Singapore Caregiver –Tips to Choosing the Right Caregiver or How to Choose the Right Caregiver

By Eddy Lam

Singapore caregiver – or simply, a caregiver is defined as someone who takes care of another person – be it a child, an elderly person or a physically challenged person.

However, in Singapore, a caregiver may also be called a maid, an “ah-mah” or a domestic helper. She is not only someone who helps take care of the children, she also does the household chores or take care of the elderly if need be. (As a side-note: Singapore maids are also known as Singapore foreign domestic workers, Singapore au pair, Singapore domestic helpers, Singapore caregivers, “ah-mahs”, or Singapore nannies. Some even take them as Singapore babysitters! The more experienced maids are generally known as Singapore transfer maids.)

In Singapore, the pace of life is extremely fast. Hence, having a Singapore caregiver is more a necessity than a luxury. Most of these caregivers come from the Philippines and Indonesia. Other countries of origin include Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and even Nepal. Currently, there are about 150,000 foreign caregivers in Singapore.

Under the Singapore regulations, it is mandatory that the caregivers live in with the family. As such, it is very important to choose the right Singapore caregiver for your family

First and foremost, it is important to understand clearly why you require the service of a caregiver. What is your number one priority? Is it to help take care of the children or is being a fantastic cook more important?

While it is good to have a “perfect” maid, so to speak, you know that they don’t exist.

Like any person, a Singapore caregiver has her strengths and weaknesses. As such, as far as possible you must play to her strength.

Secondly, having understood your needs, get to know the needs of the potential Singapore caregivers. You can either get a professional Singapore maid agency to assist you with shortlisting candidates, or you can ask around to see if anyone knows of a suitable caregiver.

Do not think that the caregivers will simply accept any job offers that come her way. They are choosing you as much as you are choosing them.

Some caregivers may be good with children, but are terrible at cooking. And yet others are really good with animals, but when it comes to ironing… ;-)

Get to know what the caregiver prefers to do, and make sure that their preference matches yours. It is also important to see whether you, your spouse, your children and/or pets feel comfortable with the Singapore caregiver. It doesn’t matter that she may be the most skilled among the candidates. If she doesn’t fit in with the family, it doesn’t work.

Thirdly, you would have to play the role of a human resource manager. When sourcing for a Singapore caregiver, it is important to interview her and do character reference checks with her earlier employers.

Here are a few tips for the interview:

1. Tell your candidates what their daily work schedule is like. Let them assess whether they are able to fulfill your needs. Better yet, interview them at your house so that they can see what her work environment would be like.

2. Ask them this question: “Can you tell me more about yourself and your work?” This open-ended question will get them talking and you will be able to assess how good they are in English and expressing themselves.

3. Find out the reason why they are leaving their current employer. There can be many reasons for this. Sometimes, it may be due to their current employer leaving Singapore. At other times, it may be due to some misunderstanding.

4. You can also give them some hypothetical scenarios and ask them how they will react when something happens. For instance, if your child falls down, what should they do.

And finally, having found the right Singapore caregiver, you must then do the necessary regulatory paperwork. Please note that if you are a first-time employer, you must also attend an orientation course. Check with the professionals on where to attend the course. You can also attend an online course.

In conclusion, follow these simple steps, and you will definitely find the right Singapore caregiver for your family!

Have you seen these testimonials of happy Singapore caregiver employers? Plus, get your 2 FREE reports on choosing the right Singapore caregiver for your family. All these, and more at 121 Personnel Services!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Eddy_Lam