Hiring a housekeeper can be a challenging and life-changing initiative. This so because of a myriad of issues that come with this undertaking.
With the recent cases of children being mistreated by housekeepers, there is a need for parents to do a thorough background check before undertaking this process.
Below are some tips on must-ask questions that any parent should consider and think through before hiring a housekeeper.
But since potential candidates are likely to lie during the questioning session, the best thing for parents is to trust their instincts on whether the answer is correct or not.
Also, remember this; do not hire out of desperation as you are unlikely to take time in conducting background checks.
Hiring a housekeeper; Tips and guidelines
1. What was the reason for leaving your last job?
Well before hiring a housekeeper, this is the first question that should be on your mind.
Here it is important to obtain as many details on the day to day activities they were involved in at their employer’s house.
Watch out for blame games to any family member of the last employer as this will give you the warning signs.
2. Where is your parents’ or guardians’ home?
Knowing where the parents or guardians reside before hiring a housekeeper is another crucial and important aspect you should consider.
At this point declare an interest in visiting the parents or guardians and carefully note the reaction of the house help.
In addition, don’t mind throwing in something like, “I have a friend who comes from the same area, she could be knowing your home” this can send signals that there is no chance to lie.
3. How can we contact your relatives in case you fall ill?
After you enquire about the above two tips, the next tip to consider before hiring a housekeeper is to actually know how to contact the relatives in case of illness.
Obtain the contacts of the relatives, not minding if the contacts are set up friends who have been put on standby.
Check the authenticity of the contacts provided at a time when the house help is unaware.
4. Any contacts of people you have worked for previously?
This is another area that house helps can easily set up by giving the numbers of friends. Confirm their authenticity.
Do not leave anything to chance as this information could be very vital as you make your final decision.
5. Do you have any health complications and have you been treated for any illness in the last year?
This is just to have an idea of the health status of the housekeeper and avoid cases of faked sick offs in the future.
Point to note is that there is a need to clarify that being sickly does not call for discrimination during hiring.
6. What will you do to discipline a child?
As you think about hiring a housekeeper, always remember that if you have a child, he or she comes first before any other chore.
Be keen to note any signs of a violent person through the words they use when answering this question.
The correct answer would be “You cannot discipline a baby, you can only find out what is making them uncomfortable and sort that”
7. What duties can or can you not perform?
Watch out for a complaint at this point and also the ‘holy’ kind who pretend to be okay with all kind of duties regardless.
If you have a defined set of duties to be performed and the aspiring housekeeper can not perform a majority of them, just keep off them.
This is also a very important tip that you should put an emphasis on before hiring a housekeeper.
8. What would you do if I have an emergency on your day off?
This will clear the air on what to expect when it is the house help’s day off.
Kindly Deliberate on what must be done before going off and the timings.
9. What is your salary expectation?
Before hiring a housekeeper, Consider the salary issue. Look at the stipulated pay as anchored in the law.
This because you could land in trouble if you underpay your housekeeper.
Furthermore, listen carefully to see if there is any hint of a preferred raise after a certain time.
This can give you a hint on the likelihood of the house help working for you for long.
10. What plans do you have for the future?
This will again give hints of a keeper kind of a house help along with giving you an idea of what kind of a person you are dealing with.
Furthermore, this will give you an idea of the plans they have for their future life hence the pressure to achieve them assures you of a hard worker.
Asking this question before hiring a housekeeper boosts her confidence and may actually keep the housekeeper longer in your home.
11. Monitor and evaluate
Got the right candidate? congratulations! During the first few weeks, monitor your house help.
If you use a nanny camera, be open about it. Say, “This is not about not trusting you, but is a way to see how our child is doing and for us to make sure our home is safe while we are away.”
In Conclusion
Thank you for reading up to this point. I appreciate your time and hope that you got all the information you needed.
Always remember that hiring a housekeeper, nanny or house help is a life-changing initiative that you should undertake.
This is because your home as a whole is an important entity to you.
I welcome your comments and also request you to share this article with your friends and family.
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