I have worked as a fabricator at a small company. I am on good terms with the plant manager and the company president/owner/founder. About a month ago, when we were looking to hire, I suggested to my manager that he interview my sister. I've learned that in his own words, he didn't give her much of an interview at all, but just hired her on the assumption she'll be "as good as her brother". (She probably will be, but this shows the level of faith the management places in me.)
My sister starts tomorrow as a fabricator (and I am to train her). I learned today that after many poor fits, the company is again looking to fill a shipping/receiving position. My fiancée is still on COVID-19 furlough from her employer, and she is looking for a new job. She is interested in the shipping/receiving position, and I genuinely believe she could be a good fit.
The dilemma: How should my fiancée go about looking into the open position in my company? I could tell my plant manager that my fiancée might be a good fit for the position and suggest he interview her, as I did with my sister (a very short time ago), but somehow this feels "greedy". To be clear, he doesn't view the hiring of my sister as a favor to me, and he expects she'll turn out to be a good choice for the company. But my sister will have just started tomorrow, and to already be recommending more people from my "inner circle" feels strange. I can't quite articulate what feels wrong about this.
An option besides a direct suggestion/referral would be for her to apply to the position normally, and this would be anonymous because they do not know her full name. On the surface this seems to avoid any biases or subtle workplace politics, as my manager could make an objective choice whether to hire her, but then when should we reveal our connection to him? It feels deceptive to me, and I don't know when the appropriate time to enlighten him would be - directly after the interview, when he has time to form impressions, but not made a final decision? After she receives an offer of employment (if it happens)?
If I had not just referred my sister, I would have no hesitation in suggesting my fiancée be considered. But I'm sure you can see how I feel this situation deserves some careful forethought. I don't want to appear "greedy", or like I make such suggestions lightly. I think I am just fortunate enough to have very intelligent and adaptable people in my life, and there is an open job and someone looking for a job. But I'm not sure how it could be received, and if it's somehow inappropriate. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Edit with further information:
My sister is not, and my fiancée would not be, my subordinate. Indeed, on paper I have the same job title as my sister and we make within 50 cents the same hourly wage. I was assigned to train her because my company has no protocol for training new hires, and my past experience tutoring college and highschool courses puts me in a position where I am effective at helping people learn. As a fabricator, my sister is my peer on paper. In shipping/receiving, my fiancée would rarely be in a position to interact with me, and we would simply be in different departments, not in the same hierarchy.
This company has about 50 workers in the shop, and perhaps two dozen project managers/planners in desk roles. I am not sure if the concern of concentrating my family's livelihood in this company is entirely relevant, because my fiancée and I will be moving out of the area 6 months from now (my sister plans to remain at this job for a few years). In the two years I've been working for this company it has been financially healthy, and despite the recent Covid-19 economic setbacks, it is still achieving a slight profit on the year.
I am not aware of any company policies that are relevant to this situation. It seems family ties are not avoided. I can recall three members from one family have been employed at different times, a father-son pair is employed, a employee's son was employed as summer help, and indeed the current plant manager's older brother works as a senior craftsman (and has been employed longer than the plant manager), in what is probably technically a hierarchal relationship. So this company does not shy away from familial ties, and rather focuses on welcoming people if they can add value to the company.
However, I am wary of the social repurcussions. Could my fellows get the impression that I am trying to use the company for my family's benefit, and resent me? Could they be inclined to treat my fianceé as if she doesn't belong in the position? There is no overt bias against women working in the shop, but they are vastly outnumbered by the men and this is in a conservative town. I understand some aspects of the scenario I present are a bit subjective, but any more wisdom or insight into this situation would be helpful.
Addendum
The thought occured to me that in recommending my sister, I have provided a service to the company, as she plans to stay. However, if my fianceé was hired and we move away in six months as planned, it could be a disservice to the company. (I have not yet informed the company of my intentions to leave in December.) If they were to hire my fianceé for the shipping/receiving position, whether at my referral or anonymously, it might cause them to miss out if another candidate comes along, and put them "back to square one" when we move. Perhaps announcing my six months' notice and offering my fianceé's services, should be packaged together? The company would have full awareness that her help would be temporary, and they make their decision with full knowledge of the situation? I would give up the issue here, except her employer has still not called her back to work since March and I can see the lack of a job is taking a toll on her emotional health (not a good reason to suggest she be considered for a position - her skills are the reason - but a good reason for me to continue to consider every angle for a possible solution).