How can HR managers fight nepotism?

Recruitment Policy should require all potential candidates to go trough a screening process. Applications should be given a number instead of using a name when persons decide who to appoint

Thanks for invitation,

I do believe that, nepotism has to be fighted via inserting clear and mandatory items in the organization's "Code of Conduct", signed regularly by all staff members, and also via its internal policies and procedures as well, not by HR manager.

Having a clear code of ethics COC policy and whistle blowing mechanism coupled with transpaent HR policies HR Managers can easily fight employee or supervisors tendencies of nepotism and acts of favoritism

Regards

We should be open for talented employees weather they are relatives or not of current employees. Make sure of strong hiring system not influenced by any other persons personal wish and make the hiring.

Do not surround yourself with relative or community friends

Thanks, Alia Hassan. The case for nepotism can be hard or easy, depending on the cultural level of the human resources. In Britain, Holland or Denmark, for instance, the commitment for "duty first, self after" is wired in the education system. This means that personal interests in specific candidates for HR is out of the question. Whereas in Latinamerica, Italy or Spain the family bonds are tighter and historically a core neeed for survival, therefor erather hard to control. 

I should recomend to prepare some presentation with a few case studies pinpointing distressing results of this lousy practice in large corporations. and/or important institutions. Press articles provide a fine source. And if the contracting trainer emphasize the need to follow the policies of the organization in this matter, it may work quite well. Requesting ideas from the staff themselves will provide untold ideas to prevent the customary practices. And inexpensive annual reward of departments that refuse to follow the nepotist trend will help a lot as well.  

“Nepotism is a natural part of the human endowment,” says Robert Jones, a professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at Missouri State University. How it's perceived is tied to culture, according to Jones. “In China and India, nepotism is a way of life and regarded positively.”

Nepotism generally has a negative association in western, individualistic countries such as the United States, particularly if the favored recipient isn’t unqualified. Nepotism can cause damage to a business, affecting employee morale, causing friction and resentment.

However, it isn’t necessarily a bad practice, either. Hiring or promoting a relative can provide certain advantages. For instance, if the candidate has been groomed in the family business, then the person may bring valuable social and intellectual capital to the position. Jones points to a recent nepotism study on NCAA teams that shows that teams that have nepotism (two or more family members as players or coaching on the same team) perform better and win more games than those without.

The bottom line is that the way people respond to nepotism at work depends largely on the candidate’s qualifications and self-awareness, transparency in the hiring process and other variables. But if you find yourself in a work situation where nepotism is a flagrant problem that disrupts your health, workplace satisfaction and professional growth

“Focus on maintaining a professional attitude and a strong performance," says Heather Huhman, an HR expert and founder and president of HR software firm Come Recommended. "The last thing an employee with a legitimate complaint against their employer wants is to not be taken seriously because of some sort of technicality.”

Resist the following: Acting out, slacking on the job, telling someone off or gossiping with co-workers who could easily repeat your words, which can come back to haunt you later. (Hey, vent to your heart’s content with your spouse, therapist and/or best friend who does not have anything to do with your workplace.)

Thank youIf the nepotism comes from the summit to the middle level He - She could do nothing, since HR manager is an employee at the end at the company which managed by person who set on the summit and may be own all stocks.But if the nepotism comes from the middle level to the base so He - She should put a strong proceduers and policies that considered as a nepotism fighter project, i.g.

• One person from each family.
• No wife and husband inside the company.
• No brothers.
• No relatives.
• No excuses and exceptions.

no need to fight them, just to be professional, and avoid engaging them in anything work related, or you give excuses.

There are many factors behind nepotism and not all forms of it can be dealt with, as an example, what if the Director/CEO of the company wants a certain position to be given to his nephew or niece? It all comes down to the values that are instilled in the company. In other cases, you as an HR manager need to be fair and just. Evaluate people based on their experience and their personality. If someone is recommended for a position, run them through the same process as you would do anyone else. Ask why is this person recommended is better than the ones that want the same position? What value can this person bring? If there are better candidates, then by all means go ahead and select the required one but if the candidate recommended is actually better than the others, pick him/her. That decision will be based solely on merit as opposed to supporting nepotism. There are quite a number of factors to list here that can determine nepotism for higher position and it is considered normal in some types of business, as an example, a family run business where a son or daughter is expected to succeed the owner, those situations are not something that can be dealt with easily, however, with what power and authority you have, stay true to your profession and yourself and the rest will turn out to be alright :)