firms to manage this element of their operations.

Outbound recruitment firms for family offices, as specialists in their hiring areas, can expertly guide family offices in positioning their roles in the market to attract top-tier candidates. 

This may be as simple as ensuring the job spec and advert are marketed correctly, but it could also include compensation benchmarking and advice on the interview process and onboarding. 

Particularly in a busy market, you want to attract the highest-calibre talent who are used to working with high-net-worth families and can stay with you long term. A family office recruitment expert will also have access to both active and passive candidates who they can approach directly on your behalf, allowing you to gain access to candidates who you may not be able to consider otherwise.

2. Deep Understanding of Family Office Dynamics

Successful family office talent acquisition will have a lot to do with how well the recruitment agency understands the dynamic and culture of the business. Each family business will operate differently, but a recruiter who provides a personalised service will spend time getting to understand what the right culture fit is to ensure any candidates introduced have the right personality as well as experience. 

By working closely with their candidates, recruiters for family offices will be able to build a solid understanding of their motivations to determine if they are suitable.  

Family offices, often operating on a small scale with employees performing multiple roles, require talent with versatile skill sets.

3. Efficient Recruitment Strategies

Outbound recruitment firms specialising in family office recruitment will be used to working with high-net-worth individuals and single and multi-family offices and will be able to advise on the most effective recruitment strategies for family offices. 

They are able to offer the following:

• Access to relevant job boards which family office professionals will register with
• Relevant market knowledge
• Support with putting together an attractive family office job spec
• Advice on a thorough interview process

Once a suitable candidate is sourced, the recruitment company will then be able to guide the onboarding process to ensure a smooth transition for the successful candidate into their new family office role. All of this saves time and resources for the family office, allowing them to focus on their core activities.

4. High-Quality Candidate Vetting

Referencing is key when an offer is made to any potential candidate, but this is never more important than with an ultra-high-net-worth family where integrity and discretion are paramount. 

Recruitment agencies for family offices will be able to carry out background checks on your behalf, helping to reduce the risk of hiring the wrong candidate.  For example, our thorough vetting process may reveal discrepancies in a candidate’s employment history, saving the family office from a potentially risky hire.

In addition to this, often the agency will work with a candidate several times in their career, enabling them to be ‘tried and tested’ and giving all parties reassurance that the candidate will be a success.   

5. Tailored Recruitment Solutions

Family office hiring always requires a personalised service, and recruitment strategies are tailored to the specific needs and culture of each family office. The family office recruitment specialists will do the shortlisting for you and only provide you with a carefully selected number of candidates ensuring no time is wasted. 

The agency will offer the following:

• Setting up interviews
• Providing interview feedback
• Assisting with referencing
• Being the main point of contact throughout the whole recruiting process

Once an offer is made to the successful candidate, the recruiter will ensure that any resignation goes smoothly so that the most desirable start date can be achieved and be on hand to advise with the onboarding process. 

Essentially the right family office recruitment agency will ensure you get the best talent in the quickest time with the least amount of disruption to your core business.

6. Long-Term Partnership and Support

Outbound recruitment firms often establish long-term partnerships with family offices, offering ongoing support and advice beyond the initial placement. 

This can include guidance on employee benefits, the structure of the team, and salary benchmarking. Understanding market conditions allows the family office to attract and retain high-calibre candidates.  

For example, recruitment partners can advise on bonus structures. Forbes data shows that 78% of UK family offices are offering discretionary bonuses while a smaller number are opting for more structured, data-driven bonuses linked to performance. Understanding market trends allows recruiters to advise on longer-term recruitment aspects.

7. Understanding of High Net Worth Needs

Family office recruitment specialists will understand the unique needs of high-net-worth families and individuals across multiple generations. 

Family offices provide a wide range of services to their clients, and as such, it is important the recruitment specialist is familiar with the terminology and understands what specific experience may be required to meet the demands of the role.

8. Global Reach for International Talent

If required, a specialist family office recruiter should have the ability to source talent globally, which can be crucial for family offices with international interests or operations. 

In some cases, a second language may be required, or specific experience working with a certain culture may be required, all of which can make the search for the ideal candidate more challenging.

9. Advisory Role Beyond Recruitment

The right family office recruitment agency will go further than just finding a suitable candidate – they will partner with you for the long term to become a trusted advisor on broader family office management and strategic planning.

10. Temporary and Permanent solutions

If you find yourself in a position where you have to hire a temporary employee for short-term cover or to assist with a particular project, a specialist family office recruitment firm will have a list of candidates who are available immediately with suitable skills and experience.  

This can resolve any staffing issues quickly without having to invest much time, allowing you to focus on the core business needs. When you need someone quickly but cannot compromise on the calibre, an agency that knows you well is key.

There is Great Value in Choosing A Specialised Recruitment Firm for Your Family Office

Integrating external talent into a family office brings opportunities for fresh perspectives and growth, yet, this must be handled carefully to preserve the family’s unique dynamics and culture.  The right recruitment partner will be able to identify and introduce the ideal, high-calibre candidates and provide a personalised and long-lasting service.