As a wealth manager, you likely take pride in providing sound strategic advice to help your clients secure their future. That's why you should have a role in helping them hire estate and household staff.
As leaders in business, your clients understand that hiring the right people is crucial. The same principle applies at home, where a quality estate or house manager is as important as a topflight executive team in your client's company.
Owners of large estates or houses should treat the management of their household as if it were a business. No matter the size of the property or number of staff, a household needs to have a formal structure to support its day-to-day management. The estate or home can still operate with a casual or understated elegant setting; however, a structured protocol is essential.
One of the most important elements of organizing an estate is to know how to hire the right team to train and manage the staff. With qualified and skilled staff, careful planning and an efficient management structure, an estate owner can be assured things will run smoothly, improving the owner's financial and personal success.
Conversely, an ineffective staff can be time-consuming-taking away from personal and business obligations-and costly, with high agency fees and large staff turnover.
As with a business, a consultant can provide the most cost-effective and efficient way to hire and manage a household staff. Here are some tips to get started:
Hire a recruitment firm to manage the search. Just as your clients use headhunters to find executives, seek a firm that specializes in household staff recruitment. Look for quality firms with a track record of integrity and service.
Develop job descriptions to match staffing needs and communicate exactly what's needed. Pay close attention to the candidates' resumes to ensure they fit the estate owner's lifestyle needs and interests. Is the potential candidate a good match for the family-someone who will get to know the owner's favorite foods or family birthdays, for example? A good agency with relevant experience should be able to match qualified candidates with existing and future needs.
Conduct a comprehensive background check. Verify the process of how the agency conducts these checks and the associated fees. Be sure the candidates are checked for credentials applicable to the position. The information that should be verified includes the name, address, Social Security number, employment history, driving record and other pertinent public records.
Make sure the staff is on 100% payroll and offered health benefits. This is the best way to protect an owner's exposure and liabilities. Gone are the days of cash and no benefits. These are people who need to be treated as skilled employees.