First person: Tim Purves on being the fifth generation of a family in the funeral director game

Running a family business can be highly rewarding, however, there are a number of unique challenges that family-owned companies face over and above the everyday trials of simply running a business.

My firm, William Purves, is an independent family-run funeral directors that has been helping families honour the lives of their loved ones for more than 130 years, so we are knowledgeable about three things: funerals, business and the unique dynamics of working with family members.

Like all service-based organisations today – regardless of whether they are family-run or not – we have to deal with the pressures of rising costs, a rapidly changing market and increasing levels of online transactions.

But compared with the weekly shop, holidays or new clothes, a funeral is not something the average person purchases on a regular basis. Our priority is ensuring that each individual client receives a compassionate service tailored to their needs and supported by specialist insight – something we do under extremely tight deadlines and at hugely emotional times for our clients.

It can be difficult for a family business to maintain the same values they first set out with – as a fifth-generation family business we’re constantly striving to protect the ethos and values of our founder.

People are our biggest asset, so we carefully choose staff who suit the job and represent the principles of William Purves. It is essential that all staff – regardless of whether they are family members or not – demonstrate the qualities we know make good funeral directors. All family businesses should be wary of employing people on the sole basis that they are part of the family.

Another consideration that family businesses have to factor in is how best to preserve a genuine interest and passion for the business across the generations. We are lucky in that members of our family have displayed a continuous enthusiasm for what we do throughout the decades.

However, we also make sure to prioritise the need of every new generation to explore their options and create their own future. I for one found it invaluable that my father encouraged me to travel, see the world and study before deciding upon my profession.

While we do like to encourage family members to take a role in the business, we would never force an individual to do so if their heart was not in it.

As a family business, we also have to balance the expectations of our shareholders – all of whom have family connections – with several other groups. We also have to consider our board of directors, of which two out of five are family members, and our employees, who also include family members. And, of course, we have to also weigh the expectations of the most important facet of our business: the customers we serve.

It can be a delicate balancing act to maintain, and you have to focus on keeping up with each group’s ever-changing needs and expectations.

Family businesses operate under a unique system that can be as challenging as it is rewarding.

For us, our values are the main motivator behind our dedication to providing top-quality funeral care in spite of the difficulties we face.

At the end of life, everyone deserves the highest standards of professionalism backed by values of compassion, integrity and the utmost respect. Our ultimate goal is to ensure that William Purves continues to provide our truly distinct service as a family business into the 22nd century which may look very different from today’s funeral care landscape, and that’s one of the joys of working in a

business with such a rich heritage.

Tim Purves is chairman of William Purves Funeral Directors, Scotland’s largest independent funeral directors

This article first appeared in The Scotsman’s spring 2020 edition of Vision. A digital version can be found here.