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Why Your Employees Should Be Your Friends(...And Why Your Friends Shouldn't Be Your Employees) Abe Cherian
How many times have you been advised not to hire your friends? You’ve been told countless times, I’m sure. But have you ever wondered why it’s such a bad idea? Don’t get me wrong—hiring a friend can be problematic, especially if you’re close and have known them for an extended amount of time. However, hiring an employee who becomes your friend later is another story entirely! Let me explain what I mean… When I first realized the need to hire someone to help with the workload of a budding online business, I did what plenty of entrepreneurs do—I hired a friend of mine. Now, this friend and I were virtually polar opposites, but we had known each other for a few years. Our friendship consisted mostly of spending time with mutual friends and some small talk here and there, but he did have a background in business, and I knew him to be fairly responsible. He seemed like a good candidate to handle the day-to-day tasks of my business, which would allow me to focus on the necessary steps toward advancing my company. Needless to say, I ended up hiring him. For the first couple of weeks, everything went relatively smooth. His experience in business was somewhat helpful, and we were getting along fine as usual. Unfortunately, this would prove to be short lived. My friend gradually became uptight, and staunchly opposed to any suggestions or direction I tried to give him. He felt that because we were friends, he shouldn’t have to be told what to do. Whenever I had an idea that would simplify his daily routine, he would bristle and get defensive at the mere mention of it! It got to the point where working with him made our friendship practically insufferable, and I had to let him go. My point is that I hired my friend, and because I had known him for years, it became a problem. He took my career advice personally, and as if I didn’t trust his abilities. Needless to say, it also sacrificed our friendship. Little did I know, my next employee would be quite different… I placed an ad in the local newspaper for an office assistant. After screening a few applicants that day, I was anything but hopeful. Right before I was about to head home, the last interview of the day showed up. The young man was barely qualified for the job. In fact, he was pretty average. He had no business experience to speak of, nor did he entirely understand what my business was even about! But the most important part was that he was willing to learn, and seemed genuinely interested in the job. Like many employers, I didn’t want to spend the time or money training a new employee who wouldn’t work out, though usually that’s inevitable. To be sure, I invited him for a second interview to go over what his daily routine would be, and to explain our mission statement. The second interview went great! It turned out that he had some customer service experience from a previous retail job that would come in handy, and he was very knowledgeable about the internet. These skills would be very useful to my business, and he would be a quick learner. Confident in his ability to learn, I hired him on the spot. From the interviews, I could tell that we were on the same wavelength, which I hadn’t considered before when I hired my friend. Sure, my new employee would go on make a couple mistakes within the first few months, but he was always open to guidance and suggestions, and never made the same mistakes again. We got along great, and in time, the business flourished. On top of that, we got along very well, and became great friends. His productivity constantly improved, and his loyalty to the company was unmatched! When I needed to hire other employees to keep up with the rising amount of tasks, I made sure to only hire people I could mesh with. I learned that it was important to hire people who click with you, and whom you would be able to become good friends with. It ends up being a great help to your business, and also to your employee(s). If you can picture running your online business with your employees by your side 5, 10, or even 20 years in the future, you know you’ve hired true friends! Even if you don’t need to hire anyone, you can still make some new friends in the business. Why not try StartUpNet, a new social network for entrepreneurs? It’s a great way to develop some new business contacts, and make some inside connections in your field! |
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