Before your hire a domestic helper, there are a number of important considerations that you should make. All confinement nannies should have valid work permits. They should also be suitably experienced for handling the challenges of the specific job you have to offer. You may have children that need to be tended to while you’re away at work or you may have an overwhelming amount of household chores. You want to find someone who is skilled in all the areas that are important to you. Following are six important questions to ask before finalizing your hiring decision.
1. Are you ready for the responsibility of hiring a domestic helper?
There’s a bit more to hiring a domestic helper than simply covering the costs of these services. This is especially true if you’re seeking live-in help and have never acted as an employer before. Every new employer must complete a course that details the rights and responsibilities of each party. This is called the Employer’s Orientation Programme. You can attend this class in-person or you can spend approximately three hours completing the mandatory learning online. The Ministry of Manpower has very specific rules concerning how a domestic helper’s schedule must be structured including requirements for days off, holidays, holiday pay and over-time pay. All of these things will be included in your instruction so that you can establish feasible expectations for your confinement nanny and clear goals in terms of what you hope to get out of these services.
2. Do you want to use an agency to find a domestic helper?
There are two primary ways in which a domestic helper can be found and hired. Many professionals are listing their services via the Ministry of Manpower. You simply need to log onto the Ministry of Manpower and take stock of the available listings. This process, however, can be somewhat confusing and it will also limit the number of provider options that you have access to. One major benefit of using the Ministry of Manpower to source your maid is knowing that each of the listed professionals is already in possession of the necessary work permit and any other niche-specific, documentation requirements.
Alternatively, you can work with an agency to assist you in the hiring process. This is generally the more preferable of the two options given that it will provide you with access to an expansive selection of candidates who are both seasoned and duly trained for performing the very duties that you need help with. Moreover, you won’t have to navigate this complex process all on your own. Any domestic helper that an agency refers is also guaranteed to have a work permit. More importantly, agencies are committed to pairing individuals and families with the best confinement nannies for their own unique needs. In some cases, you may alternatively find that expats are posting referrals of domestic helpers that they have worked with in the past, in order to assist their former nannies in finding jobs. While this can certainly be helpful to all parties, using expat referrals to find your next domestic helper does not provide the same assurances that either the Ministry of Manpower or licensed domestic agencies supply. This is why both agencies and the Ministry of Manpower are the very best ways to ensure that both the hiring process and your hiring decisions are entirely legal. Any fees that you pay to an agency in order to locate a confinement nanny are virtually guaranteed to pay for themselves given the wealth of costly problems they can prevent.
3. Do you have clearly defined job duties?
If you want your domestic helper to provide consistently impressive results, you have to have clear and consistent expectations for this professional. For instance, you might want your children to maintain a very specific schedule or you may find that housework is your top priority. Be ready to let your helper know which tasks are of the utmost importance and which can be delayed when necessary. New moms certainly don’t want their nannies neglecting their children in order to wash the dishes and do the laundry. Families with older children, however, may find that domestic work is their foremost concern, particularly if they have lively and bustling households.
4. Is one domestic helper really enough?
Surprisingly, many households are finding that they actually need two domestic helpers in order to get everything done in an acceptable and timely fashion. It is important to avoid burdening a single nanny with an excessive workload. If there is a massive amount of housework to do and several children to tend to, consider the benefits of having a nanny come in while you are at work while hiring a second person to handle regular cleaning just two to three times per week. Working with an agency is a great way to find an affordable combination of services that is perfectly-suited to the nature and needs of your household. Best of all, many agencies give their clients considerable discounts on the related recruitment services when more than one domestic helper must be hired.
5. What characteristics are most important to you?
When working with an agency, be ready to list the characteristics that you find most important in domestic helper. This is one of the greatest benefits of using an agency to find your nanny, as opposed to searching on your own. Agencies can pair you up with prospective providers based upon the desired characteristics that you’ve listed. You want have the ability to shop for nannies with specific personality types if using online resources from the Ministry of Manpower.
6. Are your children ready for this new addition to your household?
In many households, hiring a domestic helper is not a luxury or a matter of choice. Instead, it is an absolute necessity. This is often the case when there are two, full-time professionals in the home. In order to ensure that this transition is smooth, comfortable and easy for everyone, talk to your children about your decision to get a confinement nanny. You want your children to be respectful of anyone that you hire. This is key for keeping your kids safe and for getting maximum value from these services. When kids are mindful of their nannies and can bond with them, life is a lot easier for everyone involved.
