Well, I’ve been trying to figure out how to fit my home life and work life all into one 24 hour period.
6 years ago I wanted to start a business that provided services to employees inside the work place, to make their life easier. Dry cleaning, massage, nannies, etc, all in the name of making other peoples live easier, cos I know how difficult mine is. Well, fancy that – someone (quite a few actually) stole my idea, