Hiring Too Many Relatives of Employees
17 Common Hiring Mistakes: Part 8
Recently Harry Wilson, a seasoned executive, was helping a company with a major expansion. Things were going along well until the company owner reconciled with his estranged son, Sam, and decided to bring the son into the business. The father had much remorse over the estrangement and to make things up to Sam, he was promoted to a top level position.
Unfortunately Sam did not have the experience or qualifications to be an executive. Harry found himself spending most of his time coaching Sam and doing Sam’s job along with his own. Needless to say, this situation could not go on. Harry soon left to start his own company and Sam was left to flounder in his job. This story is repeated in countless companies around the world.
On the other hand, there are numerous success stories of children stepping into executive roles at their family firms (i.e. Mars Candy) and many firms rely on the work of generations of families to keep their business going.
Nepotism is defined as “favoritism shown to relatives or close friends by those in power (as by giving them jobs)”. It is often looked upon as a negative because it is implied that these people got their jobs because of their connection to the employer and not because of their skill or experience.
However, in many family businesses, nepotism is the standard way of hiring and often a son or daughter is groomed for a position in the family business from a young age. Hiring family is not always a bad thing, especially if they have an ownership position or hope to inherit the business some day. The employer often gets a loyal and hard working employee with a vested interest in the business succeeding. Also, many employers know that a relative of a productive employee often has the same work ethic and will look favorably at hiring within the same family. In many cultures this is very common and the employer finds that the family will handle any employment issues with an errant relative way before the employer has to intervene.
Negative situations occur when the employee brings family conflicts into the business or has an attitude of entitlement. This and many other issues can create a bad employment situation.
Therefore there are no hard and fast rules about hiring relatives and friends. The key is to hold the relative to the same rules and standards as the rest of the employees. Ensure they are truly qualified for the job they are assigned to and help them improve their skills and knowledge so they can take on even more responsibility.
See: 3 Keys to Hiring Relatives for more information on hiring relatives
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