Welcome to the expat life!

I'm going on my second international relocation as a wife. We moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil, about 3 years ago and now we're moving to Mexico City, Mexico.
As I know very well relocating is not easy but it is a choice. So, even with all the issues we have I'll try to make the best out of it!

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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Hiring and Training the Housekeeper

This is a delicate subject. If you had a housekeeper before you know what I am talking about. It is not an easy task because you're dealing with a person, who has feelings, needs, duties and rights. And each experience is different. What works for my family may not necessarily work for yours. We all have different needs and schedules. But I want to share some guidelines:

  1. Only hire a housekeeper who has been recommended by someone you know;
  2. Check with the previous employees her references;
  3. Ask how long she worked for this family and for the previous one. The longer she worked for a family the more trustworthy she can be. And remember, she will be caring for your family;
  4. Ask what her salary expectations are; 
  5. Ask the previous employer what her salary was and ask your neighbors how much they pay theirs;
  6. Decide if you need a live-in maid or not;
  7. Be upfront with how many days you expect her to work. Some will work from Monday until Saturday at noon and some will work until Saturday at 5;
  8. Talk about the vacation. If you have pets, she may not take a full vacation when you're on your home-leave. You also don't want to get them in the habit of not working when you're not home;
  9. Tell her exactly what you expect her to do as part of her routine. Take care of the house, take car of the kids and/or take care of the pets. And trust me, if you have her taking care of the kids don't ask her to also do house chores at the same time. She will end up not caring for the kids;
  10.  Their job is to clean the house, cook all the meals; do the laundry, iron the clothes, make all the beds;
  11. Make sure she treats everyone with respect. Treat her with respect too;
  12. Watch closely how she interacts with your kids and how your kids react to her;
  13. It is ok to tell the housekeeper that she is not supposed to drink all your soda, your expensive cheese or other things you like. But make sure you buy food she likes to eat. I usually take mine to the grocery store with me and she picks what she likes and I pay for it;
  14. Using a uniform is a good idea. You buy them 4 when they are hired. 2 for regular use and 2 for cleaning;
  15. It is a good idea to buy a recipe book in their language and mark the recipes you would like to try. But make sure they know how to read. Some don't, believe me;
  16. Buy the cleaning supplies you use and make sure she knows how to use them correctly;
  17. Spend the first week overlooking what they do and guiding them to do things your way. If you don't take this time in the beginning of this relationship you may regret it later. Once they create habits you will have a hard time changing them;
  18. Tell the housekeeper that you're there to answer all her questions. And that it is better to ask a question than to have something go wrong;
  19. Depending on the size of your house, the size of your family and the age of your children, you will need 2 housekeepers.
  20. If you hire 2 housekeepers make sure you define their roles. Don't leave it up to them to decide it. It may create issues in the future.
  21. If you hire a driver keep him away from the housekeepers. Their closeness can also create issues;
  22. Don't be surprised if your mexican housekeepers decides that she doen't want to work for you anymore and instead of telling you, so you can work things out, she disappears. I've heard it happens often;
  23. They are not required to work in most holidays. Check with people from the country you moved to what these holidays are;
  24. Keep all you valuables in a safe;
  25. They are women so they also PMS. Treat them kindly;
This list can go on and on. We could go into more detail,  but I probably would have to write a book about it. So now, good luck finding, hiring, training and keeping your housekeeper. 

I also have great tips on how to train the driver. And the nannie.


2 comments:

Housekeeper Agencies said...

Hi all...

Informative points! This is a complete program designed to promote great housekeeping. It contains very informative matter. I would like to come here again. This type of posting should go on.

Cecilia said...

Well, this is not a program. These are just points that I came up with from my experience with housekeepers. I'm glad you find them helpful.
Regards,
C.