3 things HK employers wish their helpers knew about HK people

My last blog post was about “what Filipino workers wish their employers knew about Filipinos. It’s time to balance the books. This post is about 3 things HK people wish Filipinos knew about us.

1. HK people value our privacy and personal space.

Domestic workers live with their employers and naturally they hear and see a lot. They hear our fights, see our messes, clean up after us when we’re sick. HK employers expect helpers to respect their personal space and privacy. Helpers should never gossip about their employers, but should be zealous to protect the family’s good name. Workers should not invite guests over to the employer's home without permission. They should also respect their employer’s personal space and belongings. This includes never using their employer’s address to obtain a loan, not entering their rooms when they are there without knocking first, and not “exploring” their personal things. Homes in HK are small compared to many other places, so respecting the space, property, and privacy of others is essential for maintaining a harmonious relationship. On the other hand, the employer should follow the same rules and respect the personal space and privacy of the helper.

2. HK people value Punctuality and Reliability:

Punctuality and reliability are essential qualities that Hong Kong employers expect from their Filipino domestic workers. If you are not a few minutes early, you are already LATE. Employers expect their workers to arrive on time and complete their tasks on schedule. Workers should be reliable and dependable, ensuring that they complete their tasks without constant supervision. And from the worker’s POV, it’s hard to complete work on schedule if your employer is constantly interrupting you and calling you away to do other tasks. Keeping interruptions to a minimum helps workers keep to the schedule.

Employers understand that delays can happen, but workers should communicate promptly if there are any delays or issues. Employers value workers who are responsible and accountable for their work.

3. Hong Kong people want their Filipino workers to know that we have high expectations and when our workers don’t meet our expectations we sometimes get frustrated and angry. When that happens, please know that it does NOT mean we don’t like or appreciate you and your hard work.

Hong Kong is a stressful place to live and work. At one time it was considered the most stressful city in the world. Our education system and culture puts a lot of pressure on HK people to perform well. We, in turn, expect our workers to excel and perform well. Pressure is one of the tools schools and companies use to get high performance from people. It works for us, but we forget that it probably won’t work on Filipinos because you didn’t grow up with it. Please know that we are learning too, and we believe you can perform at a high level. If we put on too much pressure, please remember we want you to succeed; we do NOT want you to quit; we value your contribution to our family.

At Arrow we want our customers to find and keep good helpers. We want our applicants to find and keep a good job. When we make an effort to understand one another’s culture and ways we are increasing the chances that we can stay together for many years to come. Feel free to leave a comment.

3 things Filipinos wish their employers knew about Filipinos

Before getting into this post I want to say “I would love to do a post entitled “3 things employers wish their Filipino workers understood about Hong Kong people”. If you have some ideas - please leave a comment.

Filipino people wish their HK employers knew how much they value:

Respect:

Traditional greeting to an elder in the Philippines

Filipino culture is a respectful culture. “Sir”, “Ma’am”, “Po” are words they use in everyday language to address people in the Philippines. They have ritual greetings for the elderly and have a strong desire to honor people. They also expect to be treated with respect, kindness and consideration. Filipinos are shocked and sometimes traumatized when HK people yell at them, scold them, and get angry. They expect to make mistake and they are open to correction, but anger makes them feel like they are under attack.

Work-Life Balance:

Some Hong Kong people live to work. Filipinos definitely “work to live”. They have goals and things they want to accomplish, but they also want to have a life. Filipino workers appreciate employers who recognize the importance of family and personal time. Providing flexible working arrangements and respecting their time off will help you retain your worker for many years.

Fairness

Filipino believe that life and people should be fair. I think they take this idea too far, e.g., if I help someone out with a money gift (before you ask, “No la!” ) they think I should be willing and able to do it for everyone. “Sorry, life doesn’t work that way”. Helpers, like the rest of us, want to be treated fairly and equitably. They expect to be paid a fair wage for their work, be paid on time, receive their full day off, and to be given the same opportunities and benefits as their colleagues. On their day off they share with others about how their work life is going, and they compare YOU with the employers of their friends. “Wah, you’re so lucky! Your employer is so kind. My employer … “ They want to be able to boast that they have the best employer.

If you treat your helper with respect and fairness and are careful to give her time for work-life balance - then you will be the employer that causes other helpers to exclaim “Wah - you’re boss is so good!”

