Long-term Success with Your New Employee

1. Have a clear understanding of the cost of hiring a household employee. Hiring a household employee involves many costs beyond what is paid to the employee, there are the federal and state employee/employer taxes, vacation and holiday pay and the fee to the agency. The family needs to be prepared for all these expenses.
   
   
2. The family needs to research and have knowledge of what the fair wage is for their area and the position they are seeking to fill. Estate Domestics will assist you with this. However, it is important to realize that paying below what the market in your area dictates will lead to an employee who will not stay for long in your employ.
   
   
3. Have a clear understanding of the job responsibilities for the employee you have hired. One of the most common mistakes that employers make is to overload their employees with more job responsibilities than what was in the original job that they accepted. For example, an employer hires a housekeeper, but a few months after the Housekeeper starts their new job he/she is asked to watch the children and also to start cooking meals and run errands. The issue is that this is not what the housekeeper originally accepted when he/she accepted the job; and the Housekeeper may not be qualified to do the added responsibilities which will ultimately cause conflict in the working relationship or even cause the employee to leave or for the family to dismiss the employee due to dissatisfaction.
   
   
4. Establish a regular time to meet to go over any issues that either you or your employee might need to address. It is always better to address issues when they are small before they have a chance to grow into much bigger issues that are difficult to resolve. It is wise to meet once every week or two but no less than once a quarter.
   
   
5. Write a work agreement with your employee. Clearly define hours, compensation, job responsibilities, benefits, taxes and paid holidays. Other issues that should be defined are the expectations for what will happen when the family goes on vacation. (The family should expect to pay the employee even when they are away for vacation.) A clearly defined and consistent pay day should be established. A well written work agreement will benefit both the employer and the employee. Estate Domestics will be happy to assist in the writing of the work agreement.
   
   
6. Be respectful of the employee’s hours and her off time especially for live-in employees. This is one of the many reasons why employees leave their jobs to seek employment where they will be respected.
   
   
7. Develop a system for reimbursing expenses for mileage, running errands, shopping etc. if a family expects their employee to do the above mentioned responsibilities, the family needs to develop a system for reimbursing the mileage (at the appropriate IRS standard rate) and make sure the employee has the funds necessary to make the purchases required by their employer. A family should not expect their employee to pay for these expenses for their employer.
   
   
8. For families who are hiring a domestic employee for the first time will sometimes find themselves micromanaging that employee. It is perfectly reasonable to let your employee know what your expectations of him or her are, however the relationship will be a healthier and happier one if the employers allows the employee the freedom to do their job.
   
   
9. When hiring a Nanny…make sure you both have a clear understanding and agreement regarding the discipline policy of your family. Sadly, when the children figure out, and they do, that their parents and their Nanny are at odds over the way the children are disciplined, they will use it to cause conflict between their parents and the nanny. This will sadly result in the Nanny leaving, either due to termination or by her choice.
   
   
10. Be sure to remember annual reviews and raises and year-end bonuses for good services provided by your employee.

Butlers • Nannies • Housekeepers • Estate Managers • Chefs • Domestic Couples and more.