Life in Private Staffing

In preparation for our upcoming trip to the USA, we wanted to sit down and chat all things US! I somehow managed to convince Jess, our US consultant and Chris, our Community Manager to join me today for a chat. We discuss how we are finding the American market at the minute and what roles we are currently recruiting for. Chris then provides an insight into our 5 communities across the US, reminding us the purpose of these groups and why people should join. 

We then move on to discuss our plans for our trip – from where we’re going, when and who we hope to meet. As a reminder, this is our itinerary:

Sun 24th Sept – Wed 27th:              New York

Wed 27th – Fri 29th:                          San Francisco 

Friday 29th – Mon 2nd:                     Los Angeles 

Tues 3rd – Thurs 5th:                         Palm Beach, Florida

Thurs 5th – Fri 6th:                             Miami, Florida 

Keep an eye out for where we’ll be once in town! Email [email protected].

Today we head back over the pond to the US to chat with Betsy who only entered this world a few years ago. During her previous career as a music teacher, she often taught in the homes of UHNW clients and would notice the domestic staff running the property. This soon became a regular observation, so much so that she looked into the world of private service as a career for herself. Her friend already worked in the industry which was a huge help when it came to educating her as to how to transition and what role to play. even introduced her to her first employer. 

She started at the bottom as a household assistant doing literally anything that needed doing and then moved up to her current House Manager role. Whilst still reasonably new to the industry, she absolutely loves being there and is a big supporter of our communities and this podcast!

It was an absolute pleasure to have Michele on the show today. He has been a friend of Silver Swan for years and we have been able to help him secure his last couple of positions so I was thrilled when he agreed to come and share his story. 

He is one of the most passionate chefs I know who worked his way up through a number of excellent Michelin restaurants before moving into the private sector a few years ago. It is evident that he adores his job and his enthusiasm is infectious. 

He has some good tips for others starting out in the industry and is a lovely guy to listen to. Definitely visit his LinkedIn page to see some of his incredible food photos!

We decided to get Tracey back on the show to discuss our upcoming program of 6 different modules all designed to help you develop your skills as a House/Estate Manager. When do you ever take time out for yourself to step away from the everyday and look at everything from above? When have you ever had a safe space to work through challenges you are experiencing in your role?

These sessions are just for that – for you to come and spend time working in yourself. With modules varying from conflict management to breaking habits to active listening and effective questioning, you really will be equipping yourselves to go away and improve your performance.

Limited spaces, first come first served - £40 a session. Click the link to book your place in as many of the sessions as you like.

Tim was one of our original members of our House Manager UK community and so am glad we managed to talk him into coming onto the podcast to tell his story. Yet again, I found another new route into the industry which I have not seen before as Tim was a game keeper for a long time before he transitioned across to the domestic side of things. He was always impressed with the staff who ran the interior of the estate and so decided to embark on a formal Butler course with The British Butler Institute which helped him secure his first role as a Butler/House Manager. Over the last few years he has slowly but surely worked his way up through a couple of different positions to his current role of House Manager based in Ireland. 

His experience is mainly in formal households, which we haven’t had on the show for a while which was interesting to discuss – especially the fact that his household has an in-house dry cleaner, not something you see every day!

Today’s conversation with Joanie was fascinating as she is (one of the only!) proud advocates of a hybrid role, providing it’s the right type of hybrid and with the right family. Having had a long career working in the music industry, working backstage with A-listers managing all their catering she came into the private sector already well versed in working with UHNW demanding clients. She openly admits it took her along time and a lot of patience to actually break into the industry, but she finally did and hasn’t looked back. All of her roles have been a hybrid involving cooking, house management and service – which has always worked very well for her. 

Coincidentally she has also recently been to The International Butler Academy in the Netherlands (just like some of our previous guests) and absolutely loved her time there and would highly recommend to others.

It is a happy coincidence that Charlotte’s story is a similar one to that of Melanie, our guest last week. She also secured her first role as a House Manager fairly recently having worked a variety of different roles over her career to date. Her role involves a lot of cooking, which is fairly unusual for a house manager but when working on the beautiful but small island of the Isle of Wight, these more all rounded roles are more popular as the homes are generally much more relaxed.

Her role is definitely different to a typical London based house manager role but it’s good for people to know that roles of this nature exist as this may be a more suitable working environment for you.

Melanie is a valued member of our UK House Manager community and joins us today to talk about her fairly recent transition into the private industry. It’s just as inspiring chatting to guests who have entered this world more recently as can actually be more relevant to those listeners looking to secure their first role themselves also. Mel discusses how all her previous experiences have come together and made her a competent house manager and what she has learned since starting her role.

Her story just goes to show that it’s never too late to find a job you love!

The year is flying by so we thought we'd look back at some of the best bits of the 21 episodes we have already released!

From discussing trends with Silver Swans in-house expert recruitment consultants to Estate managers, House Manages and many more industry professionals.

Listen to Life in Private Staffings Best Bits now!

Chris is a long-time friend of Silver Swan having been one of our first people to kick off our Florida Estate Manager community and he was our first US brand ambassador also! He is well known in the industry as he makes a conscious effort to network and support others in the industry wherever possible. His story something different yet again, finding his way into the industry by initially working as a caretaker and building trust with the family that way first before they asked him to take over the Estate Manager role when he became available.  

He has gained a lot of experience over the years and set up his own Estate Management Consultancy firm which he runs with his wife, son plus a handful of other on the ground staff. Their services can range from stocking the fridge before the family arrive, to overseeing renovations and remodelling, to staffing (partnering with us of course!) to emergency response planning and everything in between. This service is so useful if the property is a secondary residence and doesn’t need a full time estate manager or to support a busy estate manager when extra projects crop up.  

We love Chris and so feel really fortunate to have managed to grab him to jump on an episode!  

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His supplier shoutout is – Laticia Friend, Luxury Lifestyle Manager and Co-Host of the fabulous 5-star Service Clubhouse – also a highly experienced Estate Manager. Who also happens to be a friend of Silver Swan’s too! Her support to Chris has been great, she seems to have positively impacted many lives as I only hear amazing things about the fabulous lady 😊