Singapore has a significant sum of elderly people which causes a rise in the demand for domestic help in Singapore. For instance, 16.6% of the population in the Lion City is aged 65 years and above.
That is why families often look to provide dedicated assistance and companionship to their elderly loved ones. Thanks to efficient services like BeyondMaids, your loved ones will get the services of an experienced and well-versed maid.
Let's explore what you need to know when hiring a helper for elderly care in Singapore.
Things To Look Out When Hiring a Helper for Elderly Care in Singapore
Before moving to questions that should be on your list when interviewing your potential caregiver, let's take a look at certain tips.
Avoid asking ‘yes or no’ questions because they won't give you much advantage to dig deeper in evaluating the potential caregiver.
Look out for details to determine the accuracy of what skills or traits you are seeking in the caregiver.
Ask for specific details like she can move a wheelchair, help care recipients transfer in the home, etc.
Look for similarities between a caregiver's specific tasks and for what purposes you are looking to hire her.
Evaluate her language ability to see whether your loved one would be able to communicate with her.
Questionnaire for Hiring a Helper for Elderly Care in Singapore
Below are top questions to ask your potential caregiver about work experience and educational background
Did you previously work as a maid? If not, what made you become interested in working as a maid?
What were the reasons that led you to leave your previous job?
Do you have any personal or professional references for this new role?
What is your highest academic qualification?
Have you completed any training to provide care for elderly and disabled people?
Can you cook? Did you cook at your previous job? If the answer is yes to these questions, what variety of cuisines can you prepare?
What cleaning chemicals are you familiar to use for cleaning?
On average, how many housekeeping tasks can you do during the day or night schedule?
Can you tell me about a particularly challenging experience you had on your previous role, and explain how did you manage to overcome it?
Did you have your own room or share with someone in the last role?
Were you the only caregiver for your care recipient, and how did you manage it? Or did you need any extra help to do that?
Other than your care recipient, were there other people? If yes, who were they?
Assisting in Different Activities of Daily Living
It is common for elderly care recipients to wake up a few times at night and may require assistance from the caregiver. It could be going to the toilet, changing a diaper, drinking water, or simply being an elderly person who is finding it hard to sleep.
Was your care recipient able to shower himself, or did you have to wash him/her? For immobile care recipients, were you showering in the toilet or on the bed?
Was your care recipient able to use the toilet by himself, or did you have to clean up for him after toileting? Were you helping your care recipient go to the toilet at night? How many times were you usually tending each night?
Did the care recipient wear diapers, or did he put on diapers (e.g., when heading outside or at night)? Did you have to change diapers for the care recipient, or did you have to wake up at night to change the diapers?
Was your care recipient able to eat by himself, or did he need your help?
Did your care recipient need help to change clothes, or could he change by himself?
Did you care that the recipient needed help to walk, or was able to walk by himself?
Skill-Based Questions to Assess Role Competency of the Potential Caregiver
Ask your candidates questions that depict their qualifications using real-world examples.
How has the experience on your resume helped you build the skills necessary to become the good caregiver you are today?
How do you adapt to working with people, especially those who are older or different from you?
Imagine that you are looking for a caregiver for one of your loved ones and looking forward to interviewing someone. What traits or skills would you love to look forward to in candidates?
What do you believe is the single most important skill that every caregiver should have? Tell me about a time when you demonstrated this skill as a caregiver or in other lines of work.
Share a time you realized you lacked a particular skill required for your job and how you managed to develop that skill.
What skill or trait of yours do you think your clients will love the most in you?
If you were hiring someone for this position, what are the top skills you would look forward to?
What skills do you have that make you feel the most qualified to be a caregiver, and which skills do you think you still look to develop?
What is the work-related skill that you are excited to develop?
Hypothetical Scenarios to Test the Thought Process of Caregiver
Discern your candidate’s thought process, work ethic, and conflict management skills by testing their response to different hypothetical scenarios. Feel free to tweak these scenarios to reflect circumstances your potential caregiver may have to go through.
Describe for me a time when it would be appropriate to use your phone, and when it would be inappropriate to use.
What approach would you take in teaching a senior to use some new app on their phone?
What would you do if you disagreed with your supervisor on how to take care of them?
If a client of yours refused to [take a shower, eat their meal, go to the bathroom, etc.], how would you manage this situation?
How would you handle the situation if a work supervisor reprimanded you in an unjustified or unfair way?
Describe a circumstance in which you believe it would be justifiable to come late to work.
How would you respond if a care recipient used rude or derogatory language toward you?
Imagine that you decide you need in-home care for yourself, then describe the kind of caregiver you would want to take care of you. Do you meet these criteria as a caregiver?
If we could bring your pet in here right now and ask it for a reference about your personality, what would your response be?
If you were the owner of a caregiving agency like BeyondMaids, what would be the most important skill you'd like to have for your potential caregiver?
If you could go back and start over at your last job, how would you do it differently?
If I could get a reference from the last person you talked to, what would they say about you?
If I talked with your past employers, what is one negative and one positive thing I would hear from them?
If you are hired here, what will you do on your own initiative to make yourself the best choice for the role?
General Questions to Reveal the Character and Compatibility of the Caregiver
There are some general questions that will help you uncover your candidate’s personality, character, and compatibility with your agency. Below are these top general questions to ask your potential caregiver.
In your opinion, tell me what makes a good caregiver and why you are the perfect fit for this role.
Where did you hear about this job, and what made you choose to apply to be a caregiver?
Tell me about your excitement about working with the elders.
Share with me a time when you displayed the core values of the company.
What aspects of the job seem to discourage you?
Tell me about the best day at work you’ve ever had and what made it so unforgettable for you.
What do you do to motivate yourself to work when things don't go as expected?
What is your proudest achievement outside the line of this caregiving work?
Do you set personal goals for each role? If yes, can you tell me about some past goals you’ve set at work and whether you achieve those goals?
Questions to Help You Understand the Needs of the Hiree
Now it's time to ask your potential caregiver questions to understand their needs.
How do you prefer to be recognized for your work, and how can we help you to do that?
Suppose you decided you wanted your wages to be paid in something other than money, that is what it would be and why do you want to be paid this way?
What kind of company culture can help you thrive?
What types of rewards or recognition from your employer can help you stay motivated?
What kind of training could we provide to make you feel more confident?
How do you prefer to receive constructive feedback from your agency?
Final Thoughts on Hiring a Helper For Elderly Care in Singapore
To help your evaluation of which caregiver to hire, we have listed the top list of questions to ask your potential caregiver. If you are looking to hire a maid in singapore then don’t forget to contact BeyondMaids, we will further make your hiring process a lot easier.
Looking at a caregiver’s past work history, you can evaluate if this caregiver will suffice for your needs. Ultimately, based on your interaction with her during the interview, you will be able to feel comfortable because you have done everything to hire a perfect caregiver to get the job done perfectly.
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