Domestic Staff Training

Mary Louise StarkeyToday a prospective client called, seeking private service training for her current household staff.  She exclaimed, “Whew!  You were hard to find, Mrs. Starkey!”  Given that Starkey International comes up first when you Google Household Management, I was stunned until I asked, “What were your search words?”  She replied, “Domestic Staff Training.”  Those who know me and my work understand that I have been a wordsmith for this unique profession of Private Service and have written extensively for the industry, developing the use of over 100 words and terms including coining the title “Household Manager.”

Over the years I have rallied against ever referring to our Graduates as “Domestics.”    The term domestic often has a negative association including: uneducated, low skill, not always trustworthy, non-English speaking, and more; this is not a good beginning for a growing young profession.   The word Domestic is defined in Webster’s 1999 edition as, “pertaining to the home, family, or household affairs” and “tame; domesticated”.  Much of my work over the last 30 years has been to actually create a world-recognized, well-respected, educated, and appropriately paid profession.  The term domestic continues to play a vital role in defining those that do the more unskilled, hand’s on cleaning and outside heavy grounds work in private service.  However, to continue to utilize the word Domestic to define, categorize, or refer to those who have attained years of service management education, abilities, and expertise as a “domestic” is much like referring to an architect as a carpenter!

The Certified Service Management System and StarkeyHQ Software Program

Program Offered at Starkey Mansion, On Location, and as a Correspondence Course

StarkeyHQ Software

PDFDownload this curriculum as a pdf.

Starkey’s 40-hour, 5-day Service Management “System” and StarkeyHQ© Software Program provides a Service System and StarkeyHQ© Software Certification only. This program highlights Starkey’s patented Facilities Management System and Software. It is designed for veteran Household and Estate Managers and Family Office Concierge providers interested in knowing how to develop and customize a service management plan and utilize the management tools for service. Starkey’s Service Management Software is invaluable for identifying and tracking Client or Guest Expectations in the Service Marketplace and in the Household Management profession. It presents the management tools and identifies possible expectations in 10 service categories. StarkeyHQ© Software included in this course offering.

The Certified Service Management Program comprises 40 curriculum hours in 5 calendar days. This Program NOW is also offered in an At-Home Correspondence Program. StarkeyHQ© Software and Original Guide to Private Service Management included.

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Our Highly Successful Placement Strategies

Starkey Placement

Starkey began placing within the Private Service Profession in 1981.  Most placement agencies then, and still today, collect the resumes of potential candidates and randomly forward them to employer clientele seeking to hire.  Today everything has changed.  It was not until Starkey began to educate Household and Estate Managers in 1990 that we learned who a candidate has worked for is just a portion of the overall placement process.  The accountability of what a candidate really knows technically and their service style must be identified and communicated.  Further, most employers are new to service hiring and rarely understand what they are asking a potential staff member to accomplish.  Employers are frustrated, as our industry has not settled upon consistent titles, terms or position descriptions; nor does it have generally accepted practices.  Private Service continues to be new and somewhat unknown as a real profession.  As a result, Starkey focuses on placing our Graduates, whom we know, by understanding exactly what management and technical skills they bring to the employment table.  We also know their Service Management Style, which is essential knowledge in Private Service Placement.

Mrs. Starkey has created innovative techniques for qualifying and specifically placing her Graduates to support our high-net worth clientele.  She states, “Our Graduates are our life blood and our ability to place them in the right position – the first time – has become an art form.”  She and the placement team provide a variety of consulting services to our Employer Clients including our Site Visit Services, customizing the Employer’s Service Management Plan, and then matching the perfect Graduate to manage their household or service management team.  Starkey also provides on-going services which include helping our clients to identify their service standards, zoning and customizing task sheets, helping outline and negotiate appropriate employment offers and salaries, and offering assessments in risk management and other management support as needed.

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New Milestone in Private Service

The Relationship of ServiceService Management as a career path has entered a wider and more sophisticated range of possibilities in recent years.  From an educational perspective, many within the hospitality and hotel sector have voiced that “we have created the best of the best in physical environments, but only have begun to broach the real education of our service providers.”   We have reached the ceiling in our service management educational abilities, and are now seeking new, revolutionary educational offerings to teach us what “The Relationship of Service” really is.  What must be put into place to accomplish “Genuine Service Relationships” that will consistently meet and exceed the needs of our Guests?

Starkey’s cutting edge expertise is much needed throughout the Hospitality and Private Service industry.  Starkey’s new and highly progressive, 255-hour, 4 week Service Management Program focuses on sharing what Starkey has developed over the last thirty years with serving the High-Net Worth world and our seasoned Relationship of Service skill.  Service must become “Service as an Expertise”!  This is essential knowledge for all those seeking to make a difference in the hospitality profession and quickly rise to the top.  This is essential new knowledge for General Managers of Boutique Hotels and Private Clubs and for all those working directly with Guests, including Concierges in hotels and those within the growing Senior Service Residential Communities, and of course for technically centered Butlers who serve the high-net-worth.  This proven knowledge provides the missing service management expertise within the hospitality Profession.

New Milestone in Private Service

The Relationship of ServiceService Management as a career path has entered a wider and more sophisticated range of possibilities in recent years.  From an educational perspective, many within the hospitality and hotel sector have voiced that “we have created the best of the best in physical environments, but only have begun to broach the real education of our service providers.”   We have reached the ceiling in our service management educational abilities, and are now seeking new, revolutionary educational offerings to teach us what “The Relationship of Service” really is.  What must be put into place to accomplish “Genuine Service Relationships” that will consistently meet and exceed the needs of our Guests?

Starkey’s cutting edge expertise is much needed throughout the Hospitality and Private Service industry.  Starkey’s new and highly progressive, 255-hour, 4 week Service Management Program focuses on sharing what Starkey has developed over the last thirty years with serving the High-Net Worth world and our seasoned Relationship of Service skill.  Service must become “Service as an Expertise”!  This is essential knowledge for all those seeking to make a difference in the hospitality profession and quickly rise to the top.  This is essential new knowledge for General Managers of Boutique Hotels and Private Clubs and for all those working directly with Guests, including Concierges in hotels and those within the growing Senior Service Residential Communities, and of course for technically centered Butlers who serve the high-net-worth.  This proven knowledge provides the missing service management expertise within the hospitality Profession.