Should I hire him?

[Lambstu]

Hi, I work in the pharmaceuticals industry and our HR dept is useless so not sure where to get advice. I am hiring for a position and the only applicant is hated by a current employee. The applicant looks good on paper, and has previously worked at the company so has good experience. I’m inclined to hire him. I know that it will cause an issue for my current employee though as she has told me in the past of the problems she had with him (personality clash, perhaps he did overstep it a few times but I think she should be able to get past that as it didn’t seem like the situations she described were a massive deal) and she has said that she would never be able to work with him again. I know if I hire him she will be unhappy. Would she be able to raise a grievance against me for hiring him? Or go off long term
sick with stress? Can I just tell her it’s happening and ask her to get on with it / make the most of it.

The way I see it, you can only take his job application at face value and can't listen to unsubstantiated rumours from other employees about this candidate. I mean, how can you reject a good match for the job who performed well during the interview and recruitment process only due to a personality clash with an existing employee? How would this look if he appealed?

I don't see how you can turn a good candidate down based on one person's opinion. It could all unravel fairly quickly if the thread was pulled.

I'm not saying it is but it could be malicious from the female employee for any number of reasons and imagine if you turned down a good employee because say, she asked him out and he rejected her!

So she’s been brave enough to approach you with her concerns and this is your attitude? You know what, hire him, she’ll find something else and you will be stuck with him.

You could hire him, she could leave, be correct, and karma could bite.

Or you could hire him, and all go well.

For me, as a manager. I would be listening to all staff, regardless of "five of them do that job" and taking all views into account.

Strong candidate. Is she able or willing to divulge more?

Is there anyone else who has worked with him before? Does company tend to rehire someone who has left?

You could end up with more than just one leaving if the other team members side with her , i would be listening very closely to why she dislikes him so much.
I also think you sound quite harsh as a boss , i imagine you need the junior members to get the work done so perhaps you should show a bit more consideration.

Glad she’s not mine. Obviously doesn’t give a shit about her employee, just bothered she’ll get into trouble herself. Ugh.

Given he has worked at the organisation before, surely you can talk to others to see if there's q wider opinion that's he's a nightmare?

I don't think you sound harsh as a boss at all. I think your team (or at least this lady) are walking all over you. Unless there is way more to this than she let on, she obviously has to accept that you will hire the best person for the role, and that she can either deal with it or leave. Of course you'd rather this wasn't an issue, but at the end of the day you need to find your confidence and own your authority here. It's no good saying your HR dept are rubbish - they need to step up and advise you and support you properly. Talk to them until you receive that.

And yes, it does matter that she's more junior and more easily replaced. I say this as someone middle-ranking at work - I'd never dream of telling my boss who she can or can't hire and I certainly wouldn't expect to weigh in on the appointment of roles higher up than mine. Not unless it's something like "this is my violent ex-husband" territory. If she's the kind of person who's going to stir up all sorts of dreary trouble like grievances and going off sick, let her - she'll just be making a tit of herself and demonstrating why you don't need her dragging down the energy in your team.

This doesn't add up though - you said he's the only applicant (which is a bit unusual in itself), then said the next round is a group stage?

You really value your employees don't you?

Yeh maybe she will just leave, I wouldn’t be too bothered as I could easily replace her.

Charming! It's so good of you to think so highly of your current employees and treat them like disposable tissues. 🤬

If she likes her job and the hours suit, then why shouldn't she stay and get money to pay her bills?!

Why should she be forced to find another job?

In fact, as you think so little of her, I really am surprised she's stayed as long as she has. The poor lady obviously has no idea how much contempt you have for her.

People aren't disposable, and good employees deserve better managers than you.

Why did he leave the first time, and recently enough that it still has an effect on one of the employees? You seem to reckon the important man takes presidence over the junior woman because he can talk good bollocks and have no interest to the validity or not of your current colleagues feelings. Is there anyone else in the company who worked closely enough with him you can get their opinion too? He could juts be an arsehole to junior colleagues....

Of course you can't employ him! Why would you do that to her?

Sorry OP you don't sound great.
If you hire this guy it's probable he and your current employee will clash and (as you should know as a manager) she can raise grievances in line with your various policies. She can certainly include the fact that she warned you about his problematic behaviour and you chose to ignore her.

I strongly suggest you get advice from HR and even upskill in terms of management and leadership skills

Why are you discussing a candidate in detail with a member of your team before you've even made him an offer?

How come he's the only candidate and yet the next round is a "group test"?

you're in the Pharma Industry and disclosing this amount of detail on a public internet site rather than seeking company guidance and HR policy with your HR department....

A grievance about a new hire using anecdotal data based on one employee's opinion wouldn't hold water, unless it involved a pre-existing documented case of harassment or previous breach of contract, summary dismissal etc.

as we don't have or need the details of this case, it isn't possible to make your management decision for you OP but I have to agree with the comments up thread that you are not acting in a professional way.

Truth is that she feels threatened by him and she’s probably insecure and not very good at her job.
employ him and manage her out and replace her.

So your employee has told you she is uncomfortable but you're going to ignore that and employ him anyway?

You need more information. What were the issues? Has anyone else had issues with him before? Why is he moving jobs, etc?

What is the woman like, is she a trouble maker or does she normally get on with everyone?

you can’t get a long with everyone but at work you should be able to keep it professional
my concern would be she’d be causing trouble at the first opportunity to get him out

how close would they have to work together?

This happened in our team , boss hired someone we asked her not to. We were proved right. It's been a nightmare. Numerous complaints.

Get second opinions from others who worked with him.

Is your current employee an admin? I'm a PA, you really see the worst sides of people, that they cover up when with those higher up. And those shitty aspects of their character do eventually impact on their work at every level.

Just guessing, but does your company have a reputation for not being a great place to work, even by pharma standards? As the organisational culture sounds a bit harsh. Why did he really leave? Why's he leaving his current job? Why aren't you talking to HR as a matter of course? They might not be my favourite department ever but they are there to protect and advise the company - and you - in these situations. Have you had any recruitment law training or briefings?

@daisychain01 i haven’t discussed with her, she doesn’t know, she shared her views on him a few months back, just in terms of “omg he was awful, so glad he left, would never work with him again” type thing.

The group test is for all hires being recruited around the same time, so not just for this particular role. This candidate will be in a pool with other candidates applying for other roles across the organisation (usually a pool of 5). It’s a team building type activity, and not role specific.

@Copen no she is not a PA but it is a general admin type role, so doesn’t require specific qualifications. Not sure how I can get 2nd opinions without divulging to others that I’m considering hiring him but I will give it a try. Thanks.

@Lambstu but why did he leave in the first place if he was employed there previously??

I think just for more experience that he wouldn’t have got otherwise. He has been at the other place for a couple of years now.

since it’s been a couple of years since they worked together I would think of it as water under the bridge if it were me, but i think she would still view it as a problem, which is my worry.