Expect Royal Treatment? Equip your Staff!
Disclaimer:
This is friendly industry advice from a professional colleague. These words are my own and should not be considered legal advice.
Let’s take a moment
The Queen’s passing has dominated global news the past week, and understandably so. She left behind a legacy of loyal leadership, steadfast devotion, and compassionate reign. She also left behind a very long list of staff who devoted their lives to her service.
I have been touched by the outreach of social media posts with the sentiment of how they loved serving her. This is so refreshing and sheds a positive light on an often-oppressed industry of serving wealthy people.
It’s no secret that the palace staff works long hours and is held to the highest standards of service expectations.
However, those grieving social media posts painted a picture of adoration and a sense of pride for serving someone who was worthy of their service and sacrifices.
How uplifting to see these tributes.
Fun fact
It is reported that the royal household employs 1,200 people. I wasn’t shocked by the number of staff but was truly fascinated by their roles.
Positions like “shoe-breaker-in-er” (my title, not theirs) is a person specifically hired to wear the Queen’s shoes and break them in, so she never has to wear uncomfortable shoes.
She employs 24 staffers as “royal watermen” who, in theory, row the royal barge when she’s onboard. However, there are no barges in need of being manned these days; the position is purely ceremonial.
There’s even a royal astronomer. He is charged with drawing up maps of the heavens with enough accuracy to be reliable for navigation (I wonder if he’s ever been introduced to Google Maps.)
While it’s inspiring to see this diversity of roles in great specificity, I can’t help but see it in very sharp contrast to the hybrid roles in the US.
Let’s reflect
In last week’s blog post, we discussed the increasing trend of hybrid roles in private service and how these positions are unsustainable for the staff member and the principal while serving no one long-term.
I had several readers reach out to me, stating their disdain for these roles, full of unrealistic expectations. Yet, those who reached out agreed that publicly expressing their scorn for these roles would likely get that staff member fired or keep them from being considered for future roles.
I always have a good laugh when…
I read that hospitality schools and recruiters base the number of household staffing needs on the house's square footage. I've seen 2,000-square-foot houses that are as high-maintenance as some of the 12,000-square-foot homes I’ve managed. In reality, it comes down to the household content, level of service, and the principal expectations - not the square footage.
I recently visited a property with 45 motor vehicles with only two maintenance staff to drive, clean, and maintain them – in addition to a long list of groundskeeping responsibilities. The staff's biggest fear was that someone would jump on a high-performance motorcycle that hadn't been driven in months, only to find out the fuel was old and a mouse chewed through the supply line. Often, these subtle “red flags” are overlooked until someone is stranded on the side of the road. Then heads roll, and well-meaning staff members get accused of not doing their jobs. Sigh.
Although most seasoned estate managers have the skills and experience to perform a broad range of services, including almost every aspect of luxury home management and personal care, they can’t do all these jobs effectively simultaneously.
Being a housekeeper, butler, laundress, chef, errand runner, event planner, HR expert, UN negotiator, landscape manager, contractor coordinator, art manager, personal assistant, kid’s chauffeur, caregiver, secret-keeper, superman/woman, dog walker, therapist, and lifesaver might be a tad unrealistic without the proper budget and staff – no matter the square footage of the house.
I believe that if a homeowner isn’t willing to hire proper staff and provide adequate funding to support to succeed, they should contract with a luxury property management company.
Let’s look at proper staffing
One of the first things I do when visiting a property, aside from completing photo inventories, is to interview the existing staff. We discuss their job responsibilities, most demanding challenges, and where they need a little support or additional training related to their roles and responsibilities.
Based on the feedback I get from them, paired with the household contents, I develop a database of all the tasks for each asset and each staff member. I note the time required to complete each task and the recommended frequency (daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).
This spreadsheet is the best way to get an accurate picture of the weekly hours required to maintain the assets and provide service to the family. The information in this database is the most powerful tool any household manager can possess. It can be sorted by frequency, location, or staff member. Issues like realistic expectations on how long it takes to wash and iron the sheets and whether it’s more practical to send them out for dry cleaning can be addressed.
If a staff member continually works overtime, you’ll want to look at sharing some of those responsibilities with other staff or hiring subcontracted labor to cover the riskier tasks like cleaning the guttering and skylights or changing the tall ceiling light bulbs.
This information will also be critical in building your 12-month maintenance calendar with absolutely every aspect of maintenance proactively scheduled.
More importantly, you’ll be able to determine whether a property is adequately staffed based on the total number of hours needed per week to complete all required maintenance.
If you’re interested in developing a master maintenance task list, download my free template:
When properties are understaffed, several things happen
Homeowners waste the time, talents, and efforts of well-meaning household managers who feel utterly unsuccessful. They’ll lose talented resources that could be used to add to the value of their property and their home. Further, they miss out on an opportunity to retain trusted, big-hearted staff whose passion is to serve them and make their lives easier.
This industry is critically understaffed, under-communicated, and under-supported. And yet, at the same time, held to the highest standards of service expectations.
Even though here in the US, we don’t serve the Queen, we all would like to work for a family that is doing good in the world, so in turn, we feel that we are a part of something greater.
Free Resources
We work directly with Estate Managers, Chiefs of Staff, and Directors of Residences. Our free resources include our blog posts and YouTube videos.
Some posts are directed toward UHNW individuals.
Please submit your email address for updates if you’re interested in receiving this content.
