We have spent all our lives with family members and it seems natural to employ them on projects or personal businesses. This decision looks okay initially until it doesn’t. While there are exceptions to the rule, it is generally not a good idea to employ family members on your building projects and these are a few reasons why…
Emotions override logic
There are a million reasons why making a decision based on emotion is bad for business and your project. When dealing with family members we operate more from an emotional state than when dealing with professionals or strangers. You may overlook a shortcoming which will be detrimental to your project. And in extreme cases, enforcing an agreement may require forceful measures which will bring other families members pleading and begging for you to let go and you may have no choice. At the end of the day you will be the one counting your losses.
You cannot discipline them effectively
A woman called us some time back to make a complaint about a land she bought through her brother-in-law in Port Harcourt while she was out of the country. She sent money to him but he didn’t make the payment for the land- he employed it for personal use-and they were on the matter for over 2 years arguing back and forth but there was no resolution. She later called the company and made payment directly for the land, within few days she was able to get the land documents. All efforts to get her money back or discipline the brother-in-law proved abortive and she had to move on eventually. This is mostly the case when you deal with close family or friends on projects… it’s a lot of stress trying to get things right when things go wrong.
Sense of entitlement which is to your detriment
Close relatives mostly have an unseen sense of entitlement which may become apparent during your project execution.
It may seem harmless at first but there is no telling how much damage this can do as some people have no boundaries… and the damage is apparent after it is done. At that point the remedy may be at a higher cost.
There was a project where the owner employed a relative of theirs to be in charge of purchasing materials, the relative kept tweaking the prices for personal gain and the owners complained due to cost overrun. The relative felt no remorse despite complaints from the owner largely due to a sense of entitlement.
Agreements or contracts can be easily broken
It’s better to deal with a professional with a contract (even if it is a one page agreement) who is trained in the field and has built a brand over time with a proven track record.
With family or relatives, it’s much harder trying to enforce a contract/agreement.
A client who had built some houses using relatives but decided to get a professional on the last he did… the relatives complained “why cant you use us?”
He told them was he was tired of the constant issues and excuses for non-performance. And that takes up much of his valuable time. By using a professional he was able to have some peace of mind while getting more value for money.
You may have a misplaced level of trust which is only a perception
People trust close relatives more due to familiarity but this is only a perception as those closest to you are most likely to undermine you knowingly or unknowingly.
A client once narrated how someone he knew was out of the country and sending money home to relatives for his project. The relatives kept sending another person’s project pictures… But the moment the man came home to inspect what is being done. There was an attack on him at night before the inspection and the worst happened, he was unalived.
Information bias
You need information to make correct decisions and if a family member is doing something unacceptable on your project. It’s more difficult for the team members to report thereby making you handle your project on half truths. This eventually translates to loss of resources.
Conclusion
Dealing with a good and reputable person/team first and foremost remains a time tested way to get the best on your projects. There are many more reasons dealing with close relatives is not beneficial but these are only a few.
There may be some exceptions whereby family members have your best interest at heart but generally from our experience and that of others and considering how life works, mixing family and business/ projects is not a good idea because the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.
Call/whatsapp us on: + 234-9097563826
Or contact us by email: info@nigerianhouseplans.com