While is agreed that hiring a domestic work is different from filling a vacancy for a typical office role, this is actually the reason why it is important to take the hiring process even more seriously. It is very important that you take time and ensure you pay attention to all the little details.

Lets now talk about how you can avoid the most common mistakes you must avoid when trying to find a perfect help for your family and kids in Nairobi.

1. Doing only one interview

The most common mistake most people make is to do only one interview. Needless to say, one interview can never be enough to get to know about any potential employee. Plan to interview multiple candidates, and if possible more than once for each candidate.  You might want to do the initial interview over the phone to get a sense of the person’s personality, experience and child care skills. With this method, you don’t waste time meeting candidates in person whom you don’t want to interview further.

After the initial interview, you can then decide if it is worth making a one-on-one interview with some or one of them. Further, you may even conduct different interview with children being present and another with the rest of the family members. You also have time in between interviews to check references, too, which we talk about next.

2. Failing to check references

Even if a candidate seems perfect to you, still make it a point to call the references find out whatever they have to say about the potential house help. It is essential to call references and conduct a background check. Ask about their character, childcare skills, how they got along, discipline etc.

Ask if they were punctual coming back from their off days and if they had to ever deal with any emergency. The information you receive from a background check can vary, but it will be much help when picking the right person.

3. Settling for someone when you run out of time

So far, the mistakes I have mentioned are often made when you don’t give yourself enough time to find the right house help! Employers then resort to doing only one interview, skip the background check and references . Don’t settle for a house help that you’re not completely happy with because you’ve run out of time.

Start looking for a house help as soon as you know you’ll need one. For example, maybe you already employ a full-time house help who’s planning to leave. Begin your search for a replacement now. Prepare to read a lot of resumes and do a lot of reviews. When you start as soon as you can, you can mentally prepare yourself for the hiring process to come.

Of course this advice may not sound helpful when a house helps quits abruptly or fails to come back after taking some days off duty. In such case seek help for emergency care as you prepare to start the proper hiring process.

4. Not Paying Well Enough

Unfortunately, many families in Nairobi do not pay their house help the legally mandated wage – minimum wage. The current minimum wage in Kenya is Kes. 13,572/ per month. Be the one that pays your house help fairly. Besides ensuring that they are able to work for you satisfactorily, you will be avoiding any potential mess that might arise. It is not only necessary, but also good, to be a good employer.

5. Not Employing a trial period or working interview

In theory, a trial period or working interview lets a house help prove her childcare skills to her potential employer. However, some parents replace multiple interviews and reference checks with only these trial periods, judging a house help at face value rather than putting in the hiring work themselves. It’s not fair to a house help who doesn’t have time to get to know a potential employer, nor is it fair to the family who may not get the most accurate impression of a house help’s quality of care and personality.

A trial period works if you’ve already run through the interview process, and you’re almost sure that you want to hire a house help. Maybe you need a house help to spend longer periods of time with your child to be sure they’re the right fit, or if you’re hiring a live-in house help, everyone needs to feel comfortable with the decision. If you do decide to use a trial period, just make sure you’re not replacing any other part of the hiring process with it.

Now that you know the mistakes to avoid when hiring a house help, you might also consider getting help in the process.  The house help hiring process can be long and exhausting. Why not let an experienced house help agency work with you to find the right person for your family? Nairobi Nanny matches each house help according to a family’s needs to make sure both parties are happy. Contact us here for help with hiring house helps in Nairobi.