When you are working in the HR department of a company, you often have to compromise with the requests of the management or employees. One such unusual request can be to hire a close friend or family member of the employees or management. So, what can you do in such a situation, and what will happen if you hire a family member in a company? Let's find out.
The Positive Aspects of Hiring a Family Member
When you choose to hire a family member, you can expect the following positive aspects:
Better Employee Management
When someone you know and understand is hired, you will not have to spend much time deciphering what motivates that person, how he or she will react to incentives, what discipline methods work best with them, etc. This knowledge would save you time in understanding the behavior of that person, and you will be able to manage the person without much difficulty.
Motivation Factor
Let's assume that you have hired the brother of your business development manager and put them on the same team. This can benefit you a lot. As they are brothers, they will work better and won't take healthy competition as something vicious. The performance of your existing employee may improve thanks to the motivation to perform better than his brother, resulting in better productivity and great results for the organization.
Great Understanding
When the family member of any employee or management is hired, it would lead to stronger teams in most cases. People often gel well with their family members, and it can help them understand what their teammate is thinking better. The chemistry between two relatives can help the company reap long-term rewards, especially if they are closely knit because they would not want to lose their job.
The Negative Aspects of Hiring a Family Member
If you have an MBA or have completed a certification course in HR, you already know that mixing professional and personal life is not a smart move at times. Here are the negative consequences of hiring a family member in a company:
Special Attention
When you hire a close relative of people working in stronger positions or the management of the company, the person may expect special privileges like coming late to the office, working from home without permission, etc. These instances can make other employees feel devalued and less cared for. Ensure that no special privileges are given to anyone.
Lack of Respect
In cases where friends or family are hired for the same team, they may not show respect to the other person. For instance, if you have hired a cousin of the Accounts Manager to work under his/her supervision, the new hire may not take the boss seriously and may make fun of the orders given by the boss. Lack of respect can frustrate your existing employee and impact his or her performance or even ruin the company culture.
Personal Relationships
The biggest side effect of hiring a relative or a friend is that the personal and professional lives of two people can mix, which may strain their personal and professional relationships. It may happen that brothers who used to work well together may take the competition too seriously and damage the team spirit or their own performance.
Conclusion
The best way to handle the request of hiring a friend or relative is to ensure you don't get biased as an HR. Hire only the candidate with the right skills and aptitude for the job who can commit to a long-term relationship with the company.
To learn more about current HR topics, you can follow our threads here or enroll in the certification course in HR we provide at the best possible cost. If you want to share your experience about hiring a family member, be sure to comment on this thread and let everyone learn from your experience.
From India, Mumbai
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54The Positive Aspects of Hiring a Family Member
When you choose to hire a family member, you can expect the following positive aspects:
Better Employee Management
When someone you know and understand is hired, you will not have to spend much time deciphering what motivates that person, how he or she will react to incentives, what discipline methods work best with them, etc. This knowledge would save you time in understanding the behavior of that person, and you will be able to manage the person without much difficulty.
Motivation Factor
Let's assume that you have hired the brother of your business development manager and put them on the same team. This can benefit you a lot. As they are brothers, they will work better and won't take healthy competition as something vicious. The performance of your existing employee may improve thanks to the motivation to perform better than his brother, resulting in better productivity and great results for the organization.
Great Understanding
When the family member of any employee or management is hired, it would lead to stronger teams in most cases. People often gel well with their family members, and it can help them understand what their teammate is thinking better. The chemistry between two relatives can help the company reap long-term rewards, especially if they are closely knit because they would not want to lose their job.
The Negative Aspects of Hiring a Family Member
If you have an MBA or have completed a certification course in HR, you already know that mixing professional and personal life is not a smart move at times. Here are the negative consequences of hiring a family member in a company:
Special Attention
When you hire a close relative of people working in stronger positions or the management of the company, the person may expect special privileges like coming late to the office, working from home without permission, etc. These instances can make other employees feel devalued and less cared for. Ensure that no special privileges are given to anyone.
Lack of Respect
In cases where friends or family are hired for the same team, they may not show respect to the other person. For instance, if you have hired a cousin of the Accounts Manager to work under his/her supervision, the new hire may not take the boss seriously and may make fun of the orders given by the boss. Lack of respect can frustrate your existing employee and impact his or her performance or even ruin the company culture.
Personal Relationships
The biggest side effect of hiring a relative or a friend is that the personal and professional lives of two people can mix, which may strain their personal and professional relationships. It may happen that brothers who used to work well together may take the competition too seriously and damage the team spirit or their own performance.
