There are two main ways of hiring a domestic helper: directly or via maid agency services.
If it is your first time hiring a domestic helper, it is better to enlist the help of maid agency services as they have more experienced in managing all necessary procedures and preparing all the required documents for you to have a smooth maid hiring process.
Why Hire A Helper?
With an increasingly demanding and stressful work environment, more households are burdened with the task of managing their time and capacity between work and home responsibilities.
While we cannot add on more hours in a day, we can split the burden with an additional person who can take on the daily household chores and needs such as doing the laundry, cleaning the house and preparing food on the table.
This frees up more time for the breadwinners of the family to spend these precious after-work hours with your family members instead.
How To Choose The Right Maid Agency Services?
Firstly, not every maid agency is licensed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). This is a fundamental proof that demonstrates the legitimacy of its maid agency services and its ability to hire, train and deploy maids.
You can also check the maid agency’s affiliations to ensure that the maids are well-trained and certified to work in Singapore.
Check online for the maid agency’s website and assess if it has a clear and transparent flow of information and how it operates.
If it looks professional, and provides all the necessary information you might need to know before engaging in their services, then it shows that the maid agency is serious and prudent in operating its business.
It is also advisable to choose an agency with a high retention rate and placement rate and check if the transfer rate of the maids from one employer to another is low.
These are all ways to check the credibility and reputation of an agency before signing with their services.
We cover some questions to ask yourself and the maid agency you’re thinking of engaging in a previous article.
How To Choose The Right Domestic Helper?
You should start off by assessing why you need to hire a helper in the first place. Should their biggest priority be looking after the children or should they be first-aid trained to take care of the elderly with specific conditions?
Most domestic helpers will be trained to do household chores in the agency and have basic cooking skills to whip up simple meals at home.
If you need a helper with a specific skill set or have a preference for a maid who can cook well for example, you should communicate this with your maid agency so that they can shortlist relevant candidates for you when they go through the interview process with the maids.
Afterwards you will also be able to interview the maids yourself and during this time, you should consider the personality of the domestic helper and assess if they are able to fit into the dynamics of your home and match with your requirements.
You should find someone who is willing to learn and adapt to their surroundings quickly. Someone that is easy to communicate with will also be good so that you can communicate your tasks to her and ensure that she will get the job done.
Homekeeper Helps You To Find Your Ideal Helper
There are four simple steps in finding your ideal helper:
1. Selection
You can browse the wide selection of potential hires, and check through their background and key information to shortlist potential helpers that are suitable for your needs.
You can also visit any one of Homekeeper’s four branches islandwide such as:
- Bukit Timah Shopping Centre
- Hougang Green Shopping Mall
- Ang Mo Kio
- Elias Mall at Pasir Ris
2. Paperwork
Homekeeper will prepare and process all necessary documents for you to have a smooth-sailing and easy process when hiring your future helper.
This includes work permit applications or document endorsement by the embassy. The agency will also purchase a mandatory maid insurance for your domestic helper-to-be.
3. Training
Homekeeper will fly your helper to Singapore for professional pre-employment maid training to meet your home care needs.
Depending on the focus of your helper, the training courses range from Infant and Maternal Care, Elderly and Disability Care and/or General Housekeeping.
4. Deployment
With a better grasp of her surroundings and skills learnt from the agency, your helper can take a shorter time to adjust to your home and start work immediately!
Engage professional maid agency services to find the correct domestic helper for your home
Engaging maid agency services will save you time and the trouble of going through all the time-consuming and confusing processes, by handling all the paperwork for you.
With our experienced and dedicated team of staff, we are well-equipped with the knowledge and know-how on applying for any necessary documents and getting them approved as soon as possible.
This will also leave you with the only requirement of providing accommodation for your helper and managing her work performance in your home, ensuring that your experience is a smooth and simple one.
Reach out to us today and make your hiring process an easy one!
About the Author
Linda Seh has over 20 years of experience in the Employment industry. She takes the time to thoroughly interview each family and helper to understand their requirements, personalities, and preferences. Her intuition and insight has helped her make placements that result in lasting, harmonious working relationships. Linda now leverages this expertise and experience to simplify your search and ensure you find the ideal and qualified helper to become a valued member of your family.
