You Love Them, But Should You Hire Them?

By Colin Sheehan, RCS Reporter. 

Before you hire family, ensure you are making the best choice for your relationships and business.  

Working with family has its benefits and can be an especially rewarding experience; you can spend more time with your loved ones and your company will more naturally emulate the values and culture already present within your family. However, family in the workplace can be problematic and cause disturbances that can harm both your personal relationship and your business’ bottom line. 

There are many family businesses in the roofing industry that have excelled at maintaining positive work and home relations. One of those companies is Sashco, whose CEO Les Burch, hired both of his sons, Jeff and Nick to work in the company.  

The three sat down with host Christine Dart in episode one of “Les’s Corner” - Sashco’s latest educational initiative - to discuss what they’ve learned from working together as a family. They also discuss how they’ve been able to maintain positive relationships that have enriched their home and work life. 

Les explained that among several benefits of working with family is that you know what you’re getting when you hire a relative. With new hires, you are given a small amount of time to get to know potential candidates. 

“You know these people, you know their character, which you don’t in a stranger, so hopefully you have a real cultural match in your family, and it's bled into the business,” said Les. “Quite often they have a bigger need or desire to make the company successful.” 

For Nick and Jeff, there was never an expectation to join the company. In fact, Les encouraged them to pursue careers outside of Sashco. This allowed them to figure out what they liked, gain skills and come back to the company with more to bring.  

"We both worked outside the business for many years and had experiences and didn’t necessarily plan on coming into the business,” said Jeff.  

“It’s got to be a choice,” said Nick. “It felt like my choice to come in and I was bringing all of my energy with that.” 

Watch the first episode of Les’s Corner to learn more about how to hire family members to enrich your home and work life.  

Learn more about Sashco in their RoofersCoffeeShop® Directory or visit www.sashco.com.