What is a Domestic Referral Agency?

EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DOMESTIC REFERRAL AGENCIES

You might be wondering “Why would I need a House Cleaning Referral Agency? Can’t I just find a cleaner on my own without your help?”

If you want the LEAST hassle possible, have the best cleaners in the market, and free up a TON of your time to focus on what you actually want to do – there is no better option than to let us do the heavy lifting for you and match you with that perfect housekeeper!

 

4 REASONS WHY HOUSE CLEANING REFERRAL AGENCIES WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER

A domestic referral agency connects independent domestic workers (contractors), housekeepers or other house cleaning companies with clients who need their services. This makes the process of finding or hiring a housekeeper a heck of a lot easier and faster than scouring through random Craigslist postings!

You get referred to a vetted team, and if you don’t like your team you can always ask EHC  for another cleaner on your next clean and it’s totally fine!

1) Referral Agencies Give You Options

Imagine that you have family coming over and your place is an absolute MESS! You get a text alert your phone from your cleaner with the message “I forgot about my appointment, sorry can’t come today”. Now you’re stuck cleaning that toilet all by yourself ahh!

Going straight to a private housekeeper means you have only one person to rely on for all your domestic services. The reason why you’d elect to work with a referral agency like SCH is that you’re ALWAYS covered – you get access to an entire team of amazing domestic workers and our local office staff.

2) Referral Agencies Work On Your Behalf

Hiring an independent housekeeper or searching for a cleaning company on your own means you may need to deal with the the hiring, firing (which can get kind of awkward), and scheduling yourself. You must take the initiative to check their eligibility to work in the US, check their work history and references, do background checks, etc so you get someone trustworthy and experienced.

Once your regular services are scheduled, we will coordinate everything. If your housekeeper is out sick or is unable to make your scheduled appointment, we make sure a substitute housekeeper is referred. You will receive calls from us for any necessary rescheduling around holidays or sick days, and the Operations Team will always be available to personally handle any of your requests for changes or additional services. If at any time you have concerns regarding your service, we will work to resolve the issue. If an issue can’t be resolved, or simply be request, we will refer a housekeeper who better suits your needs.

3) Referral Agencies Support Independent Providers

All this flexibility isn’t just good for clients, it’s also awesome for housekeepers! Referral agencies allow housekeepers the freedom to maintain their own schedules while increasing their earnings. Rather than being stuck to one company for their income, cleaners have the ability to juggle multiple clients and get the most out of their skills and time. It’s also easier for them to plan days off or take sick leave, because they know there will be someone to cover their clients.

We help housekeepers who don’t know where to start building referrals. Most private housekeepers depend on a regular clients or word of mouth for their labor, but we help them find new clients just as we help you find the right housekeeper.

4) Referral Agencies Make Economic Sense

Referral agencies are also good for the economy, the housekeeper, and the client. Referral agencies empower independent domestic workers and reduce the underground economy (“gray market”) by bringing housekeeping services out of the shadows. That’s good news for California, which reports a loss of $6.5 billion in tax revenue every year from the underground market.

Through EHC, housekeepers have the ability to work for multiple households. This gives them a chance to maximize their earning potential while maintaining their own schedules in the process.

Ultimately, more of your money goes to your housekeeper. Domestic Referral Agencies operate with minimal overhead costs. We do not have to maintain as much on-site staff or micro-manage our housekeepers, so we’re able to pass on these savings to our clients and the domestic workers.

5)  What about Background checks?

Many companies have found these are not as effective as originally thought.  As a matter of fact, there is a huge lawsuit between the FTC and other companies about this, which you can read here.

Additionally, many companies just run them before hiring and never again, giving you a false sense of security sometimes.  

We instead use some new technology that scans our vendors names, email, address, phone and social media activity to find crimes in many public government databases.  Additionally, our vendors are vetted to make sure they have cleaned other peoples homes with great success.

  • the exception to reference checks is if your cleanout is an Emergency job that is to be rushed due to it being a time sensitive situation

SOME FAQS ABOUT YOUR DOMESTIC WORKERS

“Can I supply the referred domestic worker with equipment that I prefer them to use?”

Yeah totally! One of the things that most of our customers enjoy about using a domestic referral agency is the flexibility. Do you have precious materials in your home, like stainless steel or marble? Are there chemicals that you may be allergic to? Just tell the referred domestic worker when they arrive and they will be eager to accommodate.

Often your referred domestic worker will ask for permission to use your vacuum. This is not because they don’t have a vacuum; this is usually because your vacuum is more sanitary. Although the workers may do their best to keep their vacuums clean, using your own home vacuum is the best for you and for the referred domestic worker. If you would prefer that they use their own vacuum, just let them know or contact us, and we will let the worker know that this is important to you.

“So Are These Domestic Workers Extreme Hoarding Cleanouts, “Employees”?”

Nope! We exercise no direct control or direction on cleaners. However, we find and vet the BEST cleaners in the market and match them to your standards. EHC has a Satisfaction Guarantee that you will be happy with the quality, or you get a re-clean for free or anything missed!