Do you feel like your domestic staff could use a spark to keep them motivated and engaged? Do you want to build a team that works great together?
It's very important to create a successful team because you likely don't have enough time to consistently monitor their progress to ensure they're producing at a high level.
To construct this type of crew, it takes a bit of creative thinking and a lot of hard work. However, by following the steps described in this article, you'll eventually create a team that enjoys working for you and their colleagues and always goes that extra mile to ensure their job is done with perfection.
1. Build brand ambassadors
What are brand ambassadors? This term is more commonly used in the corporate world to describe employees who take it upon themselves to represent and build up a brand. They're almost like free advertising – not only encouraging customers or clients to hook on with the brand but also increasing employee loyalty.
So how does this type of employee fit into the world of domestic staffing? In two ways:
- If you have a large staff, their enthusiasm will trickle down to other employees. These brand ambassadors talk about how great it is to work for you, which can increase your staff's motivation and engagement.
- Brand ambassadors encourage other professionals to work for you, making it easier to find and retain top talent.
The question now becomes: How do you develop brand ambassadors? Let's discuss this more in the next segments.
2. Understand your employees
Before you try to build brand ambassadors, you need to take time to better understand your employees. You must figure out what motivates them, makes them cringe and keeps them engaged at work. By asking the following questions, you can begin to build a successful team of domestic workers:
- Why do my employees like working for me and my family?
- What frustrates them throughout the day?
- Are there any skills they'd like to learn?
Of course, these are only a few of the questions you can (and should ask). Many other questions are employee-dependent. For example you'll need to come up with separate questions for nurses, butlers, estate managers and nannies.
It's also crucial you approach your employees in the correct way. For example, you could pass out individual surveys, or talk with them one-on-one or in a group setting.
3. Interpret your gathered information
If you have a small crew of domestic workers, it's going to be relatively easy to figure out what changes you need to make, if any, to their work day. By simply talking with them in person and jotting down notes, you can typically make adjustments on the fly.
If your staff is large, it may take a bit more time to modify current practices. You'll need to gather information and analyze it as you try to discover what alterations work best for your entire team.
4. Communicate changes to your team
After you've researched and analyzed, you're almost ready to implement changes. However, before you do, you need to reveal your plans to your employees. You want them to both understand and feel comfortable with the modifications you're planning to make.
As these changes are put into practice, it's critical that you study how they affect your workers. Keep procedures that work, and don't hesitate to drop ones that don't.
Developing a successful team of domestic employees will take time, but you'll be pleased when you do. You'll find that you more time to devout to other things in your life such as hobbies, friends and family. You'll also have more time to commit to your staff by helping them develop their skills.