Help! I'm drowning in Hong Kong!

I'm currently in the Philippines and have recently gone scuba diving! My dive master teaches me that life under water is very different from life on land, and makes sure I will survive my plunge into the ocean depths (well not so deep). I have to learn to breathe, maintain neutral buoyancy, not go too deep, clear my mask, etc. It's a different world down there, and I need to make some major adjustments to enjoy it. 

For Filipinos, working in HK is a bit like scuba diving. She is choosing to live and work in the ocean of Hong Kong culture. Things may seem similar to the Philippines, but they are, in fact, very different.  She is taking a deep dive in a strange ocean.

She needs a new set of skills if she is going to survive.
SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP!

As an employer of a Filipino cross cultural worker, you are her Dive Master. You need to teach her how to survive and thrive in the strange new environment of your family and culture. If you don't make an effort to help her adjust you may find yourself looking for a new helper every 3 months. That is both expensive and very inconvenient. What can you do?

Send her to our New Arrival Classes

Arrow gives the helpers basic training before they come to HK. We also have follow up classes for helpers after they arrive. If her day off is Saturday or Sunday, tell her to attend the New Arrival Class called Tagumpay.

Attend our Employer Orientation Evening Seminar

 Arrow has an evening seminar (included in the Standard Overseas Hire Package) designed to help you help your worker adjust successfully to life and work in Hong Kong. Your role in your worker's adjustment and long term success is crucial. 

Here is what some recent attendees have said about our Employer Orientation Seminar.

If you want to sign up for our Employer Orientation Seminar, message Kathy Lam.

My helper just resigned! What just happened?

I Quit found on Bored Panda

It’s too late!

If your domestic helper says “Ma’am Sir, I want to resign”, SHE WILL RESIGN. In 15+ years of running Arrow I’ve seen 100’s of resignations and discovered that once a helper says “resign” they DO NOT CHANGE THEIR MINDS. The best you can do at this point is ask them to give you 2 months notice instead of 1 and hope they will stay and help out while you wait for a new helper.

Find and Keep a good helper: use arrow support

At Arrow our goal is to help you “find and keep a good helper”. We designed our services with this in mind:

• New Employer Orientation: Before your helper arrives we invite our new employers to attend an evening briefing where you can learn the do’s and don’ts of managing a Filipino worker. Take the time to attend our New Employer Orientation.

• Arrow Training (Philippines): Before she steps on the airplane to come to HK, your helper will attend 4 days of training where she will learn the basics of Chinese cooking, HK Culture, tips for maintaining a good relationship with her new employer, etc.

• New Arrival Orientation: Before we bring your helper to your home we sit down with them and brief them on how to get off to a good start.

• Tagumpay Success Groups: Your new helper is encouraged to attend a local support group (Tagumpay) on their day off (Saturday/Sunday). It lasts for 1 hour, and every week covers topics that we have found to be important for their long term success in Hong Kong. In addition they will make friends and find a supporting environment to help them adjust to homesickness, HK Culture, Stress, etc. Your helper is already a part of a New Arrival What’sapp group. Encourage her to attend the Tagumpay. It’s only 1 hour, and you’ve already paid for it.

Find and Keep a good helper: don’t do this!

The best way to correct a Filipino worker is to use respectful language and provide clear instructions, avoiding yelling or other aggressive behavior . DO NOT SHOUT, SCOLD, BERATE OR DERIDE! Don’t make comments about their IQ, their common sense or lack thereof, their ancestry, etc. Bite your tongue. A superior in the Philippines will NEVER shout, scold or berate a worker. Such behavior is considered barbarian, disrespectful, and is counter-productive. It will give you the opposite of the outcome you desire. Calm clear instructions work best. When you start to feel that you are at the end of your patience, give us a call. We’ve learned a lot about managing Filipino workers and we are happy to help. If the situation seems helpless, we’ll tell you that too, but most issues can we worked out with the right approach.

