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.

Be sure to sign a confidentiality agreement with the search firm and the candidates. This will protect your client and facilitate conversations that lead to better service.

Create a household and property operations manual. If homes that employ household staff do not have such a manual they run the risk of having high turnover and no household service standards. A household staff specialist should design and develop a comprehensive manual that staff can understand (in their native languages) and it should include instructions, forms and any details that will help the employee deliver five-star service for the long run. Corporate staff should not assemble a book for the household staff. A professional who understands best practices in household management, not office efficiencies, should do it.

Conduct an annual performance review. Like corporate employees, professional household staff expect an annual salary increase based on performance and a year-end bonus.

Don't overwork the staff. Be considerate and consistent. Before hiring people, outline and establish what the expected weekly hours of service will be and do not deviate except in an emergency. Contacting staff via text and e-mail after hours is not acceptable. If necessary, compensate them for additional hours worked either in comp time or pay.

Treat staff professionally. Be cordial and kind, as in any business setting.

While hiring a housing staff is no easy task, keeping these simple steps in mind can lead to a better-run household and an even more successful future for the estate owner. Instead of having to focus on the day-to-day problems that arise with a poorly selected, unqualified staff, an estate owner who has an efficiently managed property will have more time to focus on more important matters.

Kim Cassford is co-founder of Cassford Management LLC (www.cassfordmanagement.com), a luxury lifestyle consultancy specializing in estate and household manuals, staffing, household staff training and other luxury lifestyle areas. She can be reached at [email protected].