Happy Staff, Happy Home, and a Great Return on Investment

Edited by Leoni Lourens Van Sandwyk

In our industry, we know that managing someone else’s prize possessions, along with the staff, contractors, calendars, events, logistics, and high expectations that come with it, can make up a very demanding package. Even if you do a fantastic job at it, this fast-paced environment often has do-or-die moments that require immediate problem-solving at any cost.

While tunnel-vision-mode certainly helps to get the job done, it has long-term implications for the happiness of both you and your staff. Warning signs only appear when the dust settles, and everyone comes up for air after a few hectic weeks (or even months). 

Sometimes they’re obvious, but often they get overlooked and justified by the exhaustion of the past few weeks. You must act on these signs before they snowball into damaging long-term consequences.

Start by looking at recognizable signs: have staff taken their rightful breaks and personal time? Are any team members on edge or short-tempered? Does someone hold themselves together in front of the principal but break down emotionally behind closed doors? Frustration, lack of motivation, bad attitude, and negative comments are all signs of a bigger problem. 

We know that a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so it’s critical to ensure that your team is healthy, motivated, and well taken care of.

As estate managers, we often feel helpless when it comes to empowering and retaining good staff. We are often at the mercy of our principals and their family office to hire qualified staff. The reality is that even the best employees, when pushed to their limits and under extreme stress, can’t do their best work. Even though we’re hired to help manage their lives, a big part of our role is to make sure that everyone is motivated to be total team players.

Whether a staff member is new to the team or has been there long before you, it is within your control to provide support and guidance to everyone.

Here’s how to get started:

1.    Schedule one-on-one time with each staff member

• Dedicate a weekly or monthly meeting to individual staff members.

• During this meeting, ask about their well-being, their biggest challenges, and how  you can help them be successful.

• Take notes and pay attention to their requests so that you can take action on it.

2.    Listen to them

• Listen objectively, be patient and create a space where they feel comfortable.

• Allow them to share their feelings by being non-judgmental.

• Give them enough of your time and attention so that they feel heard and valued.

3.    Document their goals and milestones

• Take note of their needs, requests, and goals.

• Hold them accountable for their goals as part of supporting and motivating them.

• Check up on them regularly to ensure they are on track with their milestones.

4.    Acknowledge and celebrate their achievements

• Have regular performance reviews and celebrate achieved goals.

• Motivate them to continue to achieve future goals as ongoing milestones.

• Acknowledge their hard work by rewarding them for it.

5.    Compensate them fairly

• Compensate them for goals achieved and their successes.

• Regularly review their pay, overtime and bonuses and ensure it is market related or better.

• Rewards don’t always need to be monetary – time off is often just as valuable.

Everyone who works in this industry has a hope of how they want to be treated, whether an estate manager, personal assistant, nanny, housekeeper or gardener. Employees who feel respected, fairly compensated, and valued, will think twice before leaving or taking action against their employer.

Be mindful that the cost of losing an employee is much greater than rewarding a deserving one, and a satisfied employee will deliver an excellent return on investment for their employer. So, take care of your staff, and make sure you are valued too.

Let us help you with an employee retention plan. The How To Manage A Mansion™ Personnel Module will help you create documents to outline your personnel policies and track weekly staff and team progress so that everyone will feel heard and valued.

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