If you need some ideas on how to get through to your helper, call me (Allan). If you just want to vent or complain about your helper call the main office and talk to Flora or Swannie. :-)

How to Keep a good helper: be generous with food, especially rice

When I arrived in Hong Kong in 1988 one of the first greetings I learned was ¨Sik faan mei a?” 你食咗飯未呀. It sounded so strange to my Western ears, because I grew up in a place where there was (in my lifetime) was always plenty to eat. I didn’t know much about the history of China or the famines that sometimes ravaged the land. When I understood the context I began to appreciate what a warm caring greeting this was. If a friend asked me “Sik faan mei?” and I said “not yet” - they would invite me to eat! In the West people don’t show this kind of practical care because our “How are you?” is almost always answered with “I’m fine, thanks”.

Filipinos like Chinese are also very concerned about whether someone has eaten yet. No matter how poor they are they will do everything they can to make sure you eat a lot of yummy food. And unlike HK people, Filipinos eat a LOT of rice. They eat rice with every meal. Their fast food shops serve whatever (chicken, burger, etc.) with a side of rice. Their engines run on rice.

One of the main reasons some helpers quit their jobs is because they are hungry for rice. They feel “hungry”! They may be getting enough calories, but they feel hungry because they are not eating rice. They can easily eat rice for every meal with a smattering of meat and veggies.

TIP # 1: How to keep your helper: Buy them a rice cooker (or give them the keys to your rice cooker) and an 8 kg sack of rice every month to supplement their diet.

This is a very small investment to help protect the larger investment you made with agency fees, air tickets, quarantine rooms, etc.

At Arrow our goal is to Help You Find and Keep a Good Helper. If you would like to know more drop us a note or leave us a comment.

How will the opeining of Penny Bay effect the domestic helper hiring process?

Penny Bay Quarantine Center

This pandemic has made hiring a helper a nightmare - no flights, expensive quarantine, lockdowns, 😠😡🤬

Finally the governments of Hong Kong and the Philippines are starting to get their act together to make the process now reliable and affordable. With the opening of the Penny Bay Quarantine center they can accommodate another 800 helpers at a time. If the cost is $500 a night then it will affordable for most families. The two big questions are: how much will it cost? how long will it take?

How much will it cost?

If you hire through Arrow here is the cost breakdown:

• $ 9800 processing

• $ 10,500 quarantine

• $ 2500 air ticket (see price table below)

• $ 1000 PCR test

$ 23800 total

It's not great but it's manageable. And you know that Arrow will do our best to help you resolve issues so that your helper will finish her contract.

How long will it take?

• 8 weeks: Visa application

• 2 weeks: Verifcation of contract at Consulate

• 1 weeks: Overseas Employment Certificate this happens concurrently with verification of contract in HK

A Philippines based helper is ready to come to Hong Kong in 10 weeks time. The BIG ISSUE IS THE QUARANTINE HOTEL AND FLIGHT. As quarantine beds become more available helpers can arrive in a reasonable period of time. If a quarantine spot is available for your helper then the helper should be in your home working after 13-15 weeks. If no quarantine spot is available then the time will certainly take longer. Much depends on the governments ability to execute their plan in an effective way.

Your helper is arriving soon. Are you ready?

Here is a checklist to help you prepare:

• Sleeping arrangements are ready

  • Warm blanket for the winter

  • Adequate ventilation

  • Fan for the summer

  • Storage for her things
    

• Written work schedule:

Most helpers have never used the calendar app on their phones except to look up a date. Give them the work schedule ahead of time and ask them to enter it into their phone calendar and set alarms/reminders as needed. This is an important skill. 

• Emergency Protocol

Write down emergency contacts on a card for them to keep in their bag. Helper phones have poor battery life so a card in their purse is a safeguard. 

• Payday, etc. 

Discuss when the payday will be and ask for her input. Sometimes helpers have bills to pay in the Philippines and if they are late they incur high interest and penalties. Adjusting their payday to accommodate these bills can help them stay out of financial trouble. 

When she arrives give her a small advance ($300 -$500)  on her salary and have her sign for it. This will allow her to have money for her day off and personal necessities for the first 30 days in Hong Kong.

• Rest days and holidays

During the Covid pandemic many helpers are spending their day off in their employers home. Discuss the arrangements with her. Please understand that she also needs some time away from your family, so allow time for her to walk in a nearby park or shopping mall. We all need mental health breaks. 

We have briefed the helper that statutory holidays are without pay for the first 3 months. Most helpers would like to work on the holidays during the 1st 3 months to avoid wage loss, but not all. 

