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nGInsights: Your Employees Are Not Your Friends

How close are you to your co-workers? Ryan Hanley details how to counsel clients, and offers advice for young agents.

By Ryan Hanley | Updated on March 25, 2011
I include a discussion on e mployment practices liability as part of every diagnostic appointment I have with every business insurance client I meet with. I say the same thing, “Your employees are not your family and they are not friends, even if they are.” Unfortunately, for about seven out of 10 of them, the response I get in return sounds something similar to this, ”We’re like a family here, we don’t have to worry about things like that.”   My response is always, “That’s great! Have you ever gotten upset and said or done something you regret to a family member?” Best friends, husbands and wives, fathers and sons, brothers and sisters break-up operating businesses every day because of disagreements over how things are done. If you don’t believe me read the local newspaper or ask your local gossip. 

These situations often get very nasty. An organization’s dirty laundry is often used as leverage and information starts to surface that you might of otherwise been able to keep hidden… and the lawsuits start to fly.

Let me say this again… your employees are not your friends and they are not your family, even if they are. Your employees are your employees and you must take the necessary precautions to protect your business.

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