Should you hire a family member of your OFS?
I got an email from Jeff about a topic I haven’t talked about explicitly but is related to having your OFS recruit for you.
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Hey John,
Can you write an article about how OFS feel about hiring family members? One of my current OFS has told me that a family member is applying for a sales job I posted. I am mildly concerned that:
-my current OFS will be mad if I dont hire her family member even if the family member doesnt interview well
-the family member might end up being let go and my current OFS will be mad at me
-for some reason I might need to let my current OFS go and the family member OFS would be mad at me
-some other unknown situation that might come up mixing family and business
As an American I feel like these concepts are well-understood and accepted but I would love to hear how they think about it over there.
Thanks,
Jeff
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First my thoughts. Then Julia’s thoughts.
1. We hire family members all the time.
2. In my experience, if someone is recommending a family member, they’re pretty confident in that person’s ability to do the job.
3. Recommending that someone puts their neck on the line. They understand all the concerns you feel.
4. They really want their family members to have a good work situation like they have. It’s a big deal.
I have hired a lot of family members. Julia (the OFS who helps write these newsletters) was recommended by her sister Jessica. Julia then referred her husband, Jam.
So, I asked Julia about her thoughts on this.
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We won’t recommend a family member unless we’re sure the person would be a good worker.
We’d lose face if that person ended up being horrible.
I have some family members with the skills to work in Onlinejobs.ph that I wouldn’t recommend because I knew they were unreliable, and I’d be embarrassed to mention them.
I understand Jeff’s concerns. It seems obvious, but mixing family and business is typical here in the Philippines. Families pass down businesses. We recommend each other for work if they’re eligible. It’s tough to find work, so when an opportunity opens up, we prioritize recommending family members to help them out.
But we also understand that businesses hire the best people. We know it’s not personal. Having a stable job in a growing company will help our family more.
However, I also agree that it can cause issues when healthy boundaries aren’t set. I have a system with my family. We don’t talk about work outside of work hours and avoid discussing personal issues while working. We agree that we never take work issues personally and always talk things out in the kindest way possible. But I know this isn’t something everybody does.
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The family members I have working for me are usually spouses. I think the reason this works for us is that they can easily call each other out when they’re not working. It’s also easier for them to help each other out.
So I wouldn’t be worried about it. Put that family member through the same hiring steps you already have to see if they’re qualified. Tell your trusted OFS beforehand that you’ll be doing that and that whether you hire their family or not, it’s because of the result of your hiring process.
If you want to make sure they’re qualified and can work with your existing team, check out my hiring steps at OneVAAway.com.
If they pass, you just found another great worker. If they don’t, there’s no harm done.
John