• House rules

What are your big "must" an "must not do" behaviors. Don't assume they know, tell them. "Common sense" is only common to those who grow up in the culture. Hong Kong common sense is different from Filipino common sense. Don't assume they know - tell them clearly. Even God limited himself to 10 commandments, so don't have too many. 

• Food

  • When will she eat her meals? Where?

  • Ask her what food she likes (hint: lots of rice). Helpers send me pictures of their meals with rice, a few veggies, and chicken feet or chicken heads. That is offensive to them. They work hard so make sure they are fed well. 

  • If you give a food allowance you need to provide a place for her to store her food and allow her to cook her food in the kitchen.
    

• Children

  • What is your parenting style? 

  • What are your goals for the kids?

  • Physical punishment and shouting at kids is rarely done in the Philippines. Your helper will find it shocking if this is part of your parenting style.  

  • Most of our customers want their helpers to be actively engaged with their children. We tell helpers this, but you may need to reinforce this message if she focuses too much on housework and not enough on the kids. 

We hope that you and your helper will get off to a brilliant start, but it normally takes 2-3 months for the helpers to get up to speed, so be patient. You waited a long time for her to arrive, now give her time to learn her job well. 

If you have any questions call us at 2151-1125 or what'sapp Allan at 6191-0376.

Eat breakfast BEFORE drinking Coffee

A new study shows that people who do not get a good night’s sleep SHOULD EAT BREAKFAST BEFORE drinking coffee. That applies to almost everyone in Hong Kong, but especially to domestic helpers. Drinking coffee before eating breakfast messes up your blood sugar, and could have long term bad effects on your health. So eat breakfast first, then enjoy your coffee.

https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/science-reveals-the-perfect-time-to-drink-coffee-for-a-healthy-metabolism

4 Things to Do Before You Say "You're Fired!" OR Before Your Helper Resigns

Is your helper starting to lose heart? to drift away? Does it seem like she is not as committed to you and your family as she used to be? Are you thinking that maybe you should replace her before things go downhill even more?  Replacing a helper is expensive, takes a large amount of energy and doesn't always improve things. Before you say "you're fired" try these 4 things first:

Demonstrate concern

Ideally, you should have regular meetings with your helper. Sit down at the kitchen table, have a cup of coffee and take a few minutes to ask "How is it going?", "Are you getting enough food? rest?"  "Do you have any concerns?" If you notice a downhill trend in her performance you could ask, "Lately you seem more absent-minded than before. What's going on? Is there anything you want to talk about?" Be patient and give her a chance to share. Filipinos are fearful about complaining so you need to be open, non-defensive, and ready to listen OR she will clam up.

Provide Extra Training

Most helpers have worked overseas in other countries before, but the standards for hygiene and cleanliness do not compare well with Hong Kong. Good training will involve the following steps:

1. Demonstrate how you want something done.
2. Let them do it while you observe and correct their technique until they do it up to a basic acceptable standard.
3. Set a time goal for how long the work should take, e.g., cleaning the bathroom should normally take 30 minutes. Don't expect them to work fast in the beginning. Focus on doing the work right, then gradually doing the work quickly. NOTE: There is no point in having time related goals IF you constantly interrupt them and call them away to do another task.
4. Regularly inspect to make sure quality control is maintained and the new standard becomes a habit. 
5. Show appreciation for new skills. Filipinos love to hear "well done!"

Hong Kong has many classes available for helpers on Chinese cooking, infant care, etc. You may want to consider investing in your helper and sending her to outside training. She'll appreciate it and you will enjoy the dividends of your investment. Arrow offers classes through I-Care Family on Child Safety, Infant Care, etc. 

Improve the Work Environment

One lady recently contacted me asking if she can quit after one week. She is eating the leftovers from the evening dinner (after everyone else has finished), sleeps on the sofa, works long hours AND the employer nags and criticizes constantly. I asked her what one thing she'd like to change and she said "the nagging and criticism". Some Hong Kong employers create a hostile work environment and then wonder why they have such bad luck and cannot keep a helper.  

