1 Stop HR

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To Hire a Relative or not to Hire a Relative….What do YOU do?

people-1The Dilemma:

So you own a company, or have the authority to hire people at the company you work at.  Your friend or relative is looking for work.  Do you hire them?  You want to help them right?  They should be a good worker as you know them…right?  Hmmm

The decision to hire someone you know could have a lasting impact not only on your relationship with that person, but also the staff and company.  I would caution you to think long and hard before extending that offer of employment.

What to Think About:

Many people don’t think about the things that could go wrong in this type of situation, they want to help, they think that the friend/relative will work hard and that is really where the thinking stops.  Here are some things that I would suggest you think long and hard about before moving forward:

  1. What will I do if this person is not pulling their weight or there are performance problems?
  2. What happens if I receive a complaint about this person?
  3. What happens if this person asks for accommodations that are not normally provided by the company to other employees?
  4. What happens if this person is looking for a raise that falls outside of the normal pay range for the position?
  5. What happens if I no longer have work for this person?

The Answer:

The answer to all of these questions is:  “I will treat them as any other employee under my management”.  This absolutely must be your answer and must be the way you manage this situation.  Here is the problem….this is not as easy as it sounds.  There are feelings, there is a relationship at stake, and there are others in your family or circle of friends that also may weigh in on the situation.

Some people also don’t think about the impact on the other employees or the company.  Employees, once they know there is a prior relationship with the new hire, may have differing reactions.  They may be uncomfortable forming a good working relationship with this person.  They may not feel comfortable coming forward with any concerns with lack of performance or activities that are normally frowned upon.  They may feel that there is or will be preferential treatment.  Mistrust may breed amongst the staff and eventually impact staff and company performance.

You may think that this article is slanted very much to one side…that hiring relatives or friends is always a bad idea.  There are indeed examples where this has worked well, however there are far too many more where it hasn’t.

Deep Thoughts:

If you find yourself in this situation or in this dilemma, I strongly urge you to thoroughly think through your decision and have a deep and detailed discussion with the individual if you plan to move forward.  Take your time and don’t come to any quick decisions.

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Struggling to Hire? 3 Tips and a Challenge for you!

recruitmentRecruiting Challenges?

So you have been trying to recruit for a stellar candidate and you are having challenges.  I get it – you are getting hundreds of resumes BUT they don’t have what you are looking for right?  You are doing all the right things, you are using social media, advertising on various job boards, your job description and ads are top notch  – you are even targeting passive candidates too!  It is a pain that is all too familiar to many companies these days.

Tap into your Internal Talent!

The good companies are getting smarter, they are learning to keep their talent by working on their internal systems and the overall employee experience.  These good companies hold good people.  So you could keep plugging away or you could look at things a little differently.

Just a little Guidance…

There are still a lot of great candidates out there who have the potential to be even better with some guidance, mentoring and training to fit your job description completely.  So why not look at keeping an open mind and tap into this talent?  This is a tough concept to “get” as we all want that perfect fit when we are hiring.  Sure, this is ideal, but as I just described above, it is getting tougher to secure this talent easily.

Characteristics of Great Candidates

If I have managed to sway your thinking slightly….let’s look at what the things you will want to look for in great candidates to make this happen!

  1. A love of learning. Look in the resume for a track record of recent and on-going training, courses, seminars.  Look to ask about this in an interview.  You need someone with a desire and commitment to continue to learn and grow, thus growing into the position you are hiring for.
  2. A Positive and “can do” attitude. You will want to question the candidate with some behavioural and situational questions to assess these traits.  Look for people that want to dig in, stay positive and work to get the job done with an attitude that is contagious.
  3. Desire to grow. A desire to grow will propel these individuals to do what is necessary to gain the skills to be able to not only fit into the role that they have been hired for, but also to continue to grow with your company.

Absolutely the candidate needs the basics to be successful in the position you are hiring for – I am not suggesting you attempt to make a square peg fit into a round hole – look for the “must haves” and then look for the ability to train the others with the traits listed above.

Think Outside of the Box

If you are having challenges recruiting the right person, I encourage you to think outside of the box, keep the above in mind and bring in talent that you can be proud of, that is grateful for the opportunity to learn and to contribute back to your goals and objectives.  Committing to their success in turn creates commitment to you and your bottom line.

Learn More About US

1 STOP HR was founded by Christie Ferguson, CHRP CHRL Christie is a certified Human Resources Professional & Leader with many years of hands on HR expertise.

Contact US

Tel: 226-750-3160
Email: info@1stophrconsulting.com

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