If you run a company (or even some kind of a department), you surely had to somehow resolve delicate situations, explaining why you cannot hire your ex-classmate’s cousin. It seems bad to hire an employee that someone has recommended to you. Geniusbeauty.com asked HR experts about all the pros and cons of such employment.
If you recommend someone
First, think about whether you are really ready to play this role? After all, if an employee fails to cope with his duties, or, even worse, fails the company itself (and the manager), then, of course, you will have to. You will be remembered because of your protégé for a long time. You may even be asked for any compensation for the inconvenience caused.
But, if you are still confident in the person, you can try to introduce him/her to a potential employer. In this case, you will have certain advantages from such a recommendation. Firstly, you will look like a reliable person with useful connections and certain skills in the eyes of the manager, secondly, you help simplify the solution of certain work issues (for example, search for employees), thirdly, you can become an idol in the eyes of friends or relatives whose career you help with, fourthly, you once again confirm that you are an authoritative person whose opinion is appreciated by others.
Cons, again, are also present. In addition to being offended or requesting compensation if your protege fails, there are other risks. For example, your credibility will fall as soon as the first problems arise, a prejudiced attitude towards you will be formed in the team, you can forget about the career (at least until your mistakes are not forgotten by the authorities) Damage is not only to the company, but also to personal reputation, disappointment in friends or relatives and spoiled relations with the environment.
If you are recommended
In this case, there are also a lot of risks. On the one hand, under the patronage, it is much easier to get into a large company or get the desired position. But on the other hand, you will live with the constant feeling that you have to somehow thank the person due to whom you got a dream job. Or, for example, he will constantly remind you of this and ask, in turn, to provide small services for him. If you are not afraid of the prospect of “being obliged for all your life”, you can try this option of employment.
Of the advantages, you can highlight your excellent business reputation (otherwise you would not be recommended, believe me), obtaining a position (bypassing multi-stage interviews and weary expectations) in a stable company with a good salary, management loyalty, reduction of probation, help not only during the adaptation period, but also in the future, rapid career development, additional bonuses and bonuses.
On the downsides, too, do not forget. In addition to the feeling that now you owe it to someone who recommended you, you may still encounter other nuances. For example, after some time you will come up with an idea that you are not coping with the amount of work for which you were recruited, or, even worse, you realized that this company is not close to you and you are “not working together”, a career competition with a friend (he may at some point think that you want to remove him), team prejudice and gossip, spoiled relations with the surrounding people, the need to constantly prove that you are worthy of this position and are willing to work, that you have not come to the company “to chat“ and to spend time.
If you are a manager and you are offered an employee
In principle, in most cases, the “recommended” person is invited to a meeting and then they either make him a job offer or politely let him know that a vacancy does not fit the skills the person possesses. Moreover, if, for example, your hr-department has a heavy workload and they do not have time to communicate with new candidates, you will significantly unload them if you hire at least one employee. One of the advantages of this kind of employment can be identified: the appearance of a trusted person in your company, confidence in the processes of hiring and further work, saving time, money and nerves while finding the right professional.
As for the minuses, one can mention the following ones: an objective assessment of recommendations and professional skills of a protégé is not enough (you can be promised that a person is a professional, and during work, it will turn out that his knowledge and level of work do not meet expectations). Such an employee can be transferred (not spoiling the relationship with the person who recommended him), “familiarity” in the workplace, a decline in working capacity and labor discipline (especially if the new employee turned out to be a good friend, whom you simply cannot begin to dictate terms), additional costs for the professional development of the person, the need to choose – friendship or business profitability.
Therefore, experts advise to clearly separate the concepts of “friendship” and “business relations” so that your business and your reputation in the market do not suffer. And in any case, you will have to either sacrifice good relations with your friends or clearly defend your position that you do not conduct business with your friends (and acquaintances of your friends). You’d rather look like an intractable, tough person in your surroundings than begin to solve all the problems that have arisen because you played right into your acquaintance’s hands and found an employee who let the company down.
