Understanding the Role of a Family Office

Firstly, they are not an office space in the property for the family to work!!! Family offices are private wealth management firms that serve ultra-high-networth individuals (UHNWI). They are there to deal with the complexity of families or private individuals’ lives.
They undertake many duties such as wealth, managing household staff, dealing with assets, making travel arrangements, payroll and legal affairs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family_office

Who Works There?

Job roles within the family office may consist of the following:

CEO-Chief Executive officer is required to have expertise in operations management
CFO-Chief Financial Officer required to oversee budgets, assets and tax
COO-Chief Operating Officer-responsible for overseeing all assets such as planes, houses and security
CIO-Chief Investment Officer-Required to develop investment strategies
Legal counsel-Required to have knowledge of the Law and provide legal guidance
EA-Responsible for for managing the communications and schedules of company executives
PA-Mainly responsible for administrative tasks and arrangements for UHNWI

Do They Look After One Family?

At times yes and sometimes multiple. Very often we find that many family offices start just taking care of one family and then branch out via word of mouth and good reputation often from the client referring to the good work the office does. This can reduce costs as many people can manage more than one client throughout their working week. Often referred to as SFO a single family office and a MFO multiple family office.

There are currently over 179 registered family offices in London alone and more than 1000 in England.

What is the Difference Between a Hedge Fund and a Family Office?

Family offices tend to manage the assets of a wealthy family or group of families. Usually for ultra-high net worth families who have a high degree of complexity managing finances. A hedge fund offers asset management to investors. They take large amounts of capital for numerous clients. A hedge fund can transform into a family office with some slight changes to their roles, offering more than just wealth management and will reduce the clientele that they manage.

Family offices are not new, yet they have gained attention in recent years with the number of high-net-worth individuals/families rising all over the world.
Whilst most people interpret the idea of managing money there is more to it than that. A huge amount of time is spent understanding the family’s values and desired goals, enabling the staff to provide a personalized service. Therefore the role of the family is key to the success and smooth running of the families or individuals’ assets and wealth.

Why Do I Need to Know This Information?

Whilst you do not need to know what your boss does for a living there are many occasions where some aspect of your role may require you to be in contact with someone at the family office. Most commonly this is the personal assistant. Often they have information to be passed on information they need to extract from you or the rest of the team at the property.

Understanding the role of a family office will help you if you do find yourself in a position where you have direct contact with them. Therefore good lines of communication are essential. Establishing a good working relationship is essential for the smooth running of operations.

The chief operating officer will oversee the properties, yachts, jets and often security. For making arrangements they will follow the correct communication channels and more than likely this will be through the personal assistant.

We hope you enjoyed this comprehensive guide to understanding the role of a family office. We know that many family offices vary considerably in how they have their setup, so feel free to share your experiences with us in the comments.

At Polo and Tweed, we deal with family offices regularly and understand the role that they play. Working harmoniously with them. We find that we have a good understanding of their needs and they come to us because we can help with training and recruitment under one umbrella. If you’d like to chat with us, please do get in touch with us here or give us a call at +44(0)203 858 0233 

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How to Begin

Leaving yachting is a big decision. Luckily the extremely high standards of working on a superyacht acquired skills can transfer directly into a private household. Some crew may have already dipped their toe in this whilst onboard. The yacht owners sometimes like crew members to help in houses to train staff,  cover for absences or help with a large party. They understand they have an excellent ability to preempt and problem-solve. This counts for a lot and in turn, means the principals can step back and allow them to do their job and take care of all needs and requirements. For those who have not yet been given the opportunity to work ashore then all is not lost, many recruitment agencies realise what an asset an ex-yachtie is in private households. 

Attention to Detail

Only the best will do, yet this won’t be an issue. Yacht crew are taught and trained to look out for wonky lamp shades, fingerprints on glass and smears on mirrors. Experts in attending to guest preferences, they know how important is it to focus on detail. Understanding the need for privacy and respect yet be ready to jump into action at all times. 

Understanding Hierarchy

There is a definite need for hierarchy on a yacht and most of the time it’s from the captain all the way down to a junior crew member. This chain of command is essential to the smooth running of the vessel. Houses can run similarly. Some roles cross over a little more. Such as butlers often can act as house managers. Housekeepers may often need to help with service or light cooking. As a crew member, this will not phase you as you have already been doing this. Teamwork is something you do with your eyes closed, another reason why yacht crew transition into private households.

Ability to Adapt and Be Flexible

Change happens, but you already know this. Time and time again you have known the schedule of the yacht owners. However, after many years at sea, you have come to realize that change happens. The good thing is, that this does not phase you at all. You have learnt to be flexible and adapt to change, all the crew have. 

