HIRING FAMILY…MY THOUGHTS ON THAT
I think that everyone deserves fair consideration to participate in a role within your company. I’m sure that everyone would prefer hiring the one who will support you through thick and thin. Some family members will have your back no matter what happens. You know you can trust them so it seems like they would make great employees within your business.
But hold on a sec. Don’t move too quickly in that regard. Things can become really complicated real quick. Several things you need to consider before you start onboarding your family members. To my family, don’t take it personally. Business owners should never let their emotions drive their business decisions. For me, if you got the job it is because you were the best fit for the position.
Typically, the hiring process can be lengthy. Within my company, the onboarding process is really simple and some people complete it within 2 to 3 days. But the majority of my prospects can take a week to a month complete all the task. With family, they may not expect to go through all of these steps because they figure that you know them well enough already. Or maybe, you feel you know them well enough already so you bypass some of the steps in the process. No matter how you feel about the individual, they must go through the process normally like any other person.
Next, you have to ensure that you are considering them for the correct reason. Are you hiring them because they are the best person for the job or is it because they need a job? Do they have the proper qualifications for the role that you have available? Make the decision based on factors that are not related to your emotional connection to the person.
One good thing to remember is that in most cases, your family members desire to see you successful. We all want to see our loved ones do well in whatever business or occupation they are in. The positive of having family join is they tend to bring a higher level of enthusiasm to the job than the average person. They have seen you go through the struggles of getting your business off the ground so they will have a much better understanding of your values and your mission.
The most important thought to consider is if your family member is not meeting the requirements or expectations of the job, can you release them without damaging the family relationship? For some people, it is very difficult to keep business and personal relationships separate. Fortunately, I don’t have a problem with that so I do have family members participating in my business and have not had a problem with anyone yet. They all know the expectations of the company and are clear on how everything works and to this day since the start of my company, I have not had a single conflict with any my agents both family and non-family members.
Good luck in your team building!!!!