Conclusion
The best way to handle the request of hiring a friend or relative is to ensure you don't get biased as an HR. Hire only the candidate with the right skills and aptitude for the job who can commit to a long-term relationship with the company.
To learn more about current HR topics, you can follow our threads here or enroll in the certification course in HR we provide at the best possible cost. If you want to share your experience about hiring a family member, be sure to comment on this thread and let everyone learn from your experience.
From India, Mumbai
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Dear Mr. Arvind Gaba,
Hiring family members has more cons than pros. Companies have turned into rehabilitation centers for inept and inefficient individuals due to the presence of family members. The Managing Director or Director often only pays attention to the clique, fostering nepotism.
Many American companies have achieved corporate success by prioritizing merit over familial connections. In contrast, in India, companies are more like business fiefdoms rather than organized business entities. Whether in the political or business realm, dynasties tend to dominate.
Thanks,
From India, Bangalore
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Hiring family members has more cons than pros. Companies have turned into rehabilitation centers for inept and inefficient individuals due to the presence of family members. The Managing Director or Director often only pays attention to the clique, fostering nepotism.
Many American companies have achieved corporate success by prioritizing merit over familial connections. In contrast, in India, companies are more like business fiefdoms rather than organized business entities. Whether in the political or business realm, dynasties tend to dominate.
Thanks,
From India, Bangalore
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In a very small company where the size is less than 10 employees, hiring family members may definitely be a problem because you may not be able to get the job done with 100% commitment. For example, we did a study of a proprietor-driven printing press 2 years ago. It was quite big with over 20 employees. The proprietor appointed his wife's brother to manage the technical staff, and he did not have any experience in that business. Since he was the brother-in-law of the proprietor, he was just bossing around. Within a year, this company lost 40% of their experienced and skilled workforce due to the wrong intervention.
Recently, we heard that this company is on the verge of closing. So here is a case where relatives may not work well if hired.
From India, Chennai
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Recently, we heard that this company is on the verge of closing. So here is a case where relatives may not work well if hired.
From India, Chennai
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There are a lot of aspects of human resource management that can be hardly taught during an MBA session or any human resources training courses. One such thing is workplace bullying. In simple words, workplace bullying can be anything from verbal abuse, interruptions, and damage that forces a person to stop the work or feel threatened or humiliated. Many HR professionals don't know what workplace bullying is and how they can stop it. If you wish to know both of these, you need to keep reading on.
1. Create Strong Policies
Many countries, including India, have no defined laws against workplace bullying, so you must ensure that your company has a strict policy against it. It would be good to let both new and old employees know of the policies every now and then. This will ensure that people in your organization are not victimized, and those who have been get the courage to speak up. You need to modify and update these policies from time to time and take strict action against employees who do not take them seriously.
2. Help Employees in Reporting
Many employees may feel reluctant to share an incident of workplace bullying simply because they fear the bully or are embarrassed by the incident. As an HR professional, you must take steps to ensure that employees have safe communication channels to you so that every incident is reported. If the person who is complaining wishes to not disclose their name, you must be able to honor their wishes. It would also be wise to take immediate action against the offender to ensure that people trust HR to resolve the workplace bullying issue.
3. Train Employees
It would be a great idea to train employees on the basics of workplace bullying so that they can recognize the pattern and report it as soon as it happens. It would also help if you keep reminding the employees about the consequences of bullying by giving previous examples, such as how a bully was fired by your company earlier. This will help potential bullies rethink their actions and empower victims to speak up.
4. Constantly Support the Victims
Being bullied is not a pleasant experience and can leave emotional scars. If any of your employees have been a victim, you must ensure they receive constant support. Efforts should be made to help the victim move past the incident by filling their mind with positive new memories, such as office parties or informal get-togethers. Victims should also be encouraged to make new friends at work again, as bullying incidents can make a person hesitant to form new relationships in the company.
Have you ever experienced workplace bullying? What actions did you take? Do you believe workplace bullying should be included in MBA or human resources training courses? Feel free to share your thoughts by commenting on this discussion.
From India, Mumbai
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1. Create Strong Policies
Many countries, including India, have no defined laws against workplace bullying, so you must ensure that your company has a strict policy against it. It would be good to let both new and old employees know of the policies every now and then. This will ensure that people in your organization are not victimized, and those who have been get the courage to speak up. You need to modify and update these policies from time to time and take strict action against employees who do not take them seriously.