• Does your helper has some breaks during her workday to catch her breath and relax for a few minutes?
• How many hours a day does she work? If she is up at 6 a.m. and off at 10 p.m. that is a 16 hour day. Does that seem reasonable or humane? 
• Does she have time to herself and time to contact her family?
• Does she have adequate privacy?
• Does she enjoy a full day off every week? 

Be flexible and allow change

If your approach to supervising workers is "my way or the highway" then don't be surprised if your helper doesn't finish her contract. Filipinos come to work in Hong Kong because they need money BUT they finish their contracts only if they are happy with their work situation. An unhappy helper will easily quit, money or no money.  A little flexibility in the how the work is organized and carried out can help you retain a good helper. Do you insist that she do the ironing at night after washing the dishes? Your helper believes this will give her arthritis and that you have ill intent toward her. Allowing her to do the ironing at another time in the day will show that you are flexible and sensitive to her concerns. Helpers want to work for employers who take their concerns to heart.

Hiring a helper is the easy part, learning to manage a worker from another culture is a huge challenge. At Arrow we have a goal: Help our customers FIND and KEEP good helpers. If your struggling in your adjustment with your new helper, try these 4 suggestions before you terminate or she resigns. 

God bless! Happy Chinese New Year!

NOTE: I stole the basic idea for this post from an article in The Economics Times entitled "Five ways to deal with a disengaged employee".   You can read their article here.  

Arrow 11th Anniversary Video

When you hire a mother

Most of our customers are couples expecting their first or second child and they naturally want to hire a woman who is  "married" and "has kids". So it is no surprise that most of Arrow's helpers have children under 18 years of age.  I conducted a short poll on our webpage and more than 90% of the respondents have children under 18 years of age. Our poll targeted mothers, so pure singles did not respond. Still, we know that great majority of helpers deploying through Arrow are mothers. I began thinking more about this after one of our helpers resigned her job. Her employer liked her very much and she also liked her employer. She resigned because she had lost touch with her 12-year-old daughter and felt that she had to go home and check to make sure her daughter was okay.  I began to ask myself "what effect does the Hong Kong work schedule have on mothers who have left children behind in the Philippines? Is there anything an employer might do to help them keep their family ties strong? Have you ever thought "My helper is also a mother - when does she talk to her children?" "How does she keep her family ties strong?" Here's what we've learned - 

How often do you speak with your kids?

Exactly 1/2 of respondents connect with their kids every day. They use Facebook messenger, Skype, Viber, etc. Some ladies I know get up at 4 a.m. daily to talk to their kids before they leave for school. They then go back to bed for a while and arise again to take care of their employers' children. Their commitment is amazing. The fact that 1/2 of respondents can contact their kids every day is, I hope, an indication that we have customers who are sensitive to the needs of their helpers and flexible enough to give them time each day to call their children. I wish I had asked the question "How often would you like to speak to your children?" I wonder about the other 50% - would they speak to their kids more if they could?

Most respondents connect with their children on a daily basis

What is the best time of day to contact your children?

Most respondents (87%) told us that the best time to contact their kids is between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. Only 13% would prefer to talk to their children from  10 p.m. - 6 p.m.  Unfortunately the prime times for helpers to contact their children are also busy times for employers and their children. The helper who takes good care of her employer's children may end up losing touch with her own kids.

What should I do? 

The best time for your helper to talk to her children is during work hours... so what should you do? If you are super strict and won't let her contact her kids during work hours then she may lose touch with them. If she loses the connection with her kids - the chances of her resigning will increase. So what should you do?

Talk to her about her family needs

Discuss this issue with your helper? Ask her "When is the best time for you to talk to your kids? 2nd best time? 3rd? How long do you need to talk to your kids every day? 15 min? 1/2 hour? etc. Tell her what will and what won't work for you. If you agree to a time during work hours then make a clear agreement with her about when she will talk to her family and for how long.  Afterwards occasionally monitor the situation and if you find she is not keeping to the agreement remind her about the agreement she made and tell her you that you expect her to abide by your agreement. 

If your helper is able to keep strong ties to her family, then she will feel confident to continue working here in Hong Kong. If she has an employer who remembers that she too is a parent who loves and needs to stay in touch with her kids, then she will stay loyal and will hopefully continue to serve your family for many years. 

