COMMENTS, IDEAS & STORIES
The relationship between “employer” & “employee” is most unique in the Private Sector – Personal Service Industry. This is the rarest of situations, where an employee’s responsibilities require they be a part of their boss’s everyday private lives. This “connection” in most cases inevitably leads to the employee’s personal life being opened up to their employer. It’s virtually impossible for the traditional “boss/worker” relationship we see in the corporate/business world to be remotely similar in a residential/family setting.
Of course there is always a line drawn and boundaries set, as in all work environments. Never the less, the environment itself tends to create this “one of a kind” rapport.
Because of this exceptional link between “employer” & “employee,” we ask for Comments, Thoughts, Ideas, Suggestions, Experiences & Stories. Please take a moment to submit an item of interest, related to Household/Domestic Staff or previous work stories. The funnier…the better. The more informative…the more helpful for all.
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New York, NY 10018
Telephone: (212) 889-7505
Fax: (212) 889-3673 Administration Email:
glenn@greenhousestaffing.com Email Resumes To:
resumes@greenhousestaffing.com
My comment for the week is to stay healthy. Eat well, drink well, sleep well. Wash your hands. Don’t touch your face when you’re on the subway. I adhere to all of these precautions yet somehow still managed to catch a combination of a cold/influenza. Take care of yourself!
SHORT-TERM/TEMPORARY STAFF
For many Employer’s of Household/Domestic Staff, this is the time of year when additional workers are needed. Though not needing a permanent employee, the same quality & skill-set is essential. References, background and personality component must still be of the level of a “long term” candidate being considered. The best way to be assured of having expectations met…… is to be up front, in the beginning, about the “temporary nature” of the job.
We have seen many family’s indicate they are hiring for a permanent position. A new member of the “team” comes on board. In all work environments, people talk, conversations can be over heard or the feeling of being in a new, long term setting is lacking. Very quickly, this new member of the Household Staff gets the feeling they’ve been mislead……. as to the true “stability” of their new job. A new worker will feel as if they’ve been taken for granted. True professionals are not naive. Though being complemented on how well their doing, they will see and feel there is a predetermined, termination. A situation like this is always best to avoid. It can be very unsettling to existing staff and of course, the new person is not a happy camper. They may have left a stable job, to take on this new position. Possibly, they’ve chosen this temporary situation over a true “permanent, long term position.”
In this most “unique” of Employer/Employee environments……. the Household, it’s always best to be clear from the get go. There are always excellent, skilled Housekeepers, Nanny’s, Chefs, etc., who would agree to a short-term arrangement. An Employer may pay a slightly higher wage or even a Temp Fee to an Agency…..but it is better to be open & candid.
Jesse’s Story of the Week:
Before entering into any sort of professional, working relationship both employers and employees always have their guards up–this is natural. It’s difficult sometimes to trust a stranger, especially in a domestic setting when money is involved. Employers don’t want to overpay and prospective employees want to be accurately compensated for their skills and experience. The easy solution is to find a common middle ground for each party, whether it be an agreed upon trial salary or list of job requirements (or both). After an employer sees that a housekeeper (or nanny) truly has the skills that they claimed on their resume, and said housekeeper can experience in real time the daily duties required of the family, I can guarantee that an accommodating agreement will be made! :))
When hiring for my Boss, I google the addresses of references, do reverse phone number checking and sometimes google the reference themselves. If it’s legit, I’ll see a beautiful large house & property and most people of means, will come up on google. I agree Jesse, sometimes the paper a reference is written on is worth more than the words on the paper.
Every business will experience the notorious Paper Tiger–a seemingly strong, great candidate by the words on their resume and references, but in actuality, a mere one-dimensional fallacy. A few days ago I met a nice housekeeper with UEW/UWS references, felt she was genuine, and only later after extensive reference checks found her to be not a housekeeper, but a clever Microsoft Word user! I had been duped!
The moral of this short story of the week is to never believe a reference is real. Go with your gut. Always be skeptical no matter how good someone’s resume reads.
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OOPS, I MEAN 🙂
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o o ^ \__/
WE’RE VERY SORRY THERE’S DIFFICULTY IN “UP-LOADING” YOUR RESUME ON OUR “APPLICATION FORM” PAGE. WE CAN ASSURE YOU WE ARE WORKING DILIGENTLY TO CORRECT THIS PROBLEM. PLEASE GO TO OUR “CONTACT US” PAGE AND
FEEL FREE TO SEND YOUR RESUME TO ANY OF OUR PLACEMENT SPECIALISTS!
THANKS TO ALL FOR YOUR PATRONAGE AND UNDERSTANDING 🙁
Glenn Greenhouse
Hello Glenn. This is Larisa Dingashvili. I so sad becouse I made mistake when I mention vication in August when I hade inerview with Mrs Kalb. I was honest!!! 11 month my elderly parents waiting for me ,1 child in family. But I have responsobiliti , I never live alone my patients, I always could find replasement girl for 1 month.
I will try to find some job antill I will fly to Georgia, and I will be so appreciate if you will give me another chance, when I will be back from Georgia.
With all my respect. Larisa
Hahahaha.