If you like to have fun with your domestic staff by hosting barbecues or other outings, by all means keep doing it! However, sometimes managers take their professional relationship with employees too far, which can cause working relationships to break down. In turn, other problems in the workplace could develop.
Setting boundaries can do more than help employers avoid potentially awkward and confrontational situations. Melanie Nelson, a former biotech executive, said that drawing lines in the sand can also reduce turnover.
"Healthy boundaries help decrease team turnover, and overstretched people make more mistakes," Nelson said to Fortune.
She went on to say that projects are risky enough. There's no need to add additional risk by allowing staff members (yourself included) overstep their job responsibilities. By encouraging employees to do their jobs well, and understand timelines and expectations, there's less risk, fewer mistakes and a decreased chance managers need to step in.
Here are four ways to introduce boundaries to your employee-manager relationship:
1. All leaders should obey the rules
First and foremost, it doesn't matter whether you're personally managing a crew of domestic workers or you've hired an estate manager to do so. Leaders should follow a set of rules put in place to protect workers' interests and make them feel comfortable at all times.
2. Ensure people know their rights
The staffing firm you work with will inform employees what their employer will expect from them. However, there's no harm in reiterating this information again and also discussing their rights to privacy, PTO and sick days and other benefits that you (the employer) offer.
Communicating regularly and effectively before beginning a working relationship with a domestic worker can also ensure you're on the same page with the staffing agency, which can make the recruiting process run more seamlessly.
3. Don't make people feel uncomfortable
Making insensitive gestures, comments or actions toward any employees is unacceptable. While your home may not look like a traditional office, you need to treat it as if it were one. This means one thing: Anything you wouldn't do at your own office or in a public workplace setting, you shouldn't do to your employees in the comforts of your home.
4. Lead by example
You can't expect your employees to treat each other with respect if you don't enforce this policy. One way to do this is to act professionally with your crew. Don't talk poorly about their colleagues – after all, they work with them daily – avoid chatting about your personal affairs, and certainly don't ask your employees about their personal lives unless it's something they bring up first.
If you're interested in hiring domestic staffing professionals to complete domestic jobs around your home, talk to a domestic staffing agency. Contact Colonial Domestic Agency today! We'll introduce you to the perfect family that fits your background and helps you meet your goals.