Are you considering hiring a House Manager? Do you fully know what a House Manager can mean for you and your household? And what you should think about when you are in the process of hiring a House Manager? A House Manager can be a great addition to your household but make sure you are prepared!
So what should you consider when hiring a House Manager?
Firstly, it is important to know why you consider hiring a House Manager. Do you have the right set up for it? Will there be enough for the House Manager for it to be a full-time role, or should you consider part-time? And what sort of salary should you be thinking of?
Duties and tasks
To understand if a House Manager indeed is the right thing for your household, have a look at the duties and tasks below. A House Manager can be a very broad term for many different tasks. And the role of House Manager really will be shaped as per the households’ needs, requirements, and setups.
Generally, the duties of a House Manager can be described as follows:
Overseeing the smooth running of the house and ensuring good general upkeep and maintenance of the property and land.
Often, people would consider hiring a House Manager when there are several members of staff, as well as lots of house and garden projects to manage. But it can also happen that a House Manager might be party doing housekeeping duties too. Or chauffeuring duties. This normally only happens when there are not enough real management tasks – so that the House Manager can step in and do other things too.
Generally, the House Manager would also be at hand to help out when another member of staff is unable to come to work. Depending on the type of House Manager and their background, some even might help out with some housekeeping. But again, all these tasks are extremely specific to the House Manager you hire, their background and your set up.
So have a look at the list of possible House Manager tasks below and have a think about what is important in your household. If housekeeping is a big issue, it might be good to look at hiring a House Manager with a previous housekeeping or cleaning background, for example.
Possible House Manager Duties
- Ensuring the household/estate and grounds are run smoothly and efficiently at all times
- Supervising and managing other staff members
- Organising and liaising with outside contractors
- Training other staff members
- Organising and overseeing maintenance of the property
- Ensuring the property is secure at all times
- Organising family and household events
- Greeting and caring for guests and visitors
- Serving drinks and food
- Chauffeur duties
- Housekeeping duties (only when the duties with the housekeeper cross over)
- Running errands and shopping
- Taking responsibility for the household inventory. Also ensuring that supplies are always replenished
- Answer the telephone and door
- Arrange entertainment for social gatherings and events
- Arrange all aspects of moving house if the client is moving
- Be in charge of the budgets of the household
- Make travel and holiday arrangements
- Packing of luggage
- Recruit and interview for new staff
- Maintain records where needed
- Perform any other tasks, within reason, required by the employer
Salary of a House Manager
As with any job role, salary is mostly dependent on background, experience, and skills. If you want your House Manager to possess a special skill, such as speaking several languages, expect to pay more. If someone comes with 10+ years of experience being a House Manager, again you will pay a premium.
Entry level/Less experienced House Manager is a candidate with 2-4 years experience.
- Expect a salary of £430-660 gross a week live in and £510-740 gross a week live out.
- Yearly salary range from £22,000 gross to £38,000 gross.
Mid level/More experienced House Manager is a candidate 4-8 years experience.
- Expect a salary of £740-1200 gross a week live in and £820-£1400 gross a week live out.
- Yearly salary from £38,000 gross to £72,000 gross per year.
High level/Very experienced House Manager is a candidate with 8+ years experience.
- Expect a salary of £1200 gross a week live in and £1500 gross a week live out
- Yearly salary from £73,000 gross upwards.
If you are new to employing someone, it is important you prepare and understand the legal implications by hiring a member of staff can have. What you are and are not responsible for, and how to pay them correctly. This handy UK government overview can give you lots of information already.
Live In vs Live Out
Have you considered whether your House Manager will be live in or live out? Both options are pretty normal in that line of work. However, if you have a very large property, and lots of work to do, it might be nicer to offer your House Manager a live in position.
But please note: you should have very appropriate housing to offer your House Manager. A House Manager is really expected to have a living area separate from the house, maybe on the same land as the main property. They should have their own bedroom, living area, bathroom, and kitchen facilities.
Having a live in House Manager can be handy because they do not have to commute or travel. They can also be at hand very quickly for a last-minute situation. However, please note that even though someone is live-in, they still are allowed normal breaks and cannot work 7 days in a row! They are still employed so normal employment laws – specific to the country – apply.
How can Polo & Tweed Help?
Polo & Tweed are an internationally renowned domestic staff agency with many excellent House Managers on the books. We can guide you through the whole process from initial job spec creating, to interviewing the best selection for you all the way through to placement and contract advice. Please do get in touch to discuss your House Manager requirements with us now!