Domestic Staff are a great help when busy families need some extra help at home to look after their children or keep the household. Many families around the UK will hire nannies,housekeepers, chauffeurs, gardeners, personal assistants and different types of domestic staff to make their life smooth. However, when it comes to hiring new staff, knowing how to train them and showing them how things are done in your home is only the first step.
Although giving them this first training is important, if you have hired staff with years of experience, supporting them to develop their skills will bring multiple benefits to your life,because there is always room for improvement. Showing your staff that you care about their progression will put you in a good position, where they will work hard and consider your opinion and feelings before they make any decision, like finding new employment because most employers look for a long-term commitment and most employees look to stay in a workplace where their feelings and wishes are considered.
It is important to take into consideration that the process of getting new staff for your household does not finish when you have done the interview and signed the contract. You have just started the process, because to make sure that you have hired the correct person and that they will stay for a long time in your employ, checking their knowledge and giving them training is the first step on day one.
The best time to start deciding if your staff member needs any type of training is when you meet them for the first time. Going through their CV with them and the type of experience they have will give you an idea if they need any new training or need to beef up any knowledge they might already have.
Considering the areas that need to be trained in your staff from the very beginning will give you enough time to make a plan that will cover all the areas that need to be taught. Thinking of and creating the plan before your staff start working for you will give your employees and you a head start to learn better and faster, rather than waiting for them to be already working at your household and only thinking then of what training they should get.
It’s important to schedule which tasks you would like your housekeeper or private staff member to perform every day. Making a timetable for them will save you time asking them what they are doing every day; as well as doing this, you can establish how much of their time each day you would like them to spend on each task, for example cleaning the bathroom twice a week, doing the laundry Monday and Fridays, etc.
Once you have decided when you want your staff to start working for your family, the first step that you should take is explaining the schedule and development plan to your staff. Showing them the household, how things are done in the house, where the cleaning products are or how the laundry is done is something that you will show your staff are examples.
Before you start to talk about the details of the job, its a good idea to ask the nanny to introduce themselves and talk about general ideas about the job. This will give you an overall picture as to the kind of person they are and if their ideas and priorities match your own. Questions should be open to allow the candidate to express themselves in their own words.
Before formally starting employment with your new housekeeper, the most important thing and the first step that you must do is to show them around your home. This is necessary because your new staff needs to be sure that they feel comfortable about looking after your house. Showing them every room, where things are located and mentioning how you like things to look will help them to have a good start.
Bear in mind that some people are quicker learners than others, be open with your employees, making them feel that they can ask you any questions about where some products are or what the best day is for them to do the laundry, for example, will make the process learning much easier.
Make a schedule of what they need to do every day; don’t rush trying to explain everything in a few hours. Going through the plan for the day and for a week in the first hour in the morning will give your new staff time to understand what you need them to do. One of the mistakes employers make is to assume that their staff have understood everything, so making sure that the staff member is following in your explanation and letting them know that they can always interrupt you to ask questions will make the learning process much easier.
As we said before, every person is different, and every family is different, which is why you shouldn’t train all your new staff in the same way. Being flexible will be your best friend in the training of your new housekeeper, being open to starting from the beginning if your staff didn’t understand or explaining differently is something the trainer needs to be open to.
If you would like your staff to get some more advanced training, considering paying them to take some professional training might be worthwhile, for example, if you want your housekeeper-cook to be confident in cooking Indian food, investing in them to take some Indian cousin classes will give them the skills that they need to get the level you expect from them. If you want your personal assistant to be an expert in Excel, asking them to take an Excel course will give her the skills she will need to help you better with your tasks as an assistant. Most employees will be more than happy to get professional training to develop their knowledge.
Most employers will think that training their staff the first week will be enough, but this is just the beginning of the process. Making sure in the following weeks that they have understood the household schedule will make a huge difference in the success of the employment for both parties. Checking on them during the day and asking them about what they will do will give you an idea if they have understood the first week of training.
During your daily, check if they are struggling with some tasks, but don’t take them over. The best thing to do in this situation is to ask them politely to stop what they are doing and explain again what they need to do and where the mistake is, stopping in the part of the process that is difficult for them, to make sure that they understood is crucial. After this, ask them to keep doing the task to make sure that they have understood.
Every household is different, so every family will have different ways of how to train their staff. The aforementioned tips are just some general advice we offer families to have a good start with their new staff, but we as a domestic agency, have found these tips useful for successful training.
After reading “You have hired the best domestic staff for your household: Now, how do you train and develop your staff?”, you will probably ask yourself, how can I find the perfect domestic staff for my family and me?
We truly believe that finding domestic staff is an important decision. It is not just because you will have to invest some money, but because you will open the door of one of your most important places to someone outside of the family. You are not only looking for someone who will come to clean, look after your children or help with the cooking for a few hours a day, but you are also looking for someone who will become part of your family, someone that you will trust to be at your home and help you with any problem that can come.
You can search for a nanny 1. By yourself, 2. Friend recommendation or 3. Through an Agency.
It’s here where Little Ones comes into the scenario to help you; we are a nanny and domestic staff agency with over 15 years of experience. Our specialist consultants will do their best to match the perfect domestic staff for you and your family. They will introduce you to domestic staff that will meet the majority of the requirements and qualifications that you need the person to have.
Call us for a free consultation, without compromise. Our consultant will be more than happy to assist you to find an amazing domestic staff. For more information about our services, please feel free to contact our direct line 0207 183 0309.
