Nepotism could stop candidates from getting the job

Almost two-thirds of UK workers have experienced nepotism in the workplace, with 27.9% witnessing underqualified candidates being hired for jobs because they were favoured.

This is according to a new study from UK job site, CV-Library, which suggests that nepotism could be preventing UK businesses from hiring the best talent.

Its survey of over 2,300 UK workers aimed to uncover how prevalent nepotism is in the UK workforce, and whether it affects recruitment decisions. The research found that 61.3% of employees have had first-hand experience of nepotism in the workplace. In order to uncover the root of this, respondents shared their most common experiences: 37.4% had seen favoured colleagues receive preferential treatment; 27.9% had witnessed a candidate get a job they were not qualified for; and 22.4% knew colleagues that could get away with things that others would be disciplined for. Meanwhile, 5.3% reported they had personally been offered a job through favouritism, and 2.2% had themselves offered someone a job through favouritism.

Lee Biggins, Founder and MD of CV-Library, said: “The fact that nepotism is trickling through the UK’s workplaces and into the recruitment process is worrying. There are vast amounts of talented candidates out there and it’s sad to think that they may miss out on a job opportunity because of unfair favouritism – it can be frustrating for both candidates and recruiters.”

Regarding a solution, some have suggested that interviews could be stopped altogether, a trend that is currently taking off in India where job interviews have been eschewed in favour of assessment tests. When asked about the possibility of banning job interviews in the UK, 43% of employees believed it would be a good solution. When asked why, over half (50.4%) felt that assessment tests are more effective than interviews at revealing a candidate’s qualifications.

Biggins commented with the following suggestion: “Recruiters can also recommend adjustments to the internal hiring process to introduce multi-stage interview processes. By encouraging clients to reduce the more emotional aspects of recruitment by complementing standard Q+A sessions with skills tests and second stage interviews, recruiters can subtly help employers to focus on a candidate’s capabilities and ability to do the job well.”