International Domestic Consulting

Since the current labor market for private staffing has been highly competitive, it is more important now than ever to focus on finding and retaining the right staff. The process of hiring can be long and costly when done the wrong way, so the significance of taking the right approach from the start is paramount to achieving a successfully run estate.

Today’s Private Service Professionals (PSPs) are an elite force of highly-skilled estate management specialists who are typically highly trained and experienced in their field. They service every aspect of a client’s private life from estate management to lifestyle administration-and everything in-between. They work “behind the scenes” and they see the inner workings of a client’s private sanctum heightening the importance of finding the right candidate “match” the first time.

Many principals try to solve staffing problems by giving employees whatever material compensation, bonuses, and benefits they ask for. But this is too simplistic and often the wrong approach, as it is easy for other employers to outbid and poach your staff down the road by dangling a shinier carrot. While it is true that a higher compensation will attract plenty of candidates, this alone will not retain your staff for the long term.

So what is the “right” way to hire staff?

First remember that every estate is very different so what works for one client in staffing needs will not work for another. Therefore, understanding your needs and expectations will help in the hiring process, but always remember to be truthful with yourself too. For example, expecting a 5-star service when you’re only willing to hire the staff to effectively run a mid-level service is never going to be successful.

Here are some tips on how best to approach hiring:

• Assess your needs; certain factors will help determine the staffing model and candidate match that will work best for your estate.
• Do you have a formal or informal home?
• Is your home seasonal or staffed year-round?
• What level of service is going to be required?
• What is the size of the estate? For Example, the current industry average is 1 housekeeper for every 6,000 sq. ft. This will have an impact on the number of staff required.
• Understand the types of staff available and what they do (speaking to a placement agency will assist you in this area.)
• Retain and work with a placement agency to assess your needs and “match” you with the best candidates.
• Know the current market and offer a salary and benefits that will attract top candidates.
• Healthcare, PTO and retirement benefits are table stakes. Offer a unique and hard-to-match offering in a way that other employers cannot easily replicate i.e.:
• Flexible work schedules
• Growth potential and development of skills
• Wellness stipends
• Transit and travel perks
• Personalized benefits (bikes for avid cyclists, spa bookies, etc.)

If you have finally found your “dream team,” what is the best way to retain them?

Every employee wants to know that they are being set up for success. Therefore, the importance of onboarding is a fundamental part of retaining your staff long-term.

“Onboarding” refers to the process in which new hires are integrated into your estate team. It includes activities that allow new employees to complete the initial new-hire orientation process, as well as learn about the estate/team and its structure, culture, vision, mission, and values.

providing a detailed onboarding for new staff creates the preferred service level and expectations from the start. You should remember these can also be used as “refresher/training” items for current staff members since retention is also about continued investment in your staff.

Here are some tips and guidelines on how to effectively on-board new staff:

• Provide a training schedule prior to engaging your staff with assigned duties.
• If possible, assign a mentor to streamline questions and support them as they become suited in their role.
• Clearly define roles and responsibilities.
• Discuss training and feedback protocol.
• Review state employment guidelines.
• Outline hours of duties and expectations.
• Discuss growth and further training opportunities.
• Get sign-off on document outlining liabilities and code of conduct.
• Tour property with new hire and alert them of security/nanny cameras where applicable.
• Exchange emergency contact protocol.
• Discuss reporting policies for holidays and sick days.
• Encourage an “open door” policy.

Now that you have your staff settled into their new role, how do you keep them from looking elsewhere?

The private service industry is a very unique career field where professionals have to understand the nuances of both the clients and estates they are working for in minute detail, remembering it is your home but their ‘office’.

Below are some helpful tips on suggestive actions to make staff want to stay:

• Creating a great working environment.
  Remember that this is a client’s private sanctum but also your staff’s office. Creating and observing these boundaries is very important for retaining staff. Therefore, create a staff room where your staff can eat their lunch or take a break privately.
• Provide them with updated equipment and systems.
  In today’s world there are some great new digital household management systems. Using a digital system for household management provides the ability to share information with family and staff in real time. It can also help reduce the stress of tasks to be completed and saves time across the teams. IDC can recommend services that might be a good fit for your purposes.
• Foster a strong support system.
  For most employees, knowing that they have someone to confide in allows them to feel integrated into the team. So, ensuring that their up-line has an open-door policy is vital.
• Schedule regular check-ins and reviews.
  Staffing reviews are a wonderful way to help retain staff. Having a manager who understands the review process, the employee’s role, the salary expectation, and potential growth of an employee can be a key factor in the retention of any employee. A review can be an opportunity to acknowledge hard work, share thoughts on ways to streamline a process, share any misconceptions or issues in a controlled, mutually respectful allocated time where both parties can share thoughts, challenges, and how to move forward productively.
• Provide job satisfaction & recognition.
  Often for an employee, this equates to appreciation for their contributions. Recognizing them on certain days and at certain events or milestones can have a powerful impact on your employee’s motivation:
• Promotion – leveling up your current staff is a great way to retain staff and to show them and others that you value and appreciate them and their long-term goals.
• Completion of an event where your employees went above and beyond.
• Their birthday.
• Seasonal Holidays.
• Wedding or a welcoming a new addition to the family.

Today people want to be acknowledged, they want to he heard, they want to beappreciated.

The IDC team and affiliates are well-versed and in touch with the current employment market, and the challenges of finding skilled private service professionals who want to work, post COVID. Peter O’Donovan, founder of International Domestic Consulting, has worked in the industry for close to thirty years, and understands the nuts and bolts of the industry from an insider perspective–something that few agencies can attest to.

Peter understands how to screen and train his staff and affiliates on how to listen to clients’ needs and to provide a personalized job description for each client based on their request. His prior knowledge working as a household management professional helps IDC in successfully guiding clients in recruiting and retaining the “perfect match.”