2. Help Employees in Reporting
Many employees may feel reluctant to share an incident of workplace bullying simply because they fear the bully or are embarrassed by the incident. As an HR professional, you must take steps to ensure that employees have safe communication channels to you so that every incident is reported. If the person who is complaining wishes to not disclose their name, you must be able to honor their wishes. It would also be wise to take immediate action against the offender to ensure that people trust HR to resolve the workplace bullying issue.
3. Train Employees
It would be a great idea to train employees on the basics of workplace bullying so that they can recognize the pattern and report it as soon as it happens. It would also help if you keep reminding the employees about the consequences of bullying by giving previous examples, such as how a bully was fired by your company earlier. This will help potential bullies rethink their actions and empower victims to speak up.
4. Constantly Support the Victims
Being bullied is not a pleasant experience and can leave emotional scars. If any of your employees have been a victim, you must ensure they receive constant support. Efforts should be made to help the victim move past the incident by filling their mind with positive new memories, such as office parties or informal get-togethers. Victims should also be encouraged to make new friends at work again, as bullying incidents can make a person hesitant to form new relationships in the company.
Have you ever experienced workplace bullying? What actions did you take? Do you believe workplace bullying should be included in MBA or human resources training courses? Feel free to share your thoughts by commenting on this discussion.
From India, Mumbai
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Hare Krishna!
We cannot have absolute rules as to whether a relative should be recruited in an organization or not. If a relative is well-qualified, and it is made clear by HR that professionalism is expected to be followed, then why not? However, if a relative is not qualified at all, then it is definitely not advisable to recruit such a person, at least not in a supervisory or managerial role where technical expertise is required.
Janaka Dasa
Group Deputy Manager - HR
Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir Group
Vrindavan
From India, undefined
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We cannot have absolute rules as to whether a relative should be recruited in an organization or not. If a relative is well-qualified, and it is made clear by HR that professionalism is expected to be followed, then why not? However, if a relative is not qualified at all, then it is definitely not advisable to recruit such a person, at least not in a supervisory or managerial role where technical expertise is required.
Janaka Dasa
Group Deputy Manager - HR
Vrindavan Chandrodaya Mandir Group
Vrindavan
From India, undefined
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Hi,
Hiring family members is not a good idea unless it's a family business. Pre-set ideas about family members give a lot of benefits to the member rather than the company. In my opinion, personal and professional life should be kept separate.
From India, Mumbai
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Hiring family members is not a good idea unless it's a family business. Pre-set ideas about family members give a lot of benefits to the member rather than the company. In my opinion, personal and professional life should be kept separate.
From India, Mumbai
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These days, many companies are looking for HR professionals who have undergone advanced payroll training. Students and professionals sometimes take this course without realizing its actual importance. If you are considering taking this course, you might want to understand why companies expect you to complete it and how you can become an asset for the company after successful completion.
1. A Multitasker: This is a key benefit for companies. When their HR personnel can handle payroll management, they don't need to hire a separate payroll executive, saving the company money and reducing stress. In the current economic climate, companies value multitasking employees. If you can demonstrate this skill, your job security and career growth opportunities will increase.
2. Statutory Compliance: Companies aim to avoid legal and tax-related issues. They look for HR professionals who can ensure compliance with laws and timely filing of taxes. Training in payroll management enables smooth operations in this area, minimizing the risk of legal or tax-related problems for the company.
3. Ease of Checking: Many managers remain cautious about their employees' work. When you handle payroll tasks, your superiors may want to review your work for accuracy. Proper training in payroll minimizes errors, making it easier for your bosses to trust your work. Reliable employees are highly valued in any organization.
4. Better Record Management: Payroll training often involves using software to maintain detailed records of employee salaries. Effective record-keeping streamlines human resource management and facilitates transparency. Accurate records are beneficial when managing employee departures or addressing salary-related queries.
5. On-Time Payroll: Skilled payroll professionals ensure that employee salaries and bonuses are disbursed punctually. Timely payments contribute to employee satisfaction and loyalty. Companies that prioritize prompt and fair compensation tend to retain dedicated employees. By managing salaries efficiently, you enhance employee loyalty and contribute to the company's success.
These benefits highlight the value of having HR professionals with advanced payroll training. If you believe that these advantages justify the effort and investment required, pursuing this training could be beneficial. If you have completed such training and would like to share your experience, feel free to comment on this post.
From India, Mumbai
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1. A Multitasker: This is a key benefit for companies. When their HR personnel can handle payroll management, they don't need to hire a separate payroll executive, saving the company money and reducing stress. In the current economic climate, companies value multitasking employees. If you can demonstrate this skill, your job security and career growth opportunities will increase.
