Hiring Household Staff in London: A Recruiter’s Honest Guide

Ben W: Hello there, podcast listeners. In today’s episode of the Morgan & Mallet Luxury Staffing Podcast, we’ve got Rachel Dixon. She’s a specialist recruiter in London for Morgan & Mallet.

And in this episode, we’re going to be, I will be asking her all about recruiting in London and she’s going to give her honest insights. So welcome to the podcast, Rachel. How are you doing today?

Rachel: I’m good thank you Ben, how are you?

Ben W: I’m doing great, thanks. Doing super. Rachel, could you just give us a bit of an intro about yourself, how long you’ve been working for Morgan & Mallet, and why you enjoy this job?

Rachel: I’ve been here for four years now and I’m really enjoying it. It’s great to see candidates meet different types of people along the way. I’ve been interviewing today. I’ve got a butler in Tuscany.

I’ve been interviewing a housekeeper for Spain. Tomorrow I think I’m actually videoing with a housekeeper in Dubai, so a good mix.

Current State of London’s Market

Ben W: Wow, wow, interesting. Super, okay. And Rachel, so today’s episode’s all about London, well, all about the UK. My first question is, you’ve been recruiting internationally, but London’s your home ground. How would you describe the London domestic staffing market right now?

Rachel: I think London’s active but it has got short on candidates. I think the demand for ultra high net worth families is good but I think the pool of experienced long-term household staff has got smaller than it was say five years ago.

Ben W: So the pool of candidates has got smaller. Is that what you said? Interesting. Why do you think that is?

Rachel: Yeah. Probably due to Brexit, I think we found that’s really reduced the flow. Obviously with European candidates, I think that’s… And people moving away as well and just leaving the UK.

Ben W: I see, I see. Yeah, Morgan’s mentioned that before, like the changing non-dom status had quite a big impact, right? Yeah, interesting. Okay, so is that making it harder to recruit because there’s less candidates or is it kind of balanced because there’s less demand?

Rachel: Probably balanced actually, because it has become less demand.

The All-Rounder Trend

Ben W: Interesting. Okay. And I know from previous conversations with you that more clients nowadays seem to want an all-rounder who can like cook, clean, walk the dog and do PA tasks. Is the era of a single hire role disappearing?

Rachel: I don’t think it’s disappearing. I think, yes, the all-rounder has become a lot more common, but it’s not replacing the specialist’s roles completely. Clients just seem to want more of the flexibility, and I think that’s the trouble within the lifestyle we lead now. It is a case of trying to find that person that will fit into everything.

I think, obviously, the best service is still often coming from the specialists that have trained for years in that specific role. But yeah, I think, like you say, they definitely want the all-rounder.

Ben W: So you’re saying like the demand for all rounders is largely because of a reflection of society of just becoming a little bit more demanding and lifestyles changing

Rachel: Absolutely, absolutely.

Client Expectations and Reality

Ben W: Interesting. Okay, next question. When a client contacts you, do they usually know exactly what they need or do you end up reshaping the brief after the first conversation?

Rachel: I think the client thinks they know what they want. But then, you know, once we’ve had the first conversation and we’ve discussed obviously their lifestyle, the size of the property, their expectations, I think the role then becomes clearer and sometimes completely different.

And again, it’s really trying to get that information from them because often, they’ll just say they want this, that and the other and it’s completely different once you start asking the questions more.

Ben W: What kind of questions will you be asking when you get these kind of requests?

Rachel: Well again I think like we were saying before about the all-rounder, you know I really need to know whether or not they have got the chef already or is this housekeeper going to be doing cooking or do you need this housekeeper to be looking after the children is there a nanny service involved.

And again it’s you know is it just housekeeping purely just housekeeping or are you wanting dog walking or do you and you know they quote that they want a housekeeper but then when we start getting deeper into the actual job description we find out that it’s obviously a lot more is involved.

Confidentiality and Privacy

Ben W: I see, I see. Okay, now confidentiality seems to run pretty deep in private staffing. You’ve had solicitors and family members reach out on behalf of principals. How common is that level of privacy that solicitors or family members will reach out rather than the actual principal?

Rachel: I think it’s very common, not unusual for me to be dealing with solicitors or the family offices to make the first approach. I think because they just obviously want that trust, that security, you know, it’s their top priority for the actual principal.

And, you know, I’ve been told to fill out NDAs and things like that as well. So it is quite, it is all about trust.

The Work Behind the Shortlist

Ben W: Yeah, interesting. Okay. And then you redact CVs with your team and you write candidate profiles and do reference checks before presenting anyone. What do London clients not realize about the work that goes into a short list?

Rachel: I think, yeah, like you say, I will send the client, they’ll see three CVs, but then behind this, there’s been dozens of conversations with the candidates, the background checks, the reference calls, and actually vetting them and checking that they fit and will be good for this role.

And it is all about the trust and the discretion again with everything involved. So yeah, it’s not a case of just forwarding three CVs and that’s all the work I do.

Traditional Service Meets Modern World

Ben W: I see, and you said that clients want the polish of traditional service but also understands the modern world. What would that blend actually look like in practice?

Rachel: I think it’s somebody that understands the classic household standard, obviously the service, the presentation, but then comfortable with the modern home because obviously technology, busy families, and it has evolved and I think they’ve just got to understand that going forward.

Technology Skills Trend

Ben W: I see, I see. Have you seen a lot of families, like let’s say in the last four years, requesting something more specific, something like technology skills more often? Are you seeing any trends like that?

Rachel: Yes, absolutely. Yeah, yeah. An example, I have just placed a butler in Italy and their house is completely ultra modern with every technical device possible. And yeah, that was part of the interview.

