Maid Hiring : Prospectives and Core Aspects

IDEAS ON EVERYDAY MAINTENANCE FOR LIVING-IN MAIDS

It’s perhaps a sensible thought for a living-in maid in Singapore to pick up techniques and skills that may eventually help to transform themselves in becoming a more efficient, reliable and confident domestic helper. Good techniques isn’t just mastering a new recipe, and cooking. Certain good habits are also advisable and quite beneficial to house-maids. Although exploring techniques and trying to be faster is a good habit, sometimes it may end up in being too hasty. Likewise in the kitchen, there is something just more than washing hands, it’s also about scheduling a proper routine, practicing good kitchen habits like keeping the kitchen area clean and neat, organizing the area as much as possible, washing the kitchen utensils first before cooking, sanitizing the kitchen countertop before laying the ingredients, clearing away clutter once the work is finished, take necessary precautions and seeing that the food doesn’t get contaminated and so on. Same way, soaking the dishes for a long time leads to bacterial growth, so the kitchen utensils must be washed thoroughly and air dried after the cooking is over. A maid with outstanding hygiene standards and who can attend to almost all areas of the household is always preferred, hence a maid has to try and keep the facilities clean and in orderly condition, create daily task lists, maintain all the household equipment in good condition, Inform grocery shortages, accidental property damages, security issues and more than all comply with health and safety regulation and act in accordance to them. A maid has to practice and acquire the ability to work independently and always remain motivated, it is also a good routine to prioritise tasks and practice good time management skills. Being professional in the allotted duties, along with paying attention to details is one of the important skills that a maid has to practice. Lastly, knowledge of multiple languages will always get the maid a better edge; likewise, any basic education sufficient enough to enable the maid to read and write is always going to be a plus point compared to an uneducated helper.

A SUGGESTIVE AWARENESS ON HIRING A DOMESTIC HELP

Why do the current day families need a household need a domestic helper? Can’t things be managed without a maid? What is the process of hiring a domestic worker? Sometimes these questions arise and the answers that are given in general may not be quite satisfactory as well. However in present day’s hectic schedule especially in case of working couples, it is more a necessity than a luxury to hire a house maid. Whether it may be taking care of children, elderly, physically challenged, or simply handling all the normal household chores, a house maid can always be a helping hand. While speaking of what kind of maid one should hire, it is obviously going to be according to your requirements, necessities and the nature of jobs that you expect the maid to carry out. Clearly knowing your expectations and deciding meticulously can ease the search process especially when you have to consider over a number of domestic helper profiles. Nevertheless, since the hiring of a maid is quite a time consuming process involving a lot of background checks and documentation, a reasonable and logical option would be to entrust the job of finding out a suitable maid, her hiring, documentation etc., to a reputed and trustworthy maid agency because, before you get started with the hiring process, a maid agency can help you to assess better and select a suitable helper without much of hassle. A proper communication and regular interaction with the agency will also enable them a better understanding into your hiring criteria and facilitate them to match you with suitable candidate. While on the lookout to hire someone to take care of your entire household, the assistance of a reputable and trust-worthy agency is the key to ending up with a maid of your choice.

FACTS OF SIGNIFICANCE WHILE APPROACHING A MAID AGENCY.

Despite the fact that maid agencies are of a great help in assisting the employers choose a suitable maid of their choice, sometimes failing to select or entrust the hiring job to a wrong agency will put you in more trouble and create more headaches. So, what are the key aspects that one should consider while entrusting the job to an agency? Certain factors that are of great importance while selecting a maid agency can be discussed as follows. Reputation and legality of the Maid agency: this aspect is of importance because, reputed agencies are the ones who abide by the legal regulations that are to be followed, and do not charge you with unnecessary hidden costs that are previously not revealed. Recommendations from those who have already approached and have been successful in hiring a maid and online reviews about the agency may also serve as a helpful guide. Also it has to be made sure that the agency is registered and approved by the MOM. Credentials of the prospective maid: Whether the agency has genuinely carried out a background check, and if so has the report come out positively. A thorough check of her previous employment history and employers also helps in ascertaining her passion towards the job. Personality: Has the maid agency marked out the strengths, weaknesses and the likes to see if she will be a good match to take care of your house hold? The same way a lookout for traits such as patience and tardiness that may be light indications of her work performance in the future. Language and Culture: a proper knowledge about the mother tongue and the language proficiency of the maid is of utmost importance because it is the only way to communicate and exchange views.

A check whether the maid can speak English or your mother tongue can help to reduce the risks of miscommunications. Also, check about the prospective helper’s cultural background also makes a sensible aspect, in gauging her social and ethnic likes and dislikes as well. However a reputed maid agency will always strive to help you to connect with suitable helpers, and is more bent upon catering your maid needs. While the maid agency keeps its focus on providing dedicated service for their clients, a precise mention of your household preferences helps to ensure that the expectations of both you and your helper can be met and satisfied, saving the precious time and effort of both you and the agency.

GETTING ALONG WITH YOUR DOMESTIC HELPER

One of the most challenging aspects after you hire a housemaid is the proper management of the domestic helper. There are a lot of things to consider before and after hiring a maid and letting her live with you and your family. It is certainly a point of concern because during the entire tenure of her employment, she will reside in your home. Since the first few months will be a decisive change and transition period we cannot expect an outstanding performance unless she is a very experienced, capable and a flexible natured maid. Hence setting practical performance expectancy and making her understand and adjust to the household rules and regulations will clearly benefit both the maid and the employer. It would definitely be a worthy idea to familiarise and train your maid to help alleviate her homesickness and sense of isolation, allowing her to communicate with her family back home periodically will certainly help ease out her loneliness and adjust to the new environment. Since house maids come from a different lifestyle, cultural and even religious background, it would be very sensible if you are thoughtful enough with your helper’s disturbing problem. Integrating her into the family and accepting her as a part of the family will help to remove her fears and anxieties too. Making an earnest effort to understand her culture, lifestyle, background and upbringing will certainly help her to blend with your family and carry out the duties well. Usually domestic workers are not accustomed to staying in a fast paced city as they usually come from smaller provinces or villages. Therefore they would need some time to become familiar with the daily household routine, this may also include difficulty in using appliances like vacuum cleaner, microwave ovens, washing machines and even living in a high rise building equipped with elevators or escalators. The maid’s general well-being including food, accommodation, basic necessities and medical care are some of the important factors that you might have to give a special preference. Allowing her to have food on her preference, and letting her adjust to the foreign food will certainly leave a pleasant impression in the maid’s mind, this initiates her to put up extra efforts to please you and your family. Privacy is one of the most important aspects that should be considered and preferably your maid should be given a separate room ensuring sufficient private space for her undisturbed sleep. Paying salaries on time and offering appreciations will surely boost her morale and the interest for the work. Teaching the purpose and values of life can help the maid to develop as a social and useful person. Hence, being sensible towards your helper and trying to understand things from her perspective is always a good start to a healthy relationship.