The Biggest Mistake Employers Make in Managing Domestic Helpers

Is there one thing you can do to improve your chances of keeping a good helper? We've helped thousands of families find helpers; counselled and coached hundreds of helpers, taught orientation classes for employers, follow up classes for helpers AND over the years we've managed to learn a few things about what works and what hurts the relationship between helpers and employers.  What's the biggest mistake employers make and what SHOULD you do to develop and keep a good helper?   I hate articles where I have to scroll down and down to get to the meat of what they are saying so here it is:

The single BIGGEST mistake in managing domestic helpers is NOT accepting that fact that you are now a MANAGER and NEED to follow well accepted, proven management practices. 

Instead of behaving like a professional manager would in a normal workplace, employers of domestic helpers treat their helpers in ways that they themselves would NOT accept and would NEVER do in a professional setting. They get involved in their personal lives, invade their privacy, try to be friends, micro-manage or ignore them, assume their just arrived worker knows what to do rather than provide training, then berate and criticize them for under performance.  They don't provide a job description, training, performance reviews, rewards for good performance, etc. In short they DO NOT MANAGE their work in a professional manner.

The single BIGGEST thing you can do to IMPROVE your relationship with your helper is to treat her as a professional employee and accept your role as a professional manager.

If you've never managed another worker then begin by doing some reading about basic management best practices and follow those practices.  Write a job description. Schedule performance reviews and learning opportunities. Give bonuses or incentives for work well done. READ about how to better manage others and GROW in your management skills.  

Here's a good article to get you started: The 7 Deadly Sins of Manager/Employee Communication (and how to avoid them)

Because the workplace is the home and not an office we think we don't need to practice good management, but the opposite is true: BECAUSE the workplace is our HOME and we are constantly together, we need to follow good management practices and learn to manage people effectively. 

Agree? Disagree? Leave a comment. 

Erwiana and indentured servitude in Hong Kong, an employment agent's perspective

Torture and slavery in Hong Kong! Headlines like this are pouring from the news outlets lately.  I feel horrified as I hear the stories and see the pictures. I own and operate a domestic helper agency in Hong Kong.  Our agency finds jobs for Filipinos who wish to work in Hong Kong.

In our 7 years of operation we have never seen a case like Erwiana's. Over the years we have had to remove only two helpers from customers' homes. In one case, Grandma was suffering from senile dementia, couldn't remember the helper, thought she was a stranger in the house and threatened her with a knife. The police were called and we removed the helper from their home on the same day. In another case, a helper came to us saying she was fearful of her employer, because the employer poured hot water on her hand, burning her.  When she told my wife the details of what happened, my wife wouldn't allow her to return to the employer's home. We talked to the helper about reporting the case to the police, but she refused. We later escorted her to the home to pick up her things, and found her another employer. 

The vast majority of our customers are kind and good employers who share our values of treating all people with respect and dignity. The come to our agency because they want to find a good helper who can fit long-term into their family. 

How does a helper get trapped for months in an abusive working environment? The answer is simple: money.  Simply put, most agencies have a conflict of interest. They are charged by the respective consulates (in our case, the Philippines Consulate) to look after the welfare of the helpers placed through them. On the other hand, most of the helpers owe the agency money. If the agent takes action to remove a helper from a dangerous situation, they will lose money. If, in the case of those serving Indonesians, the agent doesn't repay the training school the helper came from, then the training school will not give the HK agent any more workers.  The fox is in charge of the hen house.  Under such arrangements even a good agency is likely going to err on the side of keeping the helper working, rather than err on the side of safety and pull the helper out. 

From the helpers point of view: she comes here to earn a living, but because she has to pay expensive agency fees, she feels she cannot quit.  Her employer may isolate her by not giving her days off, so she is not able to ask others "Is this right? Is this normal?"  One helper reported to us that she was sleeping on the floor. We wrote to the employer about our concern that they were breaching the terms of their contract and were effectively told to "mind your own business". The helper was told not to talk to her agency anymore. We will always encourage helpers to directly talk to their employers, but sometimes they are afraid to, and ask us to help them. If the helper is isolated from others or if her agency always sides with the employer because the helper owes the agency money, what is the helper to do? If no one helps her, either due to lack of access or greed then she will be trapped in an intolerable situation.

