Favouritism in the workplace can quietly erode the foundations of a healthy organisational culture. When employees perceive that certain colleagues receive better treatment, opportunities, or rewards without clear justification, it breeds resentment, disengagement, and distrust. Left unaddressed, it damages team morale, drives high performers away, and can even result in formal grievances or legal claims based on discrimination or unfair treatment.
The key challenge is to distinguish genuine, merit-based recognition from bias, whether conscious or unconscious. Celebrating achievement is important, but if processes are not transparent and consistent, even fair decisions can appear partial. When employees don’t understand why one person was promoted, recognised, or given more flexibility, it leads to speculation and cynicism.
At Kingfisher Professional Services, we help employers draw that line clearly. Through policy development, leadership training, and tailored advisory support, we ensure organisations are equipped to foster fairness, consistency, and trust.
Understanding Favouritism
What Constitutes Favouritism
Favouritism occurs when certain employees receive undue advantage, preference, or leniency that is not tied to performance or merit. Unlike formal reward systems based on measurable contributions, favouritism often stems from personal relationships, subjective impressions, or convenience.
Examples can include favouring a friend with a promotion despite another candidate being more qualified, offering informal perks such as extended deadlines or flexibility to some but not others, or consistently involving the same individuals in high-visibility projects while excluding others. Sometimes, it is as subtle as a manager offering more praise or trust to someone they socialise with outside work.
While not always malicious, these patterns lead others to feel undervalued and demotivated. Even when favouritism is perceived rather than intentional, it has real consequences for team cohesion and trust in leadership.
Why It Matters
The impact of favouritism is often underestimated. It fractures team dynamics, lowers morale, and creates an uneven playing field where employees feel success is about who you know, not what you do. When people stop believing that effort and achievement lead to advancement, they either disengage or leave.
Favouritism also presents a reputational risk. Inconsistent treatment can result in formal grievances and escalate to discrimination claims, particularly if the preferential treatment aligns with protected characteristics such as gender, race, or age. The organisation may also lose credibility as an employer of choice.
Fostering fairness is not just a cultural goal; it is a legal and operational imperative.
Prevention Through Policy & Culture
Transparent Recognition & Decision-Making
The best way to prevent favouritism is to ensure all forms of recognition, reward, and advancement are based on transparent, objective criteria. Everyone in the organisation should understand what is expected of them and how success is measured.
For example, if a promotion is awarded, managers should be able to clearly explain why the chosen individual met the criteria and how other candidates can progress in the future. Regular performance reviews, clear goal-setting, and consistent use of metrics help ensure fairness. It is also important to rotate opportunities for visibility and development, such as client-facing projects, acting roles, or secondments – so that all team members have a chance to shine.
Involving multiple perspectives in decisions, such as using panel interviews or review committees, reduces the likelihood of bias. Equally, leaders should be encouraged to document the rationale for decisions involving recognition, bonuses, or development opportunities.
Formal Policies & Conflict-of-Interest Controls
Policies provide the guardrails for fairness. Anti-nepotism policies, for example, help prevent situations where relatives are involved in one another’s hiring or line management. Similarly, conflict-of-interest policies require employees to declare any personal relationships that could compromise objectivity.
Organisations should make it easy to report such conflicts confidentially and without stigma. In cases where a relationship exists between colleagues, it does not mean either party is at fault, but it does mean appropriate safeguards should be put in place, such as excluding one individual from any decisions that affect the other’s role, pay, or progression.
Gift and hospitality policies also have a role to play, particularly in client-facing roles or leadership positions. Clear thresholds and approval processes help prevent any perception that favours or benefits are influencing professional judgement.
Spotting and Responding to Favouritism
Recognising Early Signs
Often, favouritism surfaces through a pattern of behaviours rather than a single event. Employees may start to notice that certain colleagues are consistently selected for desirable tasks, praised more frequently, or granted greater leeway with rules or deadlines. Others may begin to feel sidelined, ignored, or held to different standards.
