When it comes to hiring household staff, families face a critical decision: should you recruit directly or work with a specialized agency?
While direct hiring may seem straightforward and cost-effective, the reality is far more complex.
Written by Morgan Richez, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet (M&M), with insights from recruiters across our global offices.
Before establishing the agency, Morgan worked as a butler in private household service, gaining firsthand understanding of what makes placements succeed or fail.
Why HNW / UHNW Families Can Get Recruitment Wrong
What Agencies Bring to the Table
Working with a specialized agency offers distinct advantages that direct recruitment cannot match:
Established Database and Network
Agencies have access to pre-vetted candidates actively seeking positions. M&M maintains a database of over 56,000 approved candidates worldwide. You’re not starting from scratch.
Discretion and Confidentiality
For high net worth families and public figures, posting a job on Gumtree or Indeed immediately compromises your privacy. Agencies protect your identity and property details until the final stages of recruitment.
Professional Filtering and Selection
Recruiters from our Dubai office note that out of 100 applications received, typically only two or three candidates are genuinely qualified.
Agencies handle the time-intensive process of screening applications, conducting interviews, and selecting suitable candidates. They know which questions to ask and how to conduct thorough background checks.
Time Savings
The recruitment process demands substantial time investment. According to recruiters based in our London office, professional placement requires at least one hour of detailed client consultation, followed by weeks of candidate sourcing, interviews, and verification.
When DIY Recruitment Actually Works
There are limited scenarios where recruiting without an agency is advisable:
Internal Promotions
If you’re promoting existing staff (for example, a commis chef to private chef), direct hiring makes sense. You already know the person and their work quality.
Referrals (With Caution)
Friend referrals can work but come with risks. Your friend likely isn’t a professional recruiter and may not know how to properly assess candidates. Determining the right fit for your specific household requires expertise they probably don’t have.
The Five Hidden Risks of DIY Recruitment
Lack of Professional Interview Skills
Experienced recruiters use simulations and exercises during interviews to test candidates. Most employers don’t know how to conduct this level of assessment.
Inadequate Background Checking
Without proper reference checks, criminal record verification, and social media screening, you’re potentially putting your home and family at risk. Professional agencies check all three. Most DIY recruiters skip these steps entirely.
Security and Safety Concerns
Bringing the wrong person into your property can destroy team morale or create serious security issues. The stakes are particularly high when children are involved.
Legal and Contractual Mistakes
Many families make costly errors around employment terms. Gross vs. net salary confusion matters critically in the UK and France. Accommodation terms need clarity: what’s included in live-in positions? In France, providing accommodation is considered a taxable benefit.
Our recruiters from the Paris office note that missing contract details (duties, working hours, notice periods, flexibility clauses) become expensive when relationships break down.
Time Investment
If you want to do it properly, you need substantial time. Time that most busy families simply don’t have.
How Agencies Reduce Your Hiring Risk
Multi-Stage Vetting Process
Professional agencies implement several layers of screening:
- Initial candidate screening
- Comprehensive interviews with simulations
- Reference checking (minimum two to three references)
- Criminal background verification
- Social media profile review
- Character assessment for household fit
M&M built a custom Applicant Tracking System specifically for luxury staffing after finding that off the shelf recruitment tools were inadequate for our needs.
The system prevents recruiters from progressing candidates until all required checks are complete. It blocks submissions if verification is incomplete.
All 56,000 candidates in our database meet our baseline criteria, which includes at least three years of experience in a similar role to the one they’re applying for.
Industry Expertise
M&M’s founders spent years working in household recruitment before establishing the agency. This experience informs every placement.
When recruiting for live-in positions, experienced recruiters assess technical skills and personal circumstances. Can candidates realistically commit to the travel or flexibility required?
Character and Compatibility Matching
Recruiters from our New York office emphasize that working in a private home differs completely from office employment. In a household, especially live-in positions, staff become part of the family’s daily life.
One recruiter explained: “household staff recruitment is the most important recruitment compared to even your company because the people will live with you and will enter in your private life.”
The personality matters. When you wake up and don’t enjoy the presence of your housekeeper, the relationship won’t last long term.
In one case, our team placed a companion for an elderly billionaire. They matched on age and shared cultural references, understanding that a younger companion would have nothing to discuss with the client. This level of matching is nearly impossible without professional expertise.
