First Day of your New Domestic Helper

Congratulations! You've found a domestic helper whose personality fits well with your family. Now it's time for her first day! Many families focus on giving a home tour, introducing her to the kids, and explaining day-to-day tasks like housekeeping and childcare. Preparing well for your helper's arrival will set the tone for a successful relationship. It is also essential to review the standard employment contract, which outlines the terms of employment, including duties and responsibilities. Below, we've put together key steps to make the onboarding process as smooth as possible.

1. How to Effectively Welcome Your Helper on Their First Day

Hiring a new domestic helper is an important step in ensuring your family is well cared for. To ensure a smooth transition, spend some quality time with your helper during their first week. Many experts recommend that parents spend at least one full day with the new helper and the children before leaving her alone with them. This helps your helper get to know your family’s routines, personalities, and expectations better.

It is also important to explain routines, discuss the weekly rest day, and observe her interaction with kids. The first day of her work will be exciting and stressful at the same time. Don’t forget that making your domestic helper feel welcome will result in high employee loyalty and retention.

2. Introduce Your Family

The first day is probably the most important! Your priority will be to introduce your new employee to your family and also to other family members, friends, and teachers. Understanding cultural differences is essential, especially for foreign domestic helpers, to build a good relationship with the family. You already provided some information about your family during your helper hiring process, but now it’s time to introduce her!

If you have kids, we recommend to introduce them immediately. You will explain your children’s nature and the kid’s routine. It is essential that your helper be familiar with your children’s personalities to understand how to approach them. It’s also crucial for your kids to know more about your helper (role and personality). It will take time for your helper to know everything about your kid’s routine. To facilitate this learning step, you can write your children’s schedule. In this schedule, you must list all the weekly activities: wake-up time, school hours, lunch & dinner time, bath time, tutoring, and playing time! Don’t forget to tell her your kids' favorite activities and what she needs to cook for them.

Your couple also needs to introduce some of your friends and your kids' friends. It will be a good way to assimilate your helper into your daily life. If your helper is in charge of going to school with your children, introduce her to the teacher.

3. Giving Your Domestic Helper a Home Tour: Key Areas to Cover

Walk through the entire house, explaining what would be the primary duties and what your expectations are about cleaning and cooking. Don’t forget to tell her which areas of the house are off limits to children, if your home is childproofed, and how the safety gates are operating. Take enough time to explain her daily workflow and accommodation (private room or sleeping with kids, food allowance or free food, working hours).

Any legal requirements or documentation, such as those from the immigration department, should be explained during the home tour.

During the visit, make sure your domestic helper knows how to use air conditioning, TV, washing machine (don’t mix white with other colors!), and any other household appliances in your home. It is also the moment to give her a key to your home, tell more about your house security, and share a hiding place of an extra key!

After this home tour, the visit will continue outside! Show her around your house, neighborhood, school, and where it’s safe for the kids to play outside. Indicate to her where your favorite food market or supermarket is and what your expectations are about groceries.

4. Discuss Her Responsibilities

Your home tour is a good way to discuss your expectations and responsibilities. We all want someone to step into a position and immediately know where everything is and how to take care of our home. Unfortunately, Becoming familiar with a new family takes time, from identifying the cleaning products to recognizing the children’s favorite toys.

The number of annual leave days can depend on the years worked for the same employer.

One of your domestic helpers' main duties is to provide regular housekeeping. This may include sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, laundry, and cleaning dishes. Clearly share your expectations and habits with her. Your helper will also be in charge of taking care of your children! You need to teach and explain to her what your requirements are:

• Daily schedule from the moment your child wakes up to the moment he crawls into bed at night

• Cooking, bathing, dressing, and helping children with general hygiene

• Organizing and cleaning children’s play area

• Taking children to parks and playgrounds (let her know where it’s safe for the kids to play outside

• Teaching manners, languages, and other socially appropriate behavior

Don’t hesitate to remind her of her duties during her learning curve and, if necessary, demonstrate how you feel they should be done. To speed up this curve, you can prepare an orientation checklist (the things to do or not to do). This is helpful and will allow your helper to acclimate to your house and routines.

5. Provide Emergency Contact Information & Safety Issues

Before resuming your work schedule, make sure to provide your helper with emergency contact information. Include both parents’ contact details and at least two additional emergency contacts, like a trusted neighbor or close friend. Ensure she knows the address and phone number of your home in case she ever needs to call emergency services (999).

Remember to request your helper’s contact information (her mobile number and some people to contact if she has any issues).

Organisation protecting helpers and consulate information are also helpful.

It's also a good idea to share contacts for your child’s pediatrician and provide written permission for her to take your child to the doctor if needed. Schools may also require an authorization letter, so make sure she has these documents on hand.

Lastly, review your domestic helper's entitlements, such as rest days and public holidays, and make sure she knows how to handle emergencies during these times. Having a well-stocked first-aid kit is essential, and make sure to explain any allergies or medications your children may have.

Setting the Right Tone from Day One

The first day and the following weeks are important in setting expectations, building trust, and helping your domestic helper adjust. Take time to communicate openly, outline your expectations clearly, and create a comfortable and respectful environment. This foundation will go a long way in building a positive relationship that benefits everyone in your household.

Platforms like HelperPlace facilitate hiring process by connecting employers with potential helpers ethically and transparently. Feel free to visit us.