These signs should not be dismissed as mere office politics. Inconsistent feedback, unexplained changes in responsibilities, or the absence of clear performance discussions can all suggest deeper problems. While some degree of interpersonal variation is inevitable, sustained discrepancies must be addressed.
HR teams and leaders should actively monitor for indicators of favouritism during reviews, team check-ins, and exit interviews. Anonymous surveys can also help identify underlying sentiment and flag issues before they develop into formal complaints.
Safe Reporting & Informal Resolution
Creating a culture where employees feel comfortable speaking up is crucial. This requires trust, clarity, and discretion.
Employees should have access to multiple routes to raise concerns, whether through their line manager, HR, or a named employee representative. Informal conversations are often the best place to start, particularly if the issue stems from miscommunication or lack of clarity.
Organisations should encourage informal resolution where possible, with support for those facilitating these conversations. Managers and HR teams must be trained to listen without judgement, explore concerns fairly, and escalate only when needed.
Anonymous reporting mechanisms, such as suggestion boxes or digital platforms, can offer an additional layer of safety for employees who are not ready to speak openly but want to raise a red flag.
Investigation & Grievance Handling Framework
When informal steps are not enough, a structured and transparent grievance process ensures concerns are treated seriously and fairly. A strong process aligned with ACAS best practice includes:
- Prompt logging of the issue, including clear timelines and acknowledgement of the concern.
- Impartial investigation, with a focus on gathering evidence from multiple sources, not just the individuals directly involved.
- Structured decision-making based on documented facts and policy alignment.
- Clear outcome communication and, where appropriate, follow-up to ensure the resolution is embedded.
Organisations should avoid delaying responses, as inaction can damage trust and encourage escalation. Even when complaints are not upheld, employees should understand the process, findings, and rationale for the outcome. The aim is not to assign blame, but to restore trust and improve future practice.
Manager Training & Coaching
Managers are often the first line of defence against favouritism, but without support, they may not recognise how their behaviour is perceived. That’s why dedicated training is essential.
Training should focus on developing self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and the ability to evaluate performance objectively. Managers should be equipped to explain their decisions, balance competing demands, and communicate expectations clearly.
Scenario-based learning is particularly valuable, helping leaders navigate ambiguous or sensitive situations, such as managing personal relationships, addressing team complaints, or recognising unconscious bias.
Kingfisher also offers tailored coaching for managers dealing with live challenges. Whether a team has raised concerns or a leader simply wants to improve their fairness and inclusion skills, one-to-one support provides space to reflect, learn, and grow.
Practical Tools & Templates
Fairness must be supported by systems – not just good intentions. Kingfisher provides a suite of tools to help embed transparency and accountability across your organisation.
Our templates include:
- Structured promotion criteria and scoring tools
- Conflict-of-interest disclosure and approval forms
- Reporting and grievance tracking logs
- Manager scripts for handling concerns and feedback sessions
- Survey templates to assess perceptions of fairness and inclusion
These resources help ensure your team can implement best practices consistently – building a culture of trust over time.
How Kingfisher Can Help
Kingfisher Professional Services works closely with organisations to prevent, identify, and address favouritism in all its forms. Our consultants bring deep expertise in employee relations, workplace investigations, and leadership development.
We support our clients with:
- Bespoke anti-favouritism and anti-nepotism policies tailored to your industry
- Bias awareness training for leaders, managers, and HR teams
- Structured support for grievances and conflict resolution
- Toolkits and frameworks to improve fairness in recognition and reward
Whether you’re reviewing your promotion process, navigating a sensitive team issue, or responding to concerns already raised, we’re here to guide you with clarity and confidence.
Conclusion
Favouritism is more than just a management misstep; it’s a barrier to trust, equity, and engagement. In a truly fair workplace, success is driven by contribution, not connection. Addressing favouritism head-on signals a commitment to values, empowers your people, and strengthens your organisational reputation.
By combining transparent systems with skilled leadership and expert support, you can foster a culture where every employee feels seen, valued, and treated with fairness. Kingfisher Professional Services is here to help you make that happen.