Recruiting in Paris, Monaco, Brussels and Geneva

Ben W: Hello there, podcast listeners. In today’s episode on the Morgan & Mallet Luxury Household Staffing podcast, we’re going to be talking with co-founder Laurine Mallet and we’re going to be discussing Paris, Monaco, Brussels and Geneva.

We’re going to be looking at the legal employment structures, the cultural aspects, how things differ from region to region.

So it’s a very, very valuable podcast if you are thinking about hiring in those areas. So let’s jump straight into it. Welcome to your own podcast. Laurine, how are you doing today? All good? Super, super.

So before we jump into it, could you just give us a brief introduction that you as the co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, could you just tell us like how long you’ve been doing this? Why you got started? That’d be super.

Laurine: Yes, for sure. So actually I worked as Nanny for years in London. And at this stage I discovered and I met agencies, staff agencies. I was a friend with Morgan Richez who worked also for individuals. And we wanted absolutely to create an agency, French agency, but international in order to have candidates and clients in the world.

So now we own Morgan & Mallet for 12 years and so I’m co-founder and CEO of the company, Morgan & Mallet.

Ben W: Super, super. You said a French company and you’ve mentioned this before. Could you just explain what that means to you? Like the cultural values, I guess, right?

Laurine: Yes, sure. So actually, high standards and manners and also social education and services are really well known in France. With Morgan, we really wanted to bring our values in this industry, our, like we can say, French touch, and our own experiences. But experiences we lived as French candidate previously.

So that’s it was really important for us to bring these values to the company, also to the image of the company and all our teams. So thanks to our experiences, background, and our French mindset and mentality, we wanted to create this agency.

Recruitment Process Differences Across Cities

Ben W: Awesome, awesome. Yeah, we’ve spoken before about your experiences as a candidate, the good and the bad. And I think that was as well one of the inspirations for starting the agency.

Yeah, so for the listeners, if you are interested in that, I think it’s in another episode that’ll probably be coming out soon, just about how Laurine got started and what what she, the jobs she was doing and the agencies she was working for.

It’s really, really interesting. So let’s jump into today’s podcast. We’re going to be covering Paris, Monaco, Brussels, and Geneva. And Laurine, how does the recruitment process differ across those four cities or regions?

Laurine: Each city actually operates at a different pace and different priorities. So Paris tends to have a formal credentials and long-standing agency relationships. Brussels is quite different because it’s shaped by its international institutions, values and adaptability also. Geneva moves with Swiss precision is really different, discretion, reliability.

And Monaco is perhaps the most exclusive. The network is tight. Also, we have a lot of clients in Monaco. The ultra-net-worth are mostly in Monaco. And Monaco referrals carry enormous weight and speed, often matter as much as profile quality, I would say.

Ben W: Interesting. You said Monaco is a really tight network. Was it difficult to get started in Monaco?

Laurine: Actually, so you mean as a candidate or as an agency?

Ben W: As an agency.

Laurine: Yes, actually the law in Monaco is really tight also because in order to have an agency in Monaco you need to have a specific license. You have obligations to follow in order to apply and be able to work as an agency. It’s not as easy as in France, let’s say.

Cultural and Legal Aspects by Location

Ben W: Interesting. And you said in Brussels, there is a lot of international institutions. Are we talking like the European Parliament and all of these? Yeah. Interesting. Wow. Okay. Now, what cultural or legal aspects make each location unique for employers? You did go into a bit of detail for like Monaco. What about the other regions?

Laurine: So you want to talk about France first? Yes. So in France, the labor law is heavily protective of employees, making contracts and termination procedures very complex. Each country is really different, even if it’s Europe. Belgium has a dual legal system with a lot of administrative layers.

Switzerland is also very different because it operates under cantonal rules, like in the UK, depending on borough, for instance. So that varies by region. And Geneva is particular strict work permit requirement for non-European nationals.

Ben W: Right. Wow, okay, this sounds really complex. This dual legal system in Belgium. Can you explain that please?

Laurine: So actually, depending on your content, on your region, you have different kind of labor law. For instance, how many hours you are going to work as an employee is different. The minimum salary also is different. For example, if you would like to apply for a job, maybe you can have additional documents to give depending on the region.

