How to Make Hiring Friends and Family Work
Donald Trump did it successfully. Southwest Airlines thrives on it. Hell, even I did it. Many great businesses have been built using friends and family. So how come everybody says “NEVER hire friends or family?”
Donald Trump hired three of his children to work for his real estate company. Southwest Airlines boasts it has 763 married couples working for them. My wife and my partner’s wife have both worked for us for over three years.
As a business owner I’ve had countless friends and family members approach me for a job. Cousins, in-laws, and close friends. It hasn’t always worked out, but over the years I’ve found a number of ways to make it work.
The reasons not to do it are obvious. It can be incredibly difficult working with them. (There is such a thing as spending TOO much time with your family). But what are some of the reasons in favor of hiring relatives and buddies?
For one, I’ve found that friends and family members are generally more trustworthy than hiring people off the street. I worry less about them stealing money from the till or calling in sick because it’s a nice day out. You have spent thousands of hours with the relative or buddy asking you for a job so you know ahead of time if they are trustworthy or not before you hire them. Potential employees are on their best behavior during an interview so it’s not easy to tell if you’ll be able to count on that person in a clutch down the road.
Having prior knowledge of a person before hiring them also helps in knowing what tasks they can and cannot handle. It allows you to assign them the right tasks based on their strengths and weaknesses. My friend Louis is a former journalist. When he approached me a few years back about a job I knew right away what role he would be best at in my company. I was able to put him to work right away writing advertisements. I didn’t need to waste time asking for samples or interviewing.
Hiring Louis worked out well for me too because he was already familiar with my business. Over the years we have shared with each other how our careers we’re doing. When I decided to branch out on my own many years ago he supported my choice. The advantage of hiring him was that I spent less of my time bringing him up to speed about the industry and training him.
Another advantage is that your friends and family members already have a connection with you. Employees who feel a connection to a boss or company tend to be more committed to the job. A more committed employee may be willing to work harder and longer hours when necessary to get the job done.
Being comfortable at work also tends to breed a freer, more collaborative working environment. This has been one of my major goals at each company I start. When employees feel at ease and relaxed on the job they are more likely to express their ideas and offer helpful suggestions to resolve problems. I am a big believer in team building activities out of the office. It’s one of those activities that brings employees closer and allows me to see their strengths and weaknesses in a new light. The more you can foster this type of working environment, the better. It always leads to a better business.
Even though not every friend and family hire has worked out over the years I have found a number of ways to help ensure the hiring of them works out for the both of us.
Before I commit to hiring anyone, friend, family or stranger, I work with them on a project basis. This ensures I get to know how well we can work together before I fully invest my company’s time and money in them. If I find that we work well together and our relationship endures, then I know that hiring them full on will most likely work out.
Something that I’ve found essential to hiring buddies and relatives is to set goals and objectives with them as soon as they hire on. I give all employees, friends or not, a contract that clearly outlines what I expect them to do. It details their role within the company, their day to day duties and responsibilities. I find this eases the tension between both parties.
One argument against hiring someone close to you is that it could damage your relationship irrevocably if the job doesn’t work out. I get around this by pre-negotiating with them an exit strategy. I always imagine the worst case scenario working with them (me having to fire them) and plan ahead. Discussing ahead of time a way for both sides to exit the employment agreement has saved me friendships and headaches. It takes the guess work out of the decision basically.
In the end, how you handle these situations determines the success you will have in hiring your friends and family at your business. All of these tips are designed to head off problems before they arise.
Good Luck!
Ethan Warrick
