Word of mouth or worth paying a cheap agency with low comission?

As I am sure that everyone has heard this countless times since being in HK before, but I will be looking for a helper soon. I am not at all in the desperation mode and do not want to put it out on the street that I am looking. Especially in my building due to the potential of doorknocker(s), maildropper(s) and privacy invaders. If you can please provide me some insight on what you would do if you had to do it all over again...

Why pay a commission at all when you can find hundreds of helpers with reference letters from previous employers on our DH channel. You can also download the simple contract and have your helper submit it to the labour department once you complete it.


http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/domestichelp/

Hi Caliman,


I have a cleaner I use who I am happy to recommend. She is the 2nd amah I've used - I had to fire the first one as she wasn't really fulfilling her end of the bargain.


Let me know if you'd like to chat further about this Amah.

If you're not in a hurry, I would recommend you to tell your friends that you're looking for a DH. It's the perfect time of the year to look for someone as a lot of people leave HK and thus their helper become available.

I don't think I would go through an agency.

The best way is to find her through friends who can recommend her to you.

If we were hiring a helper again I would do it ourselves (as we have done this time). My advice is:


Ask around for anyone who knows of a helper who will be available soon. Alot of expats change over during the summer school holidays - July/August. Recommendations are a good way of finding some good helpers to interview.


Look on the Asiaxpat website, but filter for the criteria you want (eg. I only looked at one's with references on the website - just as a way to filter choices down).


I only looked at helpers that had experience with Westerners but if I were hiring again I would also look at helpers with only Chinese experience - from what I hear they can be harder working and they know the boundries (this is a generalisation). But their English is usually not as good and you may have to teach them to cook Western foods.


Don't accept any helpers who have less than say 2 weeks to go - they are desperate for a job so could say anything in an interview (again this is a generalisation).


Make sure you ask very specific questions. Get them to detail their current routine eg. the daily schedule, how long they spend doing the bathroom, what products they use, etc. And if they say they can cook Western food then ask them specifically what can they cook and check eg. what ingredients do they use.


Absolutely talk to their current employer (even if you go through an agency make sure you talk to the employer yourself). And again ask very specific questions. Note that I was told that Western employers tend to give overly positive references, while the Chinese give limited written statements even the helper was a good and valued employee.


And lastly, I was told to go with my gut feel. You will have someone living with you so you need to make sure you're going to get along. But at the same time you need to remember you're looking for a good employee and not a best friend.


Good luck.

Oh, and make sure you interview quite a few helpers. We interviewed about 12 before choosing one.