Hiring a household employee takes time and now that you’ve found the right person to work with your family, you will have to work at maintaining a great working relationship. If you are not sure how to manage the employer/employee relationship within your home, here are some important tips.

Set clear expectations from the beginning.

At the onset of employment, make sure that you and your employee are on the same page. Talk clearly about any duties you expect them to complete during their day. Put everything regarding payment in writing and ensure that household rules and guidelines are established. If you don’t have clear expectations at the start, you risk having confusion or disagreements later down the road, which can cause frustration.

Ensure there are clear boundaries.

Because your employee is working in your home, it’s essential to have clear boundaries established right away. Once the boundaries are set, you will have less change of having an awkward conversation later down the road about putting new boundaries in place and will keep your working relationship strong.

Be respectful and caring.

Employees, like any humans, appreciate being recognized for hard work. So, if your employee is doing a good job, make sure you acknowledge it on a regular basis. A simple compliment will go a long way. Acts of kindness will help too. For example, let them go home early occasionally, but still pay them for a full day’s work. Be generous with a bonus or gift around the holidays or their birthday. Making sure they feel valued, respected, and appreciated makes the working relationship even better.

Most of all, keep the communication line open. Try not to micromanage, but instead, speak up about the big stuff that really matters. If necessary, offer constructive feedback with respect and make sure that the employee knows that you care about their best interest. Clear, ongoing communication between both of you is always helpful and important to keeping your employee with you for the long term.