And was he capable and able to be able to press the button to open the shutters to do this, to do that. And was he quite confident with all this tech? He was, but yeah, it’s definitely, again, I think as I was saying, they want the traditional Butler service, but still the modern day.

Emerging Trends

Ben W: Interesting. And regarding other trends is sustainability, wellbeing. Are those topics starting to come up in hiring conversations with London families?

Rachel: Slowly, I think more families are starting to ask about fairer contracts, staff wellbeing. I think it’s slowly starting to emerge and I definitely think Europe, UK, we are on it more than other countries.

Ben W: Is there any other trends that are starting to appear more that you’ve seen or since you’ve started?

Rachel: I think, again, it’s, I think the most noticeable one has been, like we quoted before, the all-rounder. I think we’ve lost tradition of, they just want a butler to serve their teas and coffees.

They need to be doing absolutely everything else. I think that’s probably the main one out of it all.

Future Market Predictions and Salaries

Ben W: And what do you expect to change in the upcoming years regarding London’s household staffing market? Where do you think demand’s heading for example?

Rachel: I think it’s going to stay strong. I think there’ll be higher salaries, more structured contracts and I think greater competition for experienced staff in London’s private households.

Ben W: I see, I see. Do you think that higher salaries is a consequence of the shrinking talent pool?

Rachel: Yes, absolutely. Yeah, I think when I speak to clients in London and they’re coming out with a salary and I just say, you’re never going to find anyone for that because they demand so much more now.

Ben W: Really, is that quite common?

Rachel: Absolutely, yeah. And I just say no point because you will not find somebody that’s suitable for that salary.

Ben W: And then what happens next? Do they adjust their salary expectations or do they go elsewhere?

Rachel: Sometimes they do, yeah and sometimes they go elsewhere but whether or not they find that quality, who knows? And I think that’s what they have to remember that you have to pay somebody for quality and that is the whole…

Most Common Roles

Ben W: And like, which are the most common roles you hire for in London? Or internationally, I guess?

Rachel: I think probably nanny and housekeeping would be the two main ones.

Rachel: A few years ago I was more sort of chauffeurs and butlers but I think it’s now become needs rather than luxuries and I think you know they’ve thought well I can get in the car and drive myself whereas I could do with a nanny for my children.

Ben W: I definitely need to outsource my childcare.

Rachel: Yeah, absolutely.

Memorable Placement Story

Ben W: All right. And just before we finish, Rachel, could you tell us about like a memorable recruitment that you’ve done with Morgan & Mallet or one that you really enjoyed doing?

Rachel: I really enjoyed actually, there was a chef position that a client, ultra high net worth client was in a luxury London hotel and he was actually living in this hotel while his home was getting refurbished.

He was looking for a chef because the restaurant wasn’t working for his needs and so he wanted to employ a chef to actually come and cook for him in this hotel.

So I actually had to negotiate with the hotel to see if they would be willing to have this chef in their kitchen in this hotel and cook for him. So that was really really interesting.

Ben W: My gosh. I’ve got quite a few questions with that. Like the first one you said the hotel restaurant wasn’t satisfying his needs. Was it preference or was it allergy? Why wasn’t it good enough?

Rachel: I think it was a bit of both to be honest. I think he had a very strict diet and there were certain things that he wanted that obviously the hotel hadn’t got.

So he was trying to source these ingredients and then got to the stage where he just thought it would be easier to take on a chef. So there we go.

Ben W: Interesting. Right, and then final question with this. How did that work logistically? Did they give the private chef his own mini kitchen or a quarter or a section of the hotel kitchen? What did they do?

Rachel: They managed to sort out a section of the kitchen and he actually just worked alongside the other chefs and you know it was, it worked, it was good and I think this is the thing, roles are never really straightforward and I think that’s the whole thing.

The best staff are ready for their flexibility and able to adapt quickly to plans, circumstances, anything that changes because that’s what they have to be prepared for all the time.

Ben W: Yeah, and did the private chef end up going to the new house when the guest moved out? Did he take the chef with him?

Rachel: He did. No he didn’t. He took him, he was quite happy with him so it all worked out well.

Closing Thoughts

Ben W: Super, super. And last question now, Rachel. Is there any question that I should have asked you regarding London or recruitment in general that I didn’t ask you?

Rachel: I think we’ve covered everything to be honest. I think, yeah, everything’s been asked. I think, again, I think when recruitment gets involved in London, it is all about flexibility and being ready for change.

And as I quoted before, I think clients often say that they want traditional, that old school butler but really what they want is somebody who’s modern but understands the classic service but also can handle the technology, the organisation and the rush of the modern household.

Ben W: Super. Excellent. Okay. Well, thank you very much, Rachel. You’ve been an absolute star. And for the listeners, if you do need a butler, housekeeper, a nanny, or whatever position you’re thinking about hiring, you can head over to householdstaff.agency, fill out the form, find the phone number there, and give Morgan & Mallet a call.

And for the listeners, if you hit subscribe, that’ll help us a lot. And we’re on Spotify, iTunes, all the major platforms. And thank you for listening and thanks again, Rachel, been an absolute star. Cheers.

Rachel: My pleasure. Take care. Thanks, Ben.

About Morgan & Mallet 

Morgan & Mallet is a leading global household staffing agency with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, London, Paris, Geneva, Dubai, and South Africa. The agency finds private chefs, butlers, nannies, housekeepers, estate managers, chauffeurs, and personal assistants for UHNW families and family offices worldwide. All candidates carry a minimum of three to five years of verified private household experience.

To find out more or to start a search, visit householdstaff.agency.