Ready to discuss your household staffing needs? Contact our team for a confidential consultation.What Professional Agencies Do That Hiring Privately Can’t
Discretion Protocols
Agencies never reveal client names, addresses, or identifying details until late in the process. With high-profile clients, candidates sometimes don’t learn the employer’s identity until after contracts are signed.
Understanding What You Actually Need
Professional recruiters typically spend at least one hour on the phone with every client, asking detailed questions to ensure they fully understand the role requirements. Most successful placements require only three to four candidate profiles before finding the right fit.
Legal Guidance
While agencies cannot provide legal counsel, experienced recruiters offer practical guidance on standard contract terms, trial periods (typically one to two months), accommodation clauses, notice periods, and tax considerations across jurisdictions.
The Real Costs of Recruiting Alone
Salary and Benefit Miscalculations
Without market knowledge, families may offer uncompetitive packages that fail to attract quality candidates, or overpay without getting corresponding value, or misunderstand taxation implications.
Vague Job Descriptions
Phrases like “light housekeeping” mean different things to different people. For one person, it means tidying up. For another, it includes deep cleaning floors and windows.
Without a recruiter to clarify expectations, families find themselves in conflict with staff over duties that weren’t properly defined.
Incomplete Contracts
Critical details frequently missed include specific duties, living accommodation terms, notice periods, flexibility clauses, and clear gross or net salary specifications.
When DIY Goes Wrong: Real Examples
Our team in New York notes that agencies receive calls several times a year from families whose DIY recruitment “became a big mess.” Common scenarios include:
- Staff who misrepresented their capabilities.
- Candidates who disappear even after signing offer letters.
- Personality conflicts that could have been identified through proper screening.
- Legal complications, especially in countries with strict labor laws.
- Employees who must be replaced, starting the entire process again.
Feedback from our recruiters based in Paris suggests that in France particularly, employment law complexity makes DIY hiring especially risky. Terminating an employee requires multiple steps, written documentation, and formal meetings. Individual families rarely understand these requirements.
Who Benefits Most From Agency Recruitment?
Entrepreneurs and Business Owners
Approximately 60% to 70% of our clients are entrepreneurs. They understand the value of specialized services and recognize they lack the time to recruit properly.
Families Requiring Specialized Skills
When you need candidates with rare language skills (Japanese or Chinese native speakers in Europe), specific certifications (Norland-trained nannies), or niche experience, agencies’ networks become invaluable.
These placements might yield a small number of candidates globally. M&M’s proprietary ATS can filter for these exact requirements.
Households With Multiple Properties
According to one of our Dubai recruiters, families managing several residences benefit enormously from agencies’ ability to maintain consistency, handle logistics across locations, and manage complex staffing arrangements.
Looking for specialized talent? Our global network spans eight offices across three continents.
If You Insist on Hiring Directly
Should you choose to recruit independently, never skip these critical steps:
Time Investment
Accept that proper recruitment requires substantial time. You cannot rush this process.
Reference and Criminal Checks
Even if someone interviews beautifully, you never truly know people without checking their background. They could present wonderfully while having serious issues you’d only discover through proper verification.
Professional Contract Review
Even if you draft the contract yourself, have it reviewed.
Character Assessment
Develop a process for evaluating personality fit for your household, in addition to skills.
Making Your Decision
Choose an agency if:
- You value your time and want expert handling.
- You require discretion and confidentiality.
- You’re hiring for specialized or senior roles.
- You lack recruitment experience.
- You want reduced risk and proper vetting.
Consider direct hiring only if:
- You’re promoting existing staff you know well.
- You have professional HR or recruitment experience yourself.
- You have substantial time to invest.
- You’re prepared to handle all legal complexity.
The Bottom Line
Professional household recruitment requires specialized knowledge, extensive networks, refined assessment skills, and deep understanding of both the industry and employment law across jurisdictions.
While agency fees may seem significant upfront, they’re typically far less than the cost of a failed placement, legal complications, or the time investment required to do it properly yourself.
Most households can hire directly. Most households shouldn’t. For the vast majority of families, the risks outweigh any perceived savings.
Need expert guidance? Our offices in Paris, London, Dubai, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Geneva, and Monaco are ready to help. Contact us for a confidential consultation to determine the best path forward for your household.
