The Pros And Cons Of Hiring Friends And Family

You always want to hire the best person for the job, right? But what if you had the option to hire someone close to you? Would you hire them instead? Before you make that hiring decision, always weigh the pros and cons of hiring friends and family first.

Hiring friends and family may seem like a great idea, but it can easily backfire and cause major issues for both your work and personal life. Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of hiring friends and family:

Pros Of Hiring Friends And Family

• Already know what to expect
• Understand their strengths and weaknesses
• They will worker hard for you
• Can present a shorter hiring process, which saves you money
• Potential tax breaks if you hire family
• Easier to coordinate schedules
• They are more willing to work odd hours
• Offers stability and continuity for clients and the business
• Usually are trustworthy, loyal, and reliable

Cons Of Hiring Friends And Family

• Family is more likely to take advantage of you
• Difficult to fire them
• You’ll take your work life to your home and home life to your work
• Lack of diversity in the workplace
• Can bring personal issues to work environment
• Perception from other employees
• Money becomes a bigger issue
• Friends and families may think they have special privileges
• If things go poorly, it may potentially cause damage to personal/family relationships
• Hard to establish boundaries
• Could be viewed as nepotism (favoritism toward friends and family)

There certainly is a lot to consider before you ask your best buddy or your little sister to join your company. Can you think of any other pros and cons of hiring friends and family? Every situation is unique, so there are bound to be more things to think about.

Ultimately what it comes down to is making the right business decision for your company. Always ask the question – why am I hiring friends and family vs a qualified job candidate? If you have good reasons to support your decision, go for it. But if you’re faced with a tough hiring decision, it may be best to have some one else make the decision for you.

Hiring friends and family is a hit or miss situation. It has the potential to either positively or negatively effect your business. So what will you decide to do?