1 What are the potential dangers of recruiting friends and acquaintances of current employees?

Xansu Xansu, a UK‑based outsourcing and technology business, rewards employees for introductions that result in permanent appointments. Payments reflect the seniority of recruits and range from £100 for clerical staff to £7,000 for directors. According to the HR director of the company, in the UK employee referrals bring in 20 per cent of recruits, but in India it is close to 75 per cent. As to the advantages of this type of recruitment, the person referred is more likely to share the cultural attributes of the company, but equally there are reservations that it could be restrictive to the flow of new ideas into the organisation and exacerbate workplace biases because existing staff are likely to recommend people in their own image. But if the organisation is already socially diverse and staffed by open-
minded people, this may be less of a problem. Another reservation relates to the ability of the average employee to judge who is the right employee for a particular organisation. For example, friendships could influence employees’ views of their friends’ capabilities.