Home: Message List - Hiring family to work - help!

Re: Hiring family to work - help!

ARIZONAGAL1 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:48:21 GMT

Never do business with family or friends.
There are things that will not say to this employee because she is your partners daughter.
There are things she will and will not do as an employee because she is your partners daughter.
If she turns out to be a so-so employee or causes unecessary problems you are setting yourself up for unecessary problems or conflict with your partner.
I have tried to hire both my son and sisters to work for me and it did not work out.
Teenagers in my case.
I have tried to work with my neighbor and it did not work out.
The owner of our company is partners with his younger brother and he still treats him like his "baby" brother.
And he gets away with not pulling his weight in the company!
You are too busy focusing on the relationship not on business.

Re: Hiring family to work - help!

zoeygarrlen — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 02:18:43 GMT

Personally i think you're probably just over reacting because in my experience it has worked out fine. Some of my friends used to work for their parents and i used to work for my dad as a personal assitant and things worked out fine. He said i did a better job than any assistant he had previously hired. Now you said that you were a partner in the business meaning you are the boss (one of them). Just remember that she is your employee and she has to follow the rules and guidelines just as the other employees do. She may just need a few days to get the hang of things though, but i beleive that it is an good thing to do or at least give a chance and it can help teach the kid alot of important values that she'll need later on in life.

Re: Hiring family to work - help!

lalithabrahma — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 01:33:49 GMT

Long term the daughter might buy you and your partner out when you want to retire.
(Two of my children took over my business.)
Great advice
Lalitha
For educational series on protecting and growing your business visit www.lalithabrahma.com

Re: Hiring family to work - help!

WEBillions — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 22:45:35 GMT

Here are some tips if you decide you want to bring in family.

Don't assume anything. Set clear expectations as to the day to day work of the family member.
Make sure the family member gets paid the same amount as another else of their experience and job.
If possible, assign a non-family member to supervise and mentor the family member.
The progress of the family member should be reviewed regularly.
If you expect the family member to continue the business after you, make sure they get access to all areas of the business so that they can learn. Who knows, they might have great suggests that you never thought of.

Re: Hiring family to work - help!

YourPainter — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 15:54:18 GMT

Great advice about the ground rules - we work with several family members in our business and I couldn't ask for better employees---. Just remember to make sure your partner feels the same way and you 2 discuss the rules BEFORE the hire- that way you won't have conflicts arising between the 2 of you when one says one thing and the other expects something different.

Re: Hiring family to work - help!

Marzipan — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:50:59 GMT

Thanks for everyone's helpful feedback!

Re: Hiring family to work - help!

DealMaker — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 21:33:57 GMT

I agree with the rest of the replies. I feel having family come into the company can only be a positive thing. Lay all the groundwork ahead of time and hope you think of everything that may cause a problem. Even if problems arise, you and the company will grow from them. Some of my best policy came from my hiring mistakes throughout the years. Although i was quite angry with the problem people and myself, without them I may of never "tweaked" the company policy manual and we could've not grown as well as we did. Just go with it. I'm sure you will not regret it!

DM

Re: Hiring family to work - help!

BDS INC — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:19:21 GMT

if you trust your partner - trust their judgement. In all likelihood you'll be grooming the next generation of your business. It is an afters chool job simply meant to teach responsiblity. Positive move as long as you and your partner have a solid working relationship.

Re: Hiring family to work - help!

LUCKIEST — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 22:55:22 GMT

Hiring your children (or in this case your partners child) in business is the american way.
If done correctly it can teach the children and in many ways help the business.
It can add another person to the office, teach her the ropes, have her sub
when a person is absence, maybe work full time over the summer when employees
are on vacation.
Long term the daughter might buy you and your partner out when you want to retire.
(Two of my children took over my business.)
LUCKIEST

Re: Hiring family to work - help!

Marzipan — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 16:00:34 GMT

Score133 - thanks so much for your prompt reply. I was starting to feel anxious about this situation. I like the sound advice of laying some ground rules and setting performance expectations upfront. And thanks for providing the perspective that this may turn out to be a great benefit to the company!