How can we fix the situation? We must begin by removing the fundamental conflict of interest. The easiest way to do that is for all countries to adopt the same or a similar policy to the Philippines. Last year, the Philippines government began enforcing a zero placement fee policy (a policy that, as it turns out, was on the books for years, but never enforced). In effect they said that employment agencies in the Philippines could not collect any placement fees from the helpers. Zero!  (I disagree with this policy and believe the applicants should pay the equivalent of one month's salary, but for now, this is the law.) Their action threw a giant monkey wrench into Hong Kong Employment Agency business model. Before this agencies in the Philippines collected fees and paid their Hong Kong counterparts for every helper they were able to place. The money collected from partner agencies in the Philippines kept the cost of hiring a helper artificially low for Hong Kong people. The same was true for helpers from Indonesia, except that they were forced to take out loans upon arrival in Hong Kong to pay  their Indonesian training school fees and with a cut, of course, for the Hong Kong agency.  

Both Philippine and Hong Kong agencies relied on income from the helpers. Before last year, Filipino helpers paid an average of 80,000 to 120,000 (HK$14,500-21,800) for their jobs.  We set up our company, in part, to bring down the high cost of finding work in Hong Kong. We were, therefore, never as dependant on income from the Philippines as were most agencies. When the Philippines government began enforcing "zero placement" they removed a huge amount of revenue from the table.  Employment agencies suddenly were forced to double their prices for Hong Kong employers, and still that wasn't enough. What to do? The cost of labor and commercial rentals is higher than ever before; 50-70% of their income was taken away at one fell swoop - what are the options?

1. Find a new source of revenue: Trade groups are taking junkets to Bangladesh and Myanmar in the hopes of bringing in a fresh tide of workers to replace the Filipinos, not because Filipinos don't want to come, but because they won't pay money to come. The party line says "the economies of the Philippines and Indonesia are good now, so they don't want to come anymore. That is simply not true. My agency receives 100's of online applications from the Philippines every week.  Applicants are literally pleading with us to find them work.
2. Ignoring Philippine and HK law. Agencies have years of experience at this. I had lunch with another agent this week and asked her if we could form an association of agencies who are actually abiding by the laws. She said (anecdotal evidence, I know) she knows a lot of agencies, but only a few who are following the laws. Our helpers report to us weekly about how much their friends and relatives are still paying to come to Hong Kong. The Philippines government is not yet evenly enforcing the zero placement policy. Rappler.com reports: "As of latest count, about 16,000 such cases have reportedly been brought to POLO for conciliation, resulting in about four months of wait for each claimant." If the Philippine government was enforcing zero placement they would be rescinding licenses of agencies NOT spending 1000's of man hours in conciliation efforts.  The fact that there is a huge backlog of conciliation cases says clearly that the practice of charging agency fees to helpers has NOT been stopped. Why doesn't the government stop this practice by rescinding licenses? Why would they invest 1000's of man hours in settling cases? What's in it for those in charge of these policies? Why don't they enforce their own rules?
3. Raising prices, cutting costs, and improving service. A handful of agencies, including mine, are taking this route. It is difficult because we are competing against the majority of agencies who are still cheating and gaming the system. The playing field is not even, but we hope that the HK and Philippines government will work together to provide a level playing field that both protects the workers and also allows the free market to determine who wins and loses in this business. We feel confident, that if the playing field is even, we can win by providing excellent service rather than by taking advantage of the those who can least afford to pay. 

The case of Erwiana Sulistyaningsih is pushing the Hong Kong government to take a fresh look at the whole system that regulates how Hong Kong people hire and treat helpers. I hope the heat will be hot enough to motivate real transformation, but I'm not going to hold my breath until it happens.

HOW TO CONDUCT AN EMPLOYEE EVALUATION

   中文 

Many of us hope that our domestic helper will eventually become a "member of the family". Although we hope to have a good, close relationship with our helpers, it is also important to remember that they are employees and we are employers.  At Arrow we talk to employers every week. They give us feedback on how the helper is doing. Most employers (including me) do not regularly sit down with our employeesand do a "job assessment".  Instead, we allow little "irritants" to build up and finally "lose our temper" over some relatively minor offense. It would be much better if we set aside some regular feedback time (once every two weeks for the first two months; once a month after that). 

