Best Practices for Hiring Related Individuals in Child Care
Although there are many advantages, as well as disadvantages, of having employees who are related to one another, only you, as a child care business owner, can determine whether you will employ individuals who are related to one another. In this article, we aim to focus on best practices and considerations to keep in mind when employing individuals who are related to one another.
Your hiring and recruitment process should be the same. All candidates must be treated equally and fairly. Providing preferential treatment to related individuals can lead to future problems and conflicts with other employees.
Hire only on merit and qualifications. If you need a lead teacher with at least three years of experience, hiring a related individual with only one year of experience is not a fair application of hiring requirements to all candidates.
To minimize conflicts, family members should not supervise other family members. Additionally, related individuals should not be involved in disciplining other related individuals, nor should they be part of any decision regarding raises, bonuses, or promotions.
It is also advisable not to have related individuals working in the same department, on the same projects, or the same work assignments. Care should also be taken to ensure that confidential information is not shared between related individuals.
Establishing clear, detailed written policies and guidelines that pertain to related individuals is essential. In addition to reviewing these initially with a newly hired related individual, it is advisable to have other related individuals participate in the review and discussion. Open communication, answering questions to ensure each employee understands, is essential.
Family relationships and dynamics cannot be allowed to interfere with business operations. As they say, “what happens at home, stays at home”. Family issues that spill into the workplace can impact the culture, make other employees uncomfortable, cause conflicts, and even lead to the loss of both unrelated and related employees. Ensure that the feelings and thoughts of nonrelated employees are always considered, and make yourself and your management team available to discuss any concerns confidentially.
Handling the termination of an employee with a relative working in the child care business can be a difficult situation. It must be handled according to proper guidelines, in the same way as any other non-related employee would be terminated. And, with the termination of one related employee, the risk of other related employees becoming upset and possibly resigning is a real possibility. As a childcare business owner, you should consider this and plan accordingly – you may need to have options available for quickly filling the positions.
Employing related individuals is common in child care, and adhering to clear policies, procedures, and guidelines can mean the difference between a good situation or one that can lead to problems for other employees and you and the child care business owner.