There are many, many, many topics like that. And Monaco, though not in Europe, has its own employment code, closely aligned with French law, but with added residency constraints.

Ben W: Was that? Yeah. Right, so that was Switzerland with the cantons, right? And each canton with its own set of like minimum wage and legal requirements. Okay, so it’s a bit like in the States, which each state has its own legal rules, right? Gotcha, gotcha.

Laurine: Yes, yes. It looks like a little bit like the United States because the United States is definitely like that. Every state got its own law for everything. But in Switzerland it’s a little bit the same.

Ben W: Yeah, yeah. Gotcha, gotcha. And in Belgium, you mentioned it’s a dual legal system, is that right? In Brussels, sorry, you mentioned it was a dual legal. What is that? Could you explain it, please?

Laurine: Yes, your legal system, yes. Yes, so it’s by its linguistic communities.

Ben W: The Flemish.

Laurine: So actually, because there a lot of foreigners and international clients, above all, we are going to talk about clients in Belgium, the system is shaped by its linguistic communities.

Candidate Expectations and Regional Differences

Ben W: Interesting. Okay. And just to switch now regarding the candidates in Belgium, in Belgium, are these are they locals or are they like from Southern Europe or from other regions? What’s usually the case there? Let’s say for housekeepers.

Laurine: Most of the candidates are locals. Yes, most of them. Much more than in France, let’s say. But it depends. It’s normal. It’s a kind of culture and also opportunities.

Ben W: Really? Interesting. Okay. Yeah. Right, okay. Interesting. Wow, I didn’t know that. Okay, moving on to the next one, to number three, question number three. How do candidate expectations vary between France, Belgium, Monaco, and Switzerland? I guess we can start off with wage expectations.

Laurine: Wage expectations or salaries?

Ben W: Yeah, yeah.

Laurine: Okay, in between France, Belgium, Monaco and Switzerland. Okay. So, first of all in Monaco, salaries are higher. Often the demand from the client is also very high. So they expect candidate very qualified and that’s why actually the salary usually is high. In Switzerland, it depends if, for example, the job is close to France or not.

Because, for example, if we have an opportunity, let’s say in Geneva, some candidate from France can live in France and work in Switzerland. So it’s really interesting having a Swiss salary with French conditions.

Ben W: Right.

Laurine: And French I mean lifestyle. But on the other side, if it’s all Switzerland, salaries are higher compared to France, but also the cost of life is completely different, in order to compare, we need to think also to index also every cost. It’s like in Belgium. In Belgium, salaries are higher compared to France.

Ben W: I see, but you’ve got to take the full picture of the living cost and everything like that.

Laurine: Yes, exactly. But you can’t really compare things, for instance Monaco is much better compared to Switzerland or Belgium is better compared to France.

No, it depends on the conditions. Because in France actually, when we’ve got a contract, that’s why we are really lucky to have that in France, but we’ve got the health security, you’ve got a lot of conditions and and possibility when you’ve got a contract.

And there is, as I said, a protective law also for employees, which is really great. On the other side, the salary is a bit lower. But let’s say you are going to work in Switzerland or in Belgium, you’ve got less advantages. So the salary is higher also. But the cost of life is higher in Switzerland compared to France also.

Ben W: I see, I see. Gotcha, gotcha. So you said it’s really interesting, the French candidates who are living near the border and they can work because they get all the protection from the French legal system, but they also get a taste of the Swiss wage, right? Gotcha.

So in these cases, even though the employee is working and commuting every day to Switzerland, they still have a French contract and legal conditions. Is that right?

Laurine: So it’s not a French contract, it’s a Switzerland contract, but they live in France, so with the cost from France.

So for example, to rent an apartment, to rent a car or whatever, costs, I mean the costs are from France, French costs, while they are working in Switzerland with Swiss salary.

Ben W: Right, I see. Okay, now I understand. Okay, gotcha, gotcha. Interesting. So I guess there is a lot more demand for those positions, is that right, from candidates? And is it easier to recruit for those positions, I guess?