Establishing a "feedback habit" will ensure that    

• you and your helper are moving in the same direction,
• will help them to understand your goals and priorities, and
• will establish a regular forum for communication

Before you do an assessment you need to be clear: What do you hope to achieve?  Clarify expectations? Communicate your priorities? Give performance feedback? Encourage? Listen?                                

I did some homework (on the internet at ehow.com) and found some good tips on how to do an employee assessment.  Here is what I learned:                       

How to Conduct an Employee Evaluation 

Step  One : Write a simple job description
Be sure that your employee has been given a job description and knows what he or she is being evaluated against. Write a job description and use your first meeting to discuss and modify it as necessary. It is okay to say"I'm sorry I didn't give this to you when you first started working for us. I was too busy, and I know it wasn't fair to you, but now I want to let you know clearly what our expectations are. I apologize for not doing this earlier."  We suggest you keep your job description to one page only. Some employers are "big picture" kind of people who say "I want the house clean and tidy". That is okay, but please describe a bit more about what you mean by "clean and tidy", so they know the standards you are aiming at. Other employers tend to "micro-manage", and list 15 steps to complete each job.  Whether you are "big picture" , "micro-manager", or somewhere in between - make sure your DH has the resources (time, supplies, money) etc. to do what you are asking them to do. They are responsible for the work, but you are responsible to "enable" them to do the work in a timely way.                                                                                 

Step  Two: Employee Self-Evaluation
Give the employee a blank copy of the evaluation form and have  her evaluate/rate herself. You will need an evaluation form. The evaluation form should reflect your values and priorities. Here is a simple example: 

Rate yourself for 1-5, 5 being the highest and 1 the lowest:

• Housecleaning ______
• Marketing _______
• Cooking _______
• Laundry ________
• Childcare _______
• Carwash ________
• Communication________
• Attitude _______
• Carefulness/Thoughtfulness _______
• Other: ________

If punctuality is important to you, include it. Personalize the evaluation form, but keep it simple.  Allow the employee to "self evaluate" first, then you can agree or explain to them how you view their performance in these areas. 

Step  Three :  Set up a time and place to meet so that you'll have privacy and quiet. 
Take your helper out on a Saturday morning to a "dai pai dong", have some breakfast, and talk about her performance in a friendly and positive way. You want her to succeed!                                                

Step  Four: Leave adequate time. 
Set aside at least an hour, even though you might not need it.  You've spent the time and money to bring your helper from her home country to Hong Kong. By investing  a little more time for feedback, you will increase both your and your helpers productivity tenfold.                              

Step  Five: Have a clear goal 
What do you hope to achieve via this evaluation time? Do you want  to improve theemployee's performance? establish new performance expectations? focus on one specific area? receive feedback? 

Step  Six:  Dialogue. 
Avoid doing all of the talking. Ask questions and let the employee tell you how they feel and what they need.   You might want to ask, "What can I do to help you succeed at your job?"They are responsible for the work, but you are responsible to "enable" them to do the work by providing the supplies and time necessary. You are also responsible to make sure that they have adequate food and rest. Arrow employers have a reputation of "caring for their employees".  By listening, caring and accepting feedback, you will find that your employee will work much harder to please you.                                      

Step Seven:  Help them relax. 
Do your best to put the employee at ease, or anxiety will keep her from hearing what you say. Let them know that you plan to do this regularly, that this is a mutual feedback time and not a "judgment". Let them know that your goal is to establish good positive communication, increase your teamwork and to help them "succeed".                                

Step Eight: Start and stay POSITIVE.   
Avoid focusing only on areas that need improvement. Every employee wants and needs to be praised, so spend just as much, if not more, time describing what he or she is doing right. This is crucial to keeping a good employee around! Your helper has left her family and home country to come and serve you. If all they ever hear is negative feedback, they will probably decide that the money you are paying them is not worth it. 

In my limited experience as an employer, I have come to understand that "appreciation is more important that money." Employees, all employees, want to be appreciated and they would rather work in a low paying job where they are praised and appreciated than in a high paying one where they are regularly  criticized. Your DH is no different. Your positive feedback is more important to her than a $1000/month raise. 

Take time to sit down with your helper and do a "job performance evaluation". Stay positive. Do it regularly. If you do this well, you will avoid a build up of negative feelings, increase your worker's productivity and happiness, and your whole family will experience greater blessing as a result.