Best practices for virus safety in managing your household and personal staff
Hiring right, receiving productivity and ensuring your protection, health and privacy. Remember, safe measures need to be for both sides – you and your service team.
Interview with Stephen Candland, Partner of Private Staff Group.
Private Staff Group (“PSG”) is a boutique and specialized recruitment search firm serving the distinct staffing needs of exceptional clients for their household, estate, personal and business.
PSG clients typically have multiple homes, large homes, dynamic lifestyles and high expectations for service excellence. Continuation of safe domestic services is possible with proper and custom steps and attention to protections for both the family and the staff.
What are you seeing in safe practices in continuing to use household staff?
Hygiene can include changing of clothes before entering the home. For example, fresh laundered uniform clothing to change into for the domestic worker. Simple black pants/white shirt, etc. Wearing disposable gloves and face-mask is recommended.
Is Live-in an option?
Upscale doormen buildings are reluctant to let in outside domestic workers to the building. Often the workers traveled to the building via subway, etc. If you have a separate quarters or bedroom, could you accommodate a live-in situation. Vacation or second homes, sometimes have guest quarters, pool house, etc. Keeping your staff in your home and on property protects all. Everyone can share supplies, food and work together in a clean environment.
Clients have rented separate apartments or residences for staff quarters.
If I am not comfortable with current staff in my home?
Clients are placing staff on leave of absence (furlough)- typically with full or partial salary. Clients may decide to eliminate any and all outside persons, including vendors from entering the home during this time
How to handle help for relocations to vacation homes, yachts, etc.?
PSG clients have relocated to homes as far away as New Zealand. Most are taking private jets to second homes as an extra precaution. Extensive sanitary cleaning of jets, homes, cars, etc. is critical to peace of mind. We have seen clients send staff ahead to conduct cleaning, and then quarantine themselves (staff) for a couple weeks before joining the client in the home.
Chefs have been taken to second residences as they can handle all the kitchen, shopping, cooking, etc. with confidence as the chef is required to wear proper PPE outside and inside the home, thus reducing exposure risk for principals.
How can Private Staff Group be helpful to my needs?
We have partnered with clients to hire assistants who work virtually. We have recommended exceptional service staff who are willing to Live-in, travel to remote home locations, and be of multi-service such as cook, housekeeper, server, family assistant, etc. PSG finds the best candidates who are prepared to clean properly, be pleasant in the home and a trusted partner to keeping you as safe as possible and enabling a pleasant household environment.
We have wonderful candidates available for short interim situations. PSG and the client often work together to design and implement the right cleaning, orientation and training. Background checks and payroll are offered too.
Let’s work together to get you the hygiene and preventative measures which can be enhanced by your domestic staff. Help in the home can be completely safe and add to the enjoyment and manageability of this confined period.