Laurine: Yeah. Recruitment is not easy anyway, so obviously that’s challenge and that’s why we exist. But yes, yes, there are candidates, really good and qualified candidates, definitely. At the border in between France and Switzerland, yes, yes, definitely.

That’s why we place a lot of candidates in Switzerland nearby France, in all Switzerland. But Switzerland nearby France, we do place a lot of candidates because they really good, qualified experience candidate in this area.

Taxation and Legal Employment Structures

Ben W: Super. And do taxation and legal employment structures influence the hiring decisions in those cities? We kind of touched on that before, just now actually. But do you see it in other regions?

Laurine: Taxation, you mean like for the incomes?

Ben W: Yeah, yeah, for the salaries.

Laurine: I mean the incomes depend on your salary so if you have like a very high salary perhaps you are going to think twice about where you are going to work but this because let’s say in France it depends on your range so for the candidate I don’t think they focus on the taxation I’m not sure.

Perhaps much more candidates such as house manager, personal assistant who got very high salary, higher salary compared to the rest of the rules, I mean. But in general, no.

Ben W: Okay. I see. For the clients, will they be considering the taxation and the employment structures when they’re considering hiring in these regions?

Laurine: I don’t know because I can’t tell for the client, to be honest. But I mean, obviously, as we know, taxation are, for example, very high in France. So we’ve got the difference in between having a company and being an individual.

But as an individual, in France, the taxation are high. Belgium are lower, are still high, but lower compared to France. Switzerland also. Let’s say, perhaps an individual is going to think twice about the location where he’s going to employ his employee.

But it doesn’t really matter because, for instance, if you do have a property, let’s say, in Paris, the contract of the employee will be French because it depends on the location. If you are going to employ someone in Switzerland…

The contract is from Switzerland. So it’s a Switzerland contract. And after the taxation for the individual, it’s another topic.

Ben W: Absolutely, yeah, yeah, that’s the same. Well, I was just thinking about the question afterwards. I was thinking like it doesn’t really matter that much because if you’ve got your house, your property in a location, you’re staying there.

You’re not going to move it because of the you’re going to get a you’re not going to move it because of the tax of a housekeeper, for example.

Laurine: Yes, exactly. About the tax, actually, what is really important for the client is much more about the salary. Because let’s say in France, you’ve got a gross annual salary plus every fees and costs you can have in addition to this salary.

The health insurance, some contribution and social contribution and in France it’s really high.

So obviously I guess some clients would prefer to employ people let’s say in Switzerland or in Belgium more than in France. Because in France if you have for instance let’s say a nanny, you employ a nanny and I can say like that salary 3000 yes, gross, okay, per month. It’s going to cost nearly 6000 to the individual in between, it depends, but it’s between 5500 and 6.

Compared to, so compared to the UK that’s very different, but compared to Switzerland also that’s different compared to Belgium. So obviously.

Ben W: Wow, my gosh.

Laurine: I guess our clients are going to think twice about employing people depending on all these taxes on the employee salary.

Ben W: Absolutely, yeah. You just reminded me, I’ve got a French friend and she said like, I’ve been working here for a year now or for two years. I can’t remember the time, but she said, they can’t fire me. It’s impossible for them to fire me.

No, that’s what she said. Yeah, yeah. Because she’d been working there for a long time. And she says, it’s impossible for them to fire me now.

Laurine: You mean in France?

Laurine: The law is really protective for employees, which is my opinion. It’s not really important. I think that’s good in some way. But obviously, employer contributions in France are very, very high.

And I guess our client, I think twice maybe. They could, for example, employ, let’s say, three staff in their property, for example, Saint-Tropez. And because the employer contributions are really high, maybe they’re going to say, OK, let’s start with two first.

We will see. While in the UK or in Switzerland also, maybe they don’t think twice. They OK, we need three people. We are going to employ three people.

Ben W: Interesting, I see, I see so there’s probably more caution when it comes to employing a French person, employing with a French contract. Interesting.

Laurine: Yes. And that’s why also we have a lot of clients, international clients, call us for payroll in France. Because actually you’ve got the employer contributions plus the administrative part to manage, which is huge in France, very big.

