WFU Planning Study of Family Owned Businesses

The Wake Forest University Family Business Center has partnered with SBR Consulting LLC to launch a study on family owned businesses. As family-owned businesses navigate through our “new economic normal” they are recognizing the value of staying competitive, engaging and leveraging talent and working within the constraints of the economic environment. To assist in these areas, the research study will provide proprietary data to family owned businesses and be accomplished through three objectives.

The study has three objectives:
• Measure the levels and levers of employee engagement at each participating company specific to their ability to attract and retain talent.
• Provide a benchmark of the participating companies (in the aggregate) against other participating companies to see how they measure in regard to engagement.
• Produce proprietary family owned business data to assist the Family Business Center in their outreach and support of family owned businesses.

“We are really excited to partner with SBR Consulting to produce our own research on such an important aspect of family business,” said Kathy Baker, the director of the Family Business Center. She continued, “I encourage all family businesses in the area to participate as the information we collect will be invaluable.”

SBR Consulting, an independent human resource consulting firm, will conduct a confidential survey of each company’s employees to gauge their opinions and perceptions of their company, identify what is important to them in a workplace and assess their engagement levels. SBR Consulting will include specific questions to provide data on the benefits and challenges of being family owned and gain greater understanding of the family-owned business community in North Carolina.

If a company is interested in participating please contact Kathy Baker at (336) 758-3568 or bakerka@wfu.edu. The deadline to submit the registration form is Aug. 31. More information can be found at www.business.wfu.edu/fbc.

The Family Business Center was established in 1999 to address the issues faced by closely held and family firms. It was the first program initiated under the Angell Center for Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest Schools of Business. Utilizing the capabilities and educational resources available at Wake Forest, in our community and nationally, the Family Business Center provides closely held and family firms the assistance they need to grow and succeed from generation to generation.