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

Learn How Continental Can Help You Avoid Hiring Mistakes

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We thought you would enjoy hearing about our most unusual requests.

1. Funeral Home Telemarketer — That’s right, this person calls you up to remind you that some day you will DIE and you had better be prepared. Amazingly, we were able to fill that order and that person is still on the job — so expect a call soon!

2. Horticultural Teacher at a Women’s Prison in the middle of Texas – Believe it or not, the pride of this low-security prison is its gardens. They have fences around the prison not to keep the prisoners in, but to keep the thieves out! Watermelon thieves that is. Their watermelons are big and juicy and grown by the students along with award winning vegetable and flower gardens. This opportunity was received via our work with the Federal Government.

3. Foresters to count trees in Indiana — I bet you didn’t know that the State of Indiana does a comprehensive survey of all of the State Forests (and there are many) once every 10 years. We assembled a team of foresters with the needed equipment to count, measure and assess plots of trees. The team was so good, they brought the project in under budget and before the deadline! And we enjoyed a day in the woods to “supervise” them.

4. Non-denominational ministers for a Federal Prison — And you thought all the ministers were in churches. However, in an attempt to provide for the spiritual welfare of their population, the Federal Prison attempts to hire ministers via Service Providers such as Continental. Continental was not awarded this bid, but certainly appreciated the social betterment aspect of this order.

5. Referees for Paintball Games – This particular order is done more for a favor for our owner, whose son runs White River Paintball in Anderson, IN. We assist him in hiring high school and college students to referee Paintball Games and ensure safety rules are enforced. The main requirements for this job are tons of physical energy, a very loud voice and a sense of fun. Some days, we all want a job like that!

Call Continental, 765.778.9999, to help you with your staffing, the weird, the adventurous and the mundane. We do it all and make it easy for you!!