Ben W: Yeah, I remember you telling me a month or two ago about you are having dinner with some family friends and you were explaining like, this principal would like us to do payroll for them, but we’d never done it.

And then it was like a mentor or a friend’s parents at the table said, you have to do this. Is that right?

Laurine: Yeah.

Ben W: Yeah, yeah, and then I guess, yeah, I guess it was a good decision. Looking back, it was good advice. It’s popular.

Laurine: Yes, yes. Above all, the advice are personalized for the, depending on the client situation. So we don’t push them to take any decision, it just gives them the best advice and after that, their own decision to listen to us on it.

Live-in vs Live-out Preferences

Ben W: Gotcha, gotcha. Okay, now moving on to the next topic. Is there any difference in demand for live in versus live out across the regions?

Laurine: So in between live-in and live-out depending on each country, you mean?

Ben W: Yes, exactly.

Laurine: Okay, the difference, you mean.

Ben W: The difference in demand? Like is there one more popular in Switzerland for example?

Laurine: OK. In Switzerland and in Monaco, I would say living positions are in high demand, but hard to fill due to the high cost of housing.

And employers often need to provide also accommodation as part of the package or offer a significant housing allowance.

Because that’s really important, the accommodation. For example, you would like to employ someone on the long term.

That’s obvious. If you provide really good accommodation, the candidate will feel very comfortable and happy in his situation and will stay on the long term.

While offering, let’s say, a really tiny and small room, you can make sure the candidate is going to stay for months, but after a month is going or she’s going to be very tired and she’s going to miss also privacy.

So the candidate will probably leave. And it was my own also experience. I had this experience. I got an accommodation as maternity nurse Nanny and it was not small, but big room. And I shared this room with a baby, with a little one I looked for and it was very hard, very hard actually.

So it was easy for me, I think so, because I was younger, younger I mean. But today for instance, I probably won’t repeat this experience.

Ben W: I see. I see. So just to check I understood correctly. There’s a lot of demand for demand from the clients for living positions in Monaco and Switzerland. Right. But it’s quite difficult to fill because it’s rare that a principal has a large living space to offer because of these because of the characteristics of Switzerland and Monaco. Gotcha.

Laurine: Exactly. Exactly.

Ben W: Gotcha. OK. And then in for Brussels.

Laurine: Brussels and Paris are the same actually, so live out arrangements are more common.

Ben W: I see, I see. Okay. I guess.

Laurine: Yes. Because it gives candidates actually greater independence.

Ben W: Yeah, I think we spoke about this before as well and it because of that independence and they’ve still got a high degree of personal life they’re more likely to to stay there longer, right? Gotcha.

Laurine: Yeah, exactly. That’s why, again, that’s my experience when I was nanny. But I was young, 20s. So actually, I was really happy to have a small room. I mean, giving candidates greater independence, which many now strongly prefer. Younger professionals.

Ben W: I see, I see. So you’re saying like it’s even harder now to offer a smaller room because of the demands and expectations from younger candidates. Gotcha, gotcha. Okay, and then final question now. It’s not a final question actually, it’s penultimate one. I just thought of another, but anyway.

Recruitment Personality by City

Ben W: How would you sum up each city’s recruitment personality?

Laurine: How do you say city?

Ben W: How would you describe the recruitment personality of each city we’ve talked about?

Laurine: Okay, that’s a good interesting question. So Paris is prestigious, okay, but bureaucratic, we can say that in English. Elegant expectations.

Ben W: I see. And is it faster moving as well?

Laurine: Faster moving.

Ben W: Yes, like do things happen a lot faster because it’s a bigger city like they like yeah.

Laurine: Yes, definitely. And everyone wants to work in Paris. Yes, definitely. So there are a lot of candidates, good candidates in Paris. In our portfolio database, we have a lot of really good candidates.

Because Paris is very attractive also for candidates. When we have a living position. We have lot of candidates from all France who want to apply.

Ben W: Absolutely.

Laurine: While if we do have the same position, let’s in Courchevel, that’s not the same numbers of applicants at all. And, sorry?

Ben W: Gotcha, gotcha, yeah, yeah. I guess it’s down just to the location of like in Paris, you’ve got an endless list of things to do to spend your money at, whereas in the other areas, it’s harder. You’re not going to get the same standard of life, I guess. Yeah, Exactly, yeah.

