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You've heard it on the radio. You've seen it in the evening news. You've read on the newspaper. Maids stealing money, pieces of jewelry, gadgets, and other valuable things from their employers. Yayas hurting the children of their bosses with CTTV videos to prove the accusations. Housekeepers being involved in inside job robberies. Indeed, letting strangers inside your house is downright frightening. Not just your possessions, but also your loved ones who will be traumatized in the event of these unfortunate circumstances (i.e., theft, child abuse, kidnapping).
Regrettably, your family cannot do without house help. The next best thing to do is to find the most reputable maid agency that can provide you with a housemaid who is trustworthy and can render the quality of service expected from her or him. Here's how to choose the best maid and maid agency there is that fit your needs.
Choosing the right maid agency
Some would-be employers are tempted to outsource their house helpneeds through their relatives, friends, officemates, neighbors. There is nothing wrong with this process. However, if you are urgently needing a maid, then hiring through a maid agency is the best route to take. In knowing that you are dealing with the maid agency among the pool of hundreds of maid service providers, here are some important factors to look at.
1) Permits and licenses
Make sure that the maid agency where you are planning to source a maid from has a license to operate. Primarily, the agency must have a license issued by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). It should be registered to SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). These are the proofs that the agency is legitimate and has the capacity in hiring, training and deploying maids.
Another important thing is that since it is operating under various applicable laws, the agency is able to inform you about your rights and responsibilities as an employer. The same goes with the helper. Yes, this includes the Kasambahay Law. In this way, both you and the maid are guided and protected.
2) Affiliations
Any maid agency's legitimacy is solidified by its affiliations. If the agency is a member of federal associations, much better. It would be also good if it is operating under the guidance of a law firm. Another important thing, the agency should be working with a certifying body so you can make sure that the maids it supplies are well-trained and certified. Just make sure that there is no connivance between the maid agency and the certifying unit.
3) Online presence
In this digital world, it would be much better if you can check the website of the maid agency. How the agency treats its site, for instance, can also tell a lot about how it operates. At times, you only need to browse the website's homepage to weigh in the credibility of the agency itself. A professional-looking website means that the maid agency is serious and prudent in operating its business.
In most cases, anything you need to know about the agency such as its physical address, contact numbers, business hours. etc. are on the homepage. If you will browse the site deeper, you will learn about its hiring processes including the fees and payment terms. Some website even features reviews and testimonials of previous clients that can help you in judging whether the agency is reliable or not.
Yet another way to determine the trustworthiness of a particular agency is through its activities on the social media. Agencies understand that their next leads could be on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. Interestingly, they won't be in any of these networks if they don't want to keep their target audience updated, and that includes you.
4) Variations
Understandably, our housekeeping needs are very diverse. It is best to find a maid provider that houses variety of maids to choose from. Options should not be contained to maids, yayas and cooks alone. If possible, the agency must also offer choices of maids and housekeepers who can also provide tutoring, babysitting, pet sitting and senior caregiving services, among others. Of course, at higher salaries. The bottom-line is, finding a housekeeper that can provide as many types of services at reasonable rates.
In lieu with the third factor to consider, some maid agencies feature the names of the maids and housekeepers available on their respective websites. This goes to show that the agency itself had probably exhausted all efforts in sourcing the maids and conducting research (background checks) on them to ensure the credibility of each helper. In brief, the profile provides information about the origin of the housekeeper, for instance, and his or her availability (full-time or part-time and live-in or live-out). Aside from the personal details, the full profile also outlines the qualifications and certifications of the housekeeper.
Choosing the right maid
Once you find the perfect maid agency, the necessary next step is finding the maid that matches your needs. Your main goal is to find the maid that is worthy of the job and the salary that you are going to pay for. Even if you are hiring a maid through an agency, you still need to be diligent in picking the one for you.
After contacting your preferred agency and informing it of your needs, basically, the agency will provide you a shortlist of the right candidates. The shortlist will be based on your requirements. For instance, you want a maid who knows how to take care of toddlers, who knows how to cook, between 20 to 30 years old and a Bicolana because you are from Albay, too. Make sure that there are at least three candidates on the list.
