A job description for choosing a maid?! It might seem like what only corporate organisations do right?! But as individual employers of labour, it is important that we have one too. As stated in our previous article (put the link to Before You Hire That Maid with the underlined words), a job description helps to clarify expectations of the job for both parties. That way there can be no talk of unfair treatment or breach of contract regarding the responsibilities the maid should handle. Once you have figured out what type of service you need, you can create a job description using:
1. Job Title and Summary
Before you summarise the needs of the job, it is important to start with a job title that explains what the job is, like House Keeper, Cleaning Lady, Caretaker, etc. You can specify where you want the person to come from. For example, I’m looking for a Housekeeper in Apapa or House Help needed in Magodo. This is useful in case you intend to source for a maid online. It enables search engines to make your information available to those in that area. Next, is a brief write up of what the job is about in one or two sentences. For instance, We are looking for a maid who specialises in sanitation and maintenance of residential houses with attention to detail and physical stamina. This already sets the bar on what you would require of the applicant.
2. List of Duties and Responsibilities
Now depending on the service you need, it is good to list them out, so no one is in doubt of the tasks to be carried out. It’s best you put this as bullet points. For example, typical duties of cleaning lady include: Sweeping, mopping or washing the floors, sinks, toilets, tubs, garage entryway, and counters. It also includes cleaning the windows, shining your mirrors, cleaning all the surfaces of the bathroom, showers, and kitchen, etc. It does not include, throwing out of garbage, cleaning out mouldy refrigerators or clearing out clutter such as picking toys from the floor, sorting out your excess nylon collection, etc. This segment should spell out basic day-to-day tasks expected of the prospective maid.
3. Qualification and Skills
Gone are the days where getting anyone from the village or a relative to handle housekeeping is the norm. These days it is important that the person applying has an interest or passion for the work and will undergo training to be better at it. If without prior training, sign them up for one organised by cleaning agencies or caregivers. It certainly will reduce the many hours one would spend to instruct when a maid or domestic staff resumes work. Even if without certification or training, one can ask for a certain skill set depending on the job offered. Such skills range from the ability to use initiative, patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations, to be thorough and pay attention to detail, to be flexible and open to change, ability to learn from criticism and adapt to changes in work processes to accommodate an arising need, etc. That way you are not limiting the job to candidates with paper qualifications.
4. Work Schedule and Salary (Optional)
Some people would rather omit this part because it might discourage potential employees or give the illusion that the amount is fixed in stone devoid of negotiations. If you are one of such persons, then you can leave this part out. Otherwise, it is good to state it upfront what people are getting into. For example, in the case of a need for a Nanny on a part-time basis with weekly availability in the evenings. When sourcing for such staff, what may appeal to applicants is the flexibility of the work schedule and the salary.
Every home is unique as is the homeowner’s needs. These are just pointers on how to present those needs to attract the right set of people and weed out the crowd of potential applicants.
Have you ever tried using a job description to get a maid? Drop a comment about your experience.
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