Running a vetting, training & placement facility is not an easy task. The concept is great and really needed in Kenya. We need trained domestic workers with security clearance. “Max Child Care is NOT a bureau!!!” may be a phrase you will often hear from us. We thrive on helping improve the lives of so many people who felt their careers did not matter because they lacked the knowledge & training needed to understand how important they are. Max Child Care was started with a vision that is flourishing into an amazing asset in Kenya that’s helping so many people, families & companies. Especially women.
During training we hear so many things from trainees:
- “Clients truly despise us!”
- “Clients don’t think about how we eat & work.”
- “I need more money.”
- “They don’t like to pay us well.”
- “How am I to work well without off or leave days or enough sleep?”
- “They want us to be open, but they don’t want to listen to us.”
Surprising the trainees by role playing as a client, often gets responses which allow us to better understand how domestic workers may think. Once complete, getting trainees to consider the perspective of a client is often exercised. This happens by asking them a few questions like:
- “Do you think we have a budget for food in the house?”
- “Do you eat here and use products the same way you do at home?”
- “If I’m paying over 10k in your salary, providing food & board, do you think about how I manage to provide for my family & you?”
- “When we give you salary increases, why do you reward with laziness, attitude & gluttony rather than maintenance or improvement?”
- “Do you ever express appreciation for my efforts & sacrifices for you or you just expect appreciation from me?”
- “Do you genuinely care about me & my family & our wellbeing or is all about you, your family & what you can gain from this job?”
- “When you interview & ask for so much money do you ever think about what you’re bringing to the table, or even allow your work to speak for itself?”
Let’s get real for a minute here!
Are there a lot of clients who have a problem with DMs? YES!
Are there a lot of DMs who have a problem with clients? YES!
Let’s take a look at the reasons why:
10 Issues with the clients
- Never managed a family household on their own
- Don’t know what the work of a DM entails because they’ve never lasted more than a few days without assistance
- Uneducated about what they expect of a DM or nanny
- Don’t take time to explain to their DM their house rules & how they want their house to be organized yet are so quick to complain “this nanny isn’t trained”
- Never take time to personally get to know their DMs or nanny
- Ignore their DMs basic human rights (i.e. 21 leave days; adequate off days)
- Discuss the nutrition of their family, but not that of their domestic worker
- Ignore how much rest per night the DM needs to function the following day
- Ignore the increase in salary in relation to the increase in the cost of living for ALL in Kenya
- Don’t realize they are the MD of their home & have to manage the DMs as such.
10 Issues with Nannies and Domestic Managers
- Only focused on money for themselves
- Don’t think nor care that clients have financial difficulties too
- Don’t see that paying them is NOT a luxury, but often an extreme sacrifice
- Look at food & materials at work as items to waste when they don’t do the same in their own homes
- Don’t take pride in their work
- Don’t bond with the client’s family as a whole
- Hold in their concerns & deepest feelings which develops into resentment & bitterness rather than just speaking to the employer
- Often take short cuts with baby care rather than asking questions
- Terrible at communication!
- Lie rather than be honest even if the answer is wrong
I’m sure there is more to be said, but this is my observation from work as well as personal experience.
What are the solutions?
- Communication
- Respect
- Education
- Understanding
Once we LEARN about each other, ASK questions, set clear BOUNDARIES & EXPECTATIONS and most important LISTEN to one another things could really change.
The truth is, money isn’t what matters most in this partnership, it’s honesty, caring and valuing each other.
In the words of Bishop TD Jakes, “Value is determined by sacrifice!”