Additionally, the agency will offer you choices of methods to interview the candidates like Skype, phone, office and home interview. Regardless of your preferred interview method, the agency will provide you a copy of a printed profile (or resume) of each candidate where you can based your interview. If this is not possible, ask the agency to send you a copy of each resume on your email and have them printed out. These will come handy during the interview. Better be prepared with your questions as well. Some questions to consider are as follows.
- How long have you been working as a maid/yaya/cook?
- What sets you apart from other maids/yayas/cooks?
- What do you like most about your job? What do you hate the most?
- Have you worked in the same environment (apartment, condo, etc.) as mine?
- Have you worked in my location before?
- Are you willing to adjust your availability in case of schedule changes?
- How do you define a good employer?
- How is your relationship with your previous employer like?
- Why did you leave your previous employer?
- How much do you previously earn?
- What do you usually do on your day off?
- Are your parents still alive? or Do you have kids? Where are they?
- How often do you need to call your parents or kids?
- Are you sending them money on a regular basis?
- Do you have someone who may want to visit you?
- Can you follow a recipe?
- What religion do you practice?
- Are you taking any medications?
- What time do you usually wake up?
- What are your hobbies?
Evidently, the questions should be mostly about what is not written on the resume. Be as diverse and random as you possibly can when interviewing a prospect so you'd get to know the person. This is how you gauge her disposition, motivation, expertise, and experience. Take note of how the interviewee is reacting to your every question. If she frowns, looks bored or gives flippant answers, you may finish the interview and proceed with other interviewees. Continue interviewing other potential hires if you are not 100% happy with the interview and, of course, with the interviewee.
Part of your responsibility is to ensure that only the most trustworthy people will enter your house. After all, it is your house, your kids,and your possessions that you need to protect from deceitful house helpers. Good luck with your journey to find the right maid for you and your family!
A Filipina maid, and perhaps, all maids for that matter, is entitled to rest periods as per the Batas Kasambahay (RA 10361 or the Act Instituting Policies for the Protection and Welfare of Domestic Workers). Any pragmatic employer would wonder which of the days is the most proper day off for the maids and for how many days per week. Nonetheless, schedule weekly rest days is one of the major concerns of homeowners especially those who have a limited number of house staffers.
It happens. A maid asking for a cash advance for whatever purpose she may have. One problem with this is that the tendency to abuse the process at the expense of both the employer and the maid. It'll be a lose-lose situation that none of us – employers and maids alike – wants to experience.
How should we deal with maids who constantly ask for a bale?
Know the purpose
Probe if you must. Ask her why she is asking for a salary advance. If it's a medical emergency or for paying tuition fee, you may grant her request. But, if she's only going to buy something to support her vices, then you can say no.
For the first reasons, you may further explore if there is indeed an emergency. In most cases, when it is true, she would willingly let someone speak to you to validate her claims. Just be wary of connivance since it is highly possible.
Give her the benefit of the doubt. This is the most important. If she's already proven her trustworthiness, there is no reason you shouldn't giver her what she is asking for. She won't ask in the first place if she doesn't need it.
Establish rules
First, if you are not going to extend any cash advance to your househelpers, you might as well tell them during the initial interview. In this way, their expectations are guided.
Second, it's very unethical to ask for advance salary if the maid had just started working in your household for less than a week. So, tell her during the pre-employment interview that you only give cash advances to maids who stayed with you for at least 6 months. There are instances when a housemaid asked for cash advances and suddenly disappeared.
Third, tell her that you can only provide one cash advance at a time. This means she needs to pay the previous cash advance first before she asks for another. And, if possible, tell you in advance so you can include it in the next month's budget.
Fourth, unless absolutely necessary, you can only give her the amount that equals half of her monthly salary. If she's earning Php3,000, she is only entitled to Php1,500 of her entire salary.
Fifth, discuss repayment options. She can repay in installments – three installments following our example above. So that's Php500 deduction every payday. You can ask her if that's okay with her, but the final decision is yours.
Establish some limitations
To continue with the above, you may also tell your maids in the Philippines that you cannot allow poorly performing maids to make a bale. It's like telling them to prove their worth – that they are worthy of what they are asking from you.