What you thought may have been a weekend off coming up has transcended into owners and guests filling the boat and having a party. However, in a few days, the boat will be left with an empty boat that needs a complete turnaround in next to no time. The crew will get this done and when time permits they may get to rest in the sun for a short while. 

How are Superyachts and Houses Different?

All houses or villas will have different materials and surfaces, yachts are generally new and shiny. Some country estates are ancient, dripping in history. Many with antiques that need expert care and handling. The yacht crew will no doubt have a black book of contacts they can call if they require more help. 

You may have direct contact with the owner who will be known as the principal. There may be a family office also, however, the likelihood is that as a crew member, you have already had many dealings with family offices and understand the structure. 

Some houses can be run more informally, with some households without uniforms. There can be shift patterns for working hours and days. There may only be 1 or 2 members of staff.

Animals

Country estates in England during the winter season host shoots. As a staff member, there is a large amount of preparation for this. Although each week it becomes like a well-oiled machine and everyone does their part to get ready for this. It’s more of a case of learning requirements and the etiquette behind it. 

Looking after pets, whilst some yachts do have dogs onboard, many do not. This can be a wonderful addition to the housekeeper’s daily tasks. A walk on the estate with the dog, and getting fresh can make a nice change to being stuck detailing cabins with a small porthole or clearing out a bilge.

Take the Plunge

Making the transition to land from sea can seem daunting. However many houses have staff houses and the properties are used at certain times of the year. Leaving staff to manage their time accordingly allowing for a better work-life balance than at sea. This can be a career for life in the right setting. Yacht crews skills will be welcomed by all, their hardworking ethic and constant strive for perfection can make them indispensable staff members.

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Staff for success! The right assistant can be both the face of your company and it's organisational backbone.
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There is a very clear and important difference between the two. In most roles, the administrative assistant’s role is elevated, holding more responsibility than the secretary’s.  So what are the differences between a secretary and an administrative assistant?

What does a secretary do?

A secretary is normally the first person you will meet when entering a company building. The secretary normally sits at a reception desk, welcoming people in, giving them initial information about their visit or where to go, and offering refreshments. Typically, they will also be in charge of answering all incoming calls and again be the first point of contact before directing the call to the right person. They can deal with posts, written notes and other correspondence, as well as take messages. Secretaries will book in diary appointments, either for their direct superior or for a team of people. The bulk of their job is focused around administration: handling all incoming communication, writing letters, typing reports and processing documents, as well as filing. Some secretaries will report back to the administrative assistant of the company.

What does an administrative assistant do?

Tasks of an administrative assistant can, especially in smaller companies, overlap with those mentioned for secretaries. However, the administrative assistant will normally have more responsibilities and have one or more people working under them – normally the secretarial team. For example, rather than just booking in requested appointments, they might be in charge of full diary scheduling and management, deciding which meetings will go where, with the authority to reschedule, prioritise and make changes where needs be.

Many of the documents that secretaries are asked to process or fill will have been created by the administrative assistants, and they might be in charge of bookkeeping, budgets and planning. They will manage the books, the companies incomings and outgoings, tightly making sure things will be caught in time. They might also work across multiple departments, from the directors to marketing and accounts.

Administrative assistants have a more pro active and responsible role in an office, can work independently and are great at problem solving and troubleshooting. A secretary in most setups will follow the tasks that the administrative assistant lays out for them, rather than trying to troubleshoot or change things independently. In larger companies, the administrative assistant can be in charge of the team of secretaries, but themselves will report back to someone higher up, like the CEO or director of the company.

Both secretaries and administrative assistants can play a vital role in any business, and often form the backbone of the company and the daily running of the office. Both roles require someone with some experience or background in office administration work or a qualification in this. With administrative assistants normally comes more experience, and also confidence in, for example, running a team, delegating and being able to make crucial decisions for the company when required.

A secretary can work its way up to become an administrative assistant, either through more training and qualifications, but primarily through experience working in the role.

Recruitment of secretaries and administrative assistants

When looking for a new secretary or administrative assistant, first be clear on the tasks and responsibilities. If you need someone to be the welcoming face of the business and will do a lot of processing of documentation, you will be better off finding a secretary rather than someone who has been an administrative assistant before. If you know this person will have to work independently, perhaps because there is little time for guidance and support, an experienced and confident administrative assistant might be a better match. Both roles require for someone to have extremely good attention to detail, with great communication and organisational skills and an understanding of a professional corporate environment.

To find a new secretary or administrative assistant, you can either self recruit or use an agency. You can read more here about the different things you should think about when both self recruiting and using agencies.

At Polo & Tweed, we have both excellent secretaries and competent administrative assistants on our books who might be the right match for your company. Do get in touch with us to find out more options and be one step closer to finding the right new addition to your business.

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