Laurine: Yes, definitely. You’ve got the art, culture in Paris. Paris is a beautiful city, amazing city. No, honestly, amazing city, Paris. So actually, it’s very attractive and I completely understand when people want to work in the city.

And for live out position, we do have a lot of candidates who live in Paris and outside Paris, nearby. But outside Paris, a lot, a lot, really good candidates in all those areas.

Ben W: And for Switzerland, how would you describe like the recruitment personality of that? Let’s go sorry Geneva not Switzerland.

Laurine: So actually, Brussels is a bit like France, a little bit like Paris, for melting pot of cultures, so that’s bit the same. But institutions also, as I said at the beginning, and it’s more international, obviously, and more pragmatic.

Ben W: Pragmatic.

Laurine: Yes, easy to make business.

Ben W: Interesting.

Laurine: Easy for the candidate to make business because the business is not only for companies, it’s also for people who try to find the perfect job.

Ben W: I see. Interesting. Okay. Does Brussels have a large labor pool to draw from as well like Paris?

Laurine: As complex as Paris, as France?

Ben W: No, does it have a lot of candidates that are applying to jobs? You know, like you said, Paris has lots of decent quality candidates. Does Brussels have the same quantity?

Laurine: No, I would say there are much more good candidates in Paris compared to Brussels.

Ben W: Interesting. Gotcha. Okay. And what about Monaco? How is the recruitment personality of Monaco?

Laurine: Monaco is very exclusive, first of all, and fast moving. The reputation is currency in Monaco, confidentiality, really important, and excellence is the baseline. So that’s the, I mean the personality of Monaco.

Ben W: Gotcha. Okay, understood. And what about Geneva in Switzerland? You kind of mentioned this before, like discretion, precision, right?

Laurine: Yes, exactly. Yes, Geneva is precise, understated, quality over everything.

Ben W: Interesting.

Laurine: And with zero tolerance for shortcuts.

Ben W: Wow, interesting. Wow, very good. Okay, now final question. Are you seeing any trends in those regions we’ve been talking about? Any trends with regards to a certain type of, a certain position you see an increasing demand or certain conditions you’re seeing more of? Have you seen anything like that? Any trends in regions?

Regional Demand Trends

Laurine: So in between Paris, France, Switzerland, Belgium and Monaco.

Ben W: Exactly, yeah.

Laurine: In those four countries, above all, there are a lot of requests for housekeepers. First of all, which is a big request. We do place a lot of domestic couples, guardian couples in France, a lot. Because actually, all our clients got a second residency. And that’s obvious they got a second residency in France.

As everyone knows, France is beautiful, there are a lot of regions amazing. So they’ve got a second residency in south of France, and perhaps later on in Normandy or Courchevel, let’s say.

And because they need to have people who can maintain and take care of their second residency all year long, the clients are away, they need domestic couple. So that’s most queries, most requests from the client. Also, as I said, housekeepers, nanny. Above all. For Monaco, it will be personal assistant.

Ben W: After housekeepers it will be personal assistant, definitely. In Switzerland, housekeepers also, and then… Nannies. Nannies, yes.

Ben W: Gotcha, gotcha. So Belgium. No, no, no, sorry. I was just going to summarize, but you, we’ve still got Belgium to cover.

Laurine: And yes, in Belgium, so first of all, the housekeepers, because that’s the first needs of the high networks and ultra high networks. And then domestic couple also, yes. Domestic couple.

Ben W: Gotcha, gotcha. Okay, okay. Have you seen any changes over the years since you started in like the demand or is it usually those positions you mentioned that are the most popular for each region?

Laurine: In France it has been housekeepers and domestic couple. I will say perhaps for Monaco and Switzerland it was a bit different. For example Switzerland we used to have much more requests for cook chef.

Ben W: All right.

Laurine: So when you employ a cook chef it means this is your own and main residency, obviously. And I guess perhaps clients, most of the clients don’t live anymore in Switzerland, maybe they moved.

Ben W: Interesting. Okay, let’s see.

