It may be that you’ve employed staff all your life. Most of our clients have a background of busy households, where the need for staff to support them is a usual occurrence. Polo & Tweed are an expert domestic agency.
Polo & Tweed are well versed with all client needs and requests. We work with clients around the world, helping match the perfect staff.
What happens when you come to us as a client? What is our domestic agency process?
Step 1 – Contact us!
The first step is to contact us and let us know what you are looking for. You can contact us here. Fill out the form, or chat to us about what you think you need and then we can help fill in the gaps. Our consultants are trained at understanding that each client has specific and unique needs. A good domestic agency, will take a full brief, and understand what your needs are, and then aim to advise you. We can work to your specific timeline as required.
Step 2 – The Brief
Think about what your life is like and what you would like the staff to do. The more detail you can give us on your lifestyle, habits and preferences the easier it is for us to make the perfect match. Try to give the domestic agency details that you might otherwise not assume is important. For instance one client came to us for a live in housekeeper. She detailed the post and position in terms of duties and needs but forgot to mention that she had 3 cats. We needed to know this, in order to select housekeepers who were not allergic to cats! So no matter how small the detail, it’s important to tell us. We will also ask the questions we need to know, so its always easiest for you to call and speak to us.
Step 3 – Agency Contract
Once we’ve spoken to you we will send you the agency contract in a rather funky online form for you to sign (electronically). Once you’ve signed it you will be emailed a copy to download. It outlines the agency fees and shows our guarantee/trial agreements. We are competitive with the other agencies, but we are not the cheapest. That’s because we work almost 24 hour for our clients. In this day and age you get what you pay for, and we believe that quality should be paid for when recruiting through a domestic agency.
Step 4 – Job Spec
Once the agency contract has been signed, the job spec is developed by our recruitment consultants. We aim to get the job spec clear and correct before we let our candidates know about it. We will send it to you to approve before we take it to our network. The more detail we have for the job spec, the easier it is to paint a picture of the role and ensure the right candidates apply. This job spec can be changed at offer stage, but the closer we are, the most successful the hire. A good domestic agency will guide you at this stage.
Step 5 – Job Goes Live
We then take the job live and start to let candidates know about it. We also reach out specifically to candidates who we already know will match the job. A combination of us selecting candidates and candidates who apply directly. Typically we may shortlist anywhere from 20 to 200 candidates, depending on the job spec, location and package. It’s a highly competitive industry! We also advertise the role via our website and select other partners. However no confidential information will be advertised on the job spec, we take our clients confidential information very, very seriously.
Step 6 – Candidate Selection
Not every candidate who gets shortlisted will be sent to the client. Our job is to ensure the right fit goes to the client, rather than sending them hundreds of CVs. Our candidates are notified once their CV has been submitted, and likewise notified if they have not progressed to the next stage. We pride ourself in communication with you and our candidates. At this stage, time is of the essence.
Step 7 – Candidate Submission
Lots of work on your account has now been done by the domestic agency. But you will hardly be aware of any of this (aside from approving the job spec) as that’s what a good domestic agency does. Now the exciting part arrives where we finally get to send the select CVs to you. And with that said, each client differs. Some like to have 2-3 sent through, others prefer a few more. At this point we touch base with you and ask you to give us detailed feedback on the candidates we’ve sent along. If you have questions or concerns. It is our job to answer the questions and ensure that you are clear.
Step 8 – Client Interviews
You will normally select candidates that you are most drawn to and invite them to interview. We work with you as to your preference, as some clients like to reach out to the candidate directly and arrange the interviews. Either way, we make this a completely stress-free process and are ready to help with any last minute changes.
Step 9 – Client Trials
At this stage we chat again with you to determine if you feel it necessary to interview additional candidates. So often Steps 6, 7 and 8 can be repeated numerous times. We are pretty good at getting the best candidates over to you in the first instance. When it comes to candidate trials, some clients choose to not undertake candidate trials, but we always highly recommend it. Having the candidate trial means you can see them in action and ensure that their skills on paper match their functional skills. You’ll get to see how they gel with you and your home/family. It’s a great way to very quickly identify if the candidate is right for you.
Step 10 – Formal Offer
Once the trials have been completed, we progress to formal offers. In very rare instances the clients sometimes choose to repeat earlier steps. We will chat with you to find out what type of formal offer you want to make and then present it to the candidate. We also have a small template for you to complete, so that we are 100% clear on what is being offered. At this stage there may well be a little back and forth between us, the client and the candidate in order to ensure that the offer made is the best one for both parties. A happy candidate will ensure that they will stay long term in the role which is ultimately what every client wants.
Step 11 – Offer Accepted/Contract
Once the candidate has accepted your offer, we can assist with contracts/employment tax etc. We are not an accountant/tax advisor so we can put you in touch with companies who we work with who can offer payroll services – such as staff tax. We can also help with advice on general aspects of the contracts, but again we recommend that you use your own solicitor. You as the client are completely responsible for the payroll/employed/self-employed agreement with the staff. It is at this stage that our agency fee is due (because we have done a great deal of work as you can see!) and our clients are often very quick to pay us (as they are very happy!).
Step 12 – Candidate starts!
This is a great moment for the team and for you as your new member of staff will start. This is an exciting time and we recommend as much communication with your chosen candidate as possible. Teething problems are often ironed out with good communication and clear guidelines.
Step 13 – Follow up
We drop you a line from time to time to stay in touch with you and the candidate to see how things are progressing and although we don’t get directly involved, we are here to offer advice and guidance along the way. As a domestic agency we believe that happy clients equal happy candidates.
Step 14 – A happy client for life!
Polo & Tweed’s domestic agency clients return to us time and time again. They recognise the personal touch we give them and the way we go the extra mile. The bottom line is less important to us than your happiness with your staff, which we believe is what makes the basis for a long and successful business relationship. So why not get in touch with us now and start the process to find your next perfect member of staff!