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. :-)
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.