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A consultant (right) speaks with a potential employer. A video recording of the workshop helps ensure that it is conducted properly.
At a glance:
- One-hour personalised consultation to improve your MDW hiring success.
- Practical strategies tailored to your specific needs to help in your search for a suitable MDW.
- Minor investment compared to what you might spend on repeated MDW changes.
Are you employing your 4th migrant domestic worker (MDW) within the last 12 months? As a Frequent Change Employer, you would need to attend the CONNECT Workshop before hiring your next MDW.
Designed to help such employers who have encountered the stress of multiple changes of MDWs, the workshop prepares you in finding an MDW who is better aligned with your needs.
At $80 and one hour of your time, it's a minor investment compared to the money and time needed to keep changing MDWs.
What is the CONNECT Workshop?
The one-to-one CONNECT Workshop is designed to help you identify strategies to improve your hiring success by focusing on how your hiring needs can be better met and communicated.
Who conducts it?
To ensure that the workshop brings practical benefits, it is conducted by consultants who are experienced employment agency personnel from the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) (AEA(S)). With their experience, they can help you in navigating the complexities of employing MDWs and aligning your expectations with those of your next MDW.
How it works
Step 1: You receive the notification
You will receive an email notification requesting you to attend the workshop. It will provide instructions on how to proceed. You will need to make an appointment.
For your convenience, the CONNECT Workshop is available in multiple languages, like English, Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, and Chinese dialects like Cantonese and Hokkien. If you prefer, you may bring a next-of-kin to help with translation.
Step 2: Fill in a questionnaire sheet
Some of the questions in the questionnaire.
Completing this questionnaire before your workshop helps the consultant understand your circumstances and needs. This saves time during the session and ensures that focused, relevant advice is provided.
Step 3: Discuss your household needs with the consultant
Potential employer (right) shares her needs with the consultant.
Honest sharing during this discussion can lead to better recommendations tailored to your specific situation.
Step 4: Get tailored recommendations
Consultant suggesting ideas that could help the potential employer.
Working with you, the experienced consultant will provide practical strategies based on your specific situation and needs.
Consultants share how they've helped
From left: Consultants K Jayaprema, Ashok Kumar Narayanan, Roziah bte Mohd Noh, Miki Ngin and Muhammad Ierfan bin Ibrahim
"So one employer found it hard to communicate with helpers. I told him to hold formal review sessions with the MDW to clarify expectations, and to draw up task schedules. These prevented confusion and misunderstandings. During a follow-up two months later, he said that had the workshop taken place earlier, he would have avoided a lot of headaches!"
Consultant and President of the Association of Employment Agencies (Singapore) K Jayaprema
"One employer insisted that she was prudent during interviews and asked if her previous hires could do the tasks she required. But I found out that she was content with one-word answers. I suggested that she shouldn’t ask if a candidate could cook, but for her recipes. Don’t ask if she knows how to care for children who fall ill, ask what she will do other than offering medicine. Never rush the interview."
Consultant Ashok Kumar Narayanan
"I was talking to an employer who said that the MDWs her employment agency found just couldn’t follow her clear instructions. I advised her to shorten her instructions so even MDWs less fluent in English could follow them."
Consultant Roziah bte Mohd Noh
"Once, an employer said that his previous MDW couldn’t perform the tasks she said she could during the interview. I suggested avoiding yes/no questions. Asking for detailed answers meant that candidates couldn’t just keep blindly answer ‘yes’, and also gives you a gauge of her language ability. I even told the employer to make an unscheduled call to the candidate to avoid memorised answers."
Consultant Miki Ngin
"An employer complained that not one, but three different employment agencies recommended poor fits. I suggested that he engage an agency with high retention rates and low transfer rates on the MOM EA Directory to get a better and more objective gauge of service quality. His next helper made it past the check-in two months later!"
Consultant Muhammad Ierfan bin Ibrahim
Employers share their experience
“The consultant is really here to help employers see what the issues are and tackle them. Now I am sure where the problem lies, and future hiring should not be that difficult.”
“Very good and effective counselling that will help us in the management of our future helper.”
Make your next MDW a good fit for your household
By providing clarity on your needs and offering practical tips on the hiring of your next MDW, the CONNECT Workshop helps avoid frequent MDW changes that are stressful, expensive and disruptive. It can also help you create stable, positive working relationships that benefit both yourself and your MDW.