ASK MARTA
| Marta Perrone has owned a full service domestic agency in Encino, California since 1989. She has placed all types of help in homes across the Los Angeles area, primarilly focusing on Nannies and Housekeepers. As a result of her expertise, in 2006 she published a book, "Help! How To Find Hire Train and Maintain Your Household Help!" |
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my first-born child in the hands of a person that virtually I hardly know.
How do I rid myself of this fear so that I can return to work comfortably?
A: The most reassuring answer I can give you at this time is that you are not
alone. Every new mother has gone through the same feelings of fear and
concern and have all managed to find excellent help for their child and
return to work unscathed. The first and most important thing you must do to
rid yourself of this fear is to begin talking to other mothers who have gone
through these same emotions. Most of them will tell you what I am about to
impart. There is a fabulous pool of child care providers out there who
sincerely love children and are competent in their abilities. Many of these
people will have more experience than we do as new mothers. They are not
only qualified because of the years of time spent with newborns, but because
of the references they hold that will happily recommend them. You must
trust in the fact that you will find the right child-care provider to give you
the confidence you need to walk out that door. But to help you with this on
a practical level, follow these few steps:
• Be sure to only interview people who have working references with
newborns.
• Check all references yourself carefully.
• Ask for letter of reference to support the verbal references.
• Do a complete criminal and background check on any individual you
consider viable.
• Have the candidate work with you and your child for a minimum of
one week prior to offering the position.
Q: I want to hire a nanny to work in my home on a full time basis. This is the
first time I have hired anyone and do not know what the obligations I have
as an employer for providing vacation, holidays and sick days.
A: In the household field, there is nothing written in any law in the States that
requires a household employer to provide vacation, holidays and/or sick
days. However, having that said, if your neighbors and others in your
demographics normally provide such things, then you would be making a
mistake not to do so. The reason for this is that for one, employees will
always talk, whether by the cooler or out by the bus stop, they will convene
and ask each other these kinds of questions. If the majority of those working
in this field in your area are receiving all the major holidays and one week’s
paid vacation along with 2 paid sick days per year, you had better think
carefully about providing your employee the same. Otherwise, you will
have a potential problem. In many States, these benefits are being provided
as stated – and why not. You want to make your employee happy and if
nothing more it could offset a lower salary that you cannot raise due to
financial constraints. Benefits and perks help make a job package attractive
and help keep an employee loyal.
Q: My employee is slacking off in her duties. She is very sensitive to criticism
to the point that I am almost afraid of telling her what she does wrong for
fear that she will get upset and walk out. How do I delicately tell her that I
am not happy with her performance?
A: It is difficult to randomly talk to an employee about every little thing that
isn’t being done right. If you do this everyday, the employee gets frustrated
and begins to think that you are just picking on her/him. However, there is a
way to begin an employee on a right foot and then establish review sessions
so that you always have a set time to discuss such matters.
When you begin with a new employee, you must be careful to train this
person properly so that the individual knows exactly what is expected. Have
a list prepared of everything you want completed and go over this list
carefully. Have a training period for a minimum of 1 to 2 weeks. During the
first month of employment, have a review session to make sure that the
things are getting done to your satisfaction. Finally, maintain a regular
review session on a periodical basis (every 2 months or 6 months) so that
this becomes the time when you sit down with your employee to cover the
issues, problems, etc. This way, you have established a regular set time for
you and your employee to correct any problems and it is understood from
the beginning that these sessions will take place.
As far as you being fearful of telling someone what to do – remember that as
long as you are professional, any employee should be open to taking
direction. If you begin a relationship in fear, you will always walk on
eggshells around this person and never be satisfied with their performance.
Remember: You are the boss!!!!
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