2. Statutory Compliance: Companies aim to avoid legal and tax-related issues. They look for HR professionals who can ensure compliance with laws and timely filing of taxes. Training in payroll management enables smooth operations in this area, minimizing the risk of legal or tax-related problems for the company.
3. Ease of Checking: Many managers remain cautious about their employees' work. When you handle payroll tasks, your superiors may want to review your work for accuracy. Proper training in payroll minimizes errors, making it easier for your bosses to trust your work. Reliable employees are highly valued in any organization.
4. Better Record Management: Payroll training often involves using software to maintain detailed records of employee salaries. Effective record-keeping streamlines human resource management and facilitates transparency. Accurate records are beneficial when managing employee departures or addressing salary-related queries.
5. On-Time Payroll: Skilled payroll professionals ensure that employee salaries and bonuses are disbursed punctually. Timely payments contribute to employee satisfaction and loyalty. Companies that prioritize prompt and fair compensation tend to retain dedicated employees. By managing salaries efficiently, you enhance employee loyalty and contribute to the company's success.
These benefits highlight the value of having HR professionals with advanced payroll training. If you believe that these advantages justify the effort and investment required, pursuing this training could be beneficial. If you have completed such training and would like to share your experience, feel free to comment on this post.
From India, Mumbai
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When profitability, a good working environment for hired employees, and employee loyalty are important factors for organizational growth, it is essential never to hire candidates recommended by politicians or directly appoint family members. They may attempt to usurp power, assert their influence, and form cliques of loyalists. As highlighted by my fellow professionals, the drawbacks outweigh the benefits. Dealing with such family members becomes challenging – you cannot criticize or dismiss them for underperformance.
In a company I am currently advising, there is a significant issue where the maternal uncle, responsible for a crucial manufacturing vertical, is the root cause of numerous obstacles.
From India, Bengaluru
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In a company I am currently advising, there is a significant issue where the maternal uncle, responsible for a crucial manufacturing vertical, is the root cause of numerous obstacles.
From India, Bengaluru
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A good performance management process is certainly the backbone of maintaining ideal human resource relationships in a company. If a company doesn’t have such a process in place, it may fail to identify the top performers which may lead to employee frustration and exit. In contrast, if a company fails to adopt a performance management process, it often ends up promoting incompetent people who may one day lead the company and ruin it completely.
The Old Approach
Unfortunately, most of the companies are still focused on getting a performance appraisal done on a yearly basis and promoting or increasing the compensation of an employee on the basis of the results. This must be categorized as an old approach now because there are better options available. There is no need to judge the current and future performance of an employee on the basis of the target achieved by him of her a few months back. The focus should be on mapping the current progress of the employees and that too regularly so that there remains no gap between the employee performance and the ratings they get on paper. How do companies achieve that? Read on to know
iCount or Checkpoint- The Trend of Performance Management
Many Indian IT companies like IBM, Accenture, Infosys, etc. have created a buzz in the HR industry by adopting a new system called iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System. If you are also curious about what it is exactly and how it works then here’s a simple solution for you.
iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System is a performance management system in which the employees get feedback from their reporting managers at least once a month. This allows the employees to know where they are going wrong and what is good about their work. They also get the opportunity to enhance their performance continually which boosts their learning curve and adds to employee engagement factor.
Apart from getting evaluating every month, the employees also get evaluated once a year on generic criteria’s that impact the organization. Top 5 of such criteria are innovation, business results, personal responsibility to teammates, impact on clients and skills. In these entire criterions, the performance of each employee is rated individually on each criterion rather than as a bunch of it. It means that the employee has to excel at each of the criteria to score a good rating.
This new method not only makes the employee work better by letting the employee know where he or she is going wrong, it also benefits the managers. The managers get the opportunity to evaluate which person of his or her team is not performing well and corrects it which enhances the overall performance of a team. So, it’s a win-win for both, the employee and the manager if they work at it seriously.
Why Organizations Need to Try iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System?
If you are a business owner or an HR Manager who has heard a lot about iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System but is not sure whether your organization should go for it or not there here are a few reasons on why you must try it at least once.
Most employers employ young employees these days that need to be constantly motivated and challenged in their jobs. If they get bored, they will simply leave. The iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System keeps them challenged by highlighting their weaknesses consistently.
Nearly all young employees and Millennials like a pat on the back regularly to keep them going. The iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System ensures that by rating them good on what they are the most skilled at. Most employees don’t care much for a pay raise, even a few good words from the manager once a month keep them juiced.