Let us not fall into the trap of getting used to getting money that you haven't worked for yet. She might lose the motivation to work or give her best. It's basic human nature. You already get what you want so why bother? Likewise, some people have this victim behavior while some are just plain opportunistic.
While at it, it would be best to teach her the value of living within her means and saving and not overspending.
Evidently, it is important to set boundaries when it comes to asking for and giving cash advances to your househelpers. Don't feel guilty if you have to say no. It's better that way than to support your maids and unconsciously push them into living a life full of financial debts until they themselves can't get out of it. They must know the importance of the fruit of their labor and use it in a way that's beneficial to themselves and their loved ones.
Housekeeping is a tough job, but there is a handful who are willing to tackle it. For some, they bring in the attitude, skills, and experience they have already learned and built for years of providing service. For the inexperienced housemaid, however, how do you go about upskilling them? Some of you might contemplate whether to invest on upskilling your househelpers. Perhaps, you should because, in the end, you will reap all the benefits.
Indeed, the Philippines is one of the expat-friendly countries worldwide, if not the friendliest. We cannot blame these expatriates; the Philippines is a gem with its beautiful beaches, warm people, vivid nightlife, great food, etc. Nonetheless, the majority of the expats go here for work and, of course, the fun of it all. Any expat will surely appreciate and need a helping hand. In fact, one of the reasons they love staying here is the affordability of services including housekeeping services.
No one can underestimate the value of household help. However, homemakers have their own fears when hiring househelpers. We cannot blame them for feeling that way because, perhaps, they've been victimized by either the helper or the process of hiring a domestic help. Indeed, hiring a maid is not without difficulties, but what if you can make the process easier? Will you not jump in? Maid agencies specialize in hiring and deploying maids. Here are the reasons you must invest in one and, specifically, in a high-quality agency.
Caveat: When we say high-quality, it means effective and efficient. Thus, in this context, a high-quality hiring maid agency is extremely good at what it does, investing in it is all worth it.
Half the work is done
Maid employment agencies have strenuous pre-qualification activities. They collect the necessary identifications and document requirements. They do background checks. And some agencies even conduct basic training and seminars to ensure the future employers that their maids are dependable and can be trusted. Imagine how much money, time and energy you can save compared to if you are going to do all these. Career people don't have all the time in the world to spare, for instance, sifting through a pile of resumes.
As such, with an agency at the helm, the only thing that a client like you should think about is screening the housemaid who perfectly fits your needs and preferences. Nevertheless, the difference between a mediocre and outstanding maid agency is that the latter will provide you with at least five options. This forms part of the assurance that any client will land on the right maid for him or her. The best part is, you have the choice to screen the applicants on your place, at the agency office, through Skype or a phone call.
It doesn't end with a phone call, however. If possible, ask the agency if it is possible to bring the maid on your place just to gauge her or his interaction skills, among others. Most of the good agencies will oblige to this request. After this, you have the right to say no if the maid is not exactly what you are looking for.
ROI is higher
Since we are talking about investing on the best maid agency, we might as well talk about the returns. Yes, there are several risks involved including risking you and your family's safety, your possessions, your peace of mind, etc. All of these things are priceless and that's why you won't entrust them to just about anyone, right?
Depending on the services of a maid agency has its own financial advantages. Aside from efficiency, these agencies are also about transparency. They charge on an all-in basis, a one-time fee and with no hidden charges. Again, what separates an outstanding maid agency is it doesn't charge a replacement fee should you want your maid to be replaced. The best agency offers up to two replacements at no additional charge.
Another good reason to rely on this service is the agency refunds 75% of what you pay for, in case, it failed to provide you with a replacement within 50 days from the replacement request date. Any good maid agency will commit to this timeline. In this way, you will be able to maximize the value of your money.
If you need a maid, the most important decision that you have to make is choosing the right maid agency. After reading the above, it is no longer the decision if you will invest on a maid agency or not because you should. However, you need to choose the best agency there is otherwise you'd end up doing all the work and wasting your hard-earned money on the wrong agency and the wrong maid per se.