Laurine: And in Monaco, we had also much more chauffeur requests.

Ben W: I see, and that’s reduced as well, since you started.

Laurine: No, has changed. It has not been reduced, but it has changed. Now we’ve got much more personal assistant requests.

Ben W: I see. Okay, so that used to be quite a popular demand in Monaco was chauffeur and that stayed the same but housekeeper, sorry, personal assistant has overtaken that position now in demand. And that’s interesting.

Laurine: Because all our requests, I mean our requests in Morgan-Mallet are completely higher and increase every year. But we can analyze the difference and the numbers of every request. So as I said in Monaco, now it’s much more personal assistance, but it doesn’t mean we have less chauffeur requests. You know what I mean?

Ben W: Gotcha, gotcha. Yes, yeah, yeah, absolutely, absolutely. That’s interesting. Okay, do you have any… Is there any question I should have asked you, Laurine, that I didn’t?

Cultural Client Considerations

Laurine: About those four countries.

Ben W: Yes, that is regions, yeah.

Laurine: In my opinion, what is really interesting also is to understand the culture of the clients.

Ben W: Yes, tell me.

Laurine: So that’s a social effect, okay? So in Monaco there are a lot of foreigners, clients, different cultures, so multi-cultures. So for example, when you place candidate, you need to have candidate who are open-minded also and much more flexible because it’s not easy to adapt yourself to a new culture.

Even if you don’t need to believe in this culture, for instance. You are going to work in the client’s property, so you need to adapt yourself. So yes, for Monaco, on the other side, there’s a mindset of candidate, of a client. So in Switzerland, people sometimes can be a bit more demanding with candidates.

Ben W: Okay.

Laurine: So you need to understand, you need flexibility and also you need to follow the rules, obviously. And as soon as you follow the rules, you respect the rules, everything is great. And in France also, so that’s not about culture but much more about mindset. So as I said, it’s not because you are going to get a job with lower salary compared to other countries, it means you are less valuable.

Most important is the value of your background and the experiences in your life. And this is going to… it’s brilliant, I mean, for your professional and personal life, obviously. So, yes, that’s it. It is a culture and mindset.

Language Requirements

Ben W: Interesting, interesting. And you said about Monaco, this is the last question now, I promise. But you said there’s a lot of international clients there. I guess there is a lot more demand for language skills as well, right? Yeah, yeah, makes sense.

Laurine: Yes. Above all, the first request is every time bilingual French-English. If it’s in Switzerland, in France, in Belgium, or in Monaco. First, French, and second, you need to speak English. But in Monaco, yes, 50% of our requests are coming from leads who need bilingual, so English speaker. But let’s say, for example, in Switzerland, depending on your canton, on your region, client can ask for an Italian speaker. For instance, we do have in payroll a client for who we employed, a candidate who speaks English and Italian. And it’s in the south of France, nearby Italy.

Ben W: Yeah, of course.

Ben W: Okay, and they didn’t need French.

Laurine: So the client didn’t expect the candidate to speak French, but us, yes, obviously, because the position is based in France. Obviously, you need to, because if there is any situation, any emergency, you need to be able to control the situation and so to speak French, obviously. But the client, it was not his request.

Ben W: Interesting. So he, the client asked for Italian and English and you were like, okay, but we need to add French on this. And you placed somebody with French, English and Italian.

Laurine: Yeah, exactly. Yes, candidate is going to start next week,

Ben W: Good stuff good stuff okay so I think that’s everything for this episode thank you very much Laurine you’ve been an absolute superstar and for the listeners if you go to householdstaff.agency and there you’ll be able to get in contact with a recruiter if you fill out the form send an email or just pick up the phone whichever you fancy we’ll usually get back to you within 24 hours.

And we can help you place we can help you guide we can help you hire somebody and guide you through it even if you’re unsure about the position about the expectations about the salary the legal just give it Morgan & Mallet a call and they will be able to guide you through it.

And for the listeners as well you can find this podcast on iTunes on Spotify and pretty much all the major platforms so if you hit subscribe you’ll be updated every week so thank you very much listening and thanks again Laurine you’ve been an absolute star and all the best thank you.

Laurine: Thank you.

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.