When the employees are constantly reminded and appreciated for doing good work via iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System, it allows them to develop their potential to a great extent. They truly give their best to the organization which leads the growth story of a company.
Consistent evaluation of skills and job performance via iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System also helps the organization to identify the skills that need to be developed in each employee via learning management solutions. The result, the training & development programs of the company become more focused and result-oriented.
Last but certainly not the least, when the employees’ performance levels are constantly mapped by using iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System, they are trained and kept motivated, their loyalty towards the organization increases. Loyal employees control the attrition rate of the organization, increases employee retention and make the company a preferred employer brand.
Conclusion
All in all, it can be said that the iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System is a good option. Though it takes more time and effort as compared to a yearly performance appraisal, the results are certainly worth it. Every organization, no matter how small or big must give it a try for at least 6 months and see the astonishing results it can achieve.
From India, Mumbai
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The Old Approach
Unfortunately, most of the companies are still focused on getting a performance appraisal done on a yearly basis and promoting or increasing the compensation of an employee on the basis of the results. This must be categorized as an old approach now because there are better options available. There is no need to judge the current and future performance of an employee on the basis of the target achieved by him of her a few months back. The focus should be on mapping the current progress of the employees and that too regularly so that there remains no gap between the employee performance and the ratings they get on paper. How do companies achieve that? Read on to know
iCount or Checkpoint- The Trend of Performance Management
Many Indian IT companies like IBM, Accenture, Infosys, etc. have created a buzz in the HR industry by adopting a new system called iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System. If you are also curious about what it is exactly and how it works then here’s a simple solution for you.
iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System is a performance management system in which the employees get feedback from their reporting managers at least once a month. This allows the employees to know where they are going wrong and what is good about their work. They also get the opportunity to enhance their performance continually which boosts their learning curve and adds to employee engagement factor.
Apart from getting evaluating every month, the employees also get evaluated once a year on generic criteria’s that impact the organization. Top 5 of such criteria are innovation, business results, personal responsibility to teammates, impact on clients and skills. In these entire criterions, the performance of each employee is rated individually on each criterion rather than as a bunch of it. It means that the employee has to excel at each of the criteria to score a good rating.
This new method not only makes the employee work better by letting the employee know where he or she is going wrong, it also benefits the managers. The managers get the opportunity to evaluate which person of his or her team is not performing well and corrects it which enhances the overall performance of a team. So, it’s a win-win for both, the employee and the manager if they work at it seriously.
Why Organizations Need to Try iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System?
If you are a business owner or an HR Manager who has heard a lot about iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System but is not sure whether your organization should go for it or not there here are a few reasons on why you must try it at least once.
Most employers employ young employees these days that need to be constantly motivated and challenged in their jobs. If they get bored, they will simply leave. The iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System keeps them challenged by highlighting their weaknesses consistently.
Nearly all young employees and Millennials like a pat on the back regularly to keep them going. The iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System ensures that by rating them good on what they are the most skilled at. Most employees don’t care much for a pay raise, even a few good words from the manager once a month keep them juiced.
When the employees are constantly reminded and appreciated for doing good work via iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System, it allows them to develop their potential to a great extent. They truly give their best to the organization which leads the growth story of a company.
Consistent evaluation of skills and job performance via iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System also helps the organization to identify the skills that need to be developed in each employee via learning management solutions. The result, the training & development programs of the company become more focused and result-oriented.
Last but certainly not the least, when the employees’ performance levels are constantly mapped by using iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System, they are trained and kept motivated, their loyalty towards the organization increases. Loyal employees control the attrition rate of the organization, increases employee retention and make the company a preferred employer brand.
Conclusion
All in all, it can be said that the iCount or Checkpoint Appraisal System is a good option. Though it takes more time and effort as compared to a yearly performance appraisal, the results are certainly worth it. Every organization, no matter how small or big must give it a try for at least 6 months and see the astonishing results it can achieve.
From India, Mumbai
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Hare Krishna!
@Bhaverekha - If someone is well-qualified, wouldn't it be unfair to them if they are being deprived of working in the company simply because their relative is also working there? So, I think a blanket rule cannot be applied here, and the choice must be based on qualification.
From India, undefined
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@Bhaverekha - If someone is well-qualified, wouldn't it be unfair to them if they are being deprived of working in the company simply because their relative is also working there? So, I think a blanket rule cannot be applied here, and the choice must be based on qualification.
From India, undefined
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