Photo by Photo by KATRIN BOLOVTSOVA
A high-income household can be a busy place, with urgent meetings, legal matters and, of course, family events to juggle and prioritise, and sometimes it is easiest to hand over the everyday tasks of cooking, cleaning and household management to an appropriate employee so you can focus on the other stuff. Here are seven tips to help you craft a seamless experience with well-trained and unobtrusive household staff.
Hire Wisely
Employers of all types sometimes rush into a quick hire of the first vaguely suitable person, only to spend the next weeks regretting the hire and being torn between hoping that the candidate will improve with training or making the decision to cut them loose and start the whole hiring process over again. It is infinitely better to take a little time with the hiring process and choose the right people from the off, even if it means living inconveniently for a little while.
Onboard Thoroughly
Once you’ve hired your ideal candidate – someone with experience, the right qualifications and certificates, whose personality perfectly meshes with your own – you still have a lot of work to do. It is not a matter of signing the contract and handing over the keys and access codes to your home: you must take the time to show the employee around the home. Introduce them to every member of the family, and fill them in on things like allergies, personal foibles and preferences, and make sure they know what they are expected to do, what they are not allowed to do, and what they have a choice in doing or not.
Loyalty Pays
Learning about the families of your staff, understanding them as individuals and maintaining respect is how you create a true partnership and get the most from your staff. Giving them a break when they need it will help them bond with your family so they remain loyal to you in turn. In short, treat people well and they will reciprocate!
Photo by Filip Mroz on Unsplash
Money Pays More
However, it doesn’t matter how nice you are if you are not paying your employees a fair wage. Better pay partnered with a respectful and structured working environment always creates the best possible service. Threats to withhold pay or pay late, implying that their salary is at your discretion, paid as a favour to them – all these are not only distasteful, they are illegal to action. Pay a fair wage for the job done and you will reap the benefits of contented employees.
Be Flexible
If you need someone to be in the house for eighteen hours a day, cleaning, tidying and cooking, consider a job share between two or three people. Very few workers can work long hours over a long duration, and once again, legality raises its head. Do not schedule your workers for more than eight-hour shifts (and preferably opt for six hours instead), so that each employee has time to look after their own needs and those of their families, as well as doing their best for you.
Don’t Micromanage
Once you have trained your employees and made clear what their duties are, step back a little. Allow the service personnel to use their initiative and work hard for you without hovering over them to make sure they’re doing everything correctly. The whole point of hiring staff is to let them take the strain of housework – let them do it, and only speak up if standards slip egregiously over a long period of time. Knowing that they are trusted to do the work is immensely flattering to good workers – and it will make them work even harder.
Use An Agency
If all of this sounds impossibly difficult – or even if you are unaccustomed to managing people – get your household staff from an agency instead. Click to check out private household recruitment here. Agencies are practised in meeting people’s needs and will soon have your house peopled with almost invisible staff members who will take care of all your needs so subtly that you will barely know they’re there, except for the fact of everything being done to perfection!
