Hiring family, at times, can be a worthwhile move. However, when you are hiring family members you need to pay more attention to certain things than with an employee you don’t know. Favoritism can easily be perceived, and when it does your other employees will feel slighted.
In a smaller or family owned business special favors for family can prove to be de-motivating for other employees. It can set a bad example for your family members to get special favors, or other preferential treatments. Do not just give a family member more money than a comparable employee, just because they are family.
If your business hired suppliers or contractors, award those contracts based on merit, not just to family as a favor. If the best options is a family member, you may want to still think twice over awarding it to them as it can be seen as a favor for family, as opposed to them just being the best option.
Try to avoid family members borrowing company vehicles, or other services that your company uses. For instance, don’t use your IT person to set up related things for family members. Special favors can create issues, and more problems for you in the future.
Don’t just randomly place family members on the payroll. If they aren’t legitimately working for you, or aren’t providing a genuine service for your business they just do not get paid for working in your company.
If in the future you are looking into your company going public, be ready to answer any questions from investors about your dealings with your own family. It tends to reflect poorly on a company if they are giving their family a free ride.
Tags: Business, business success, employee, employer, employment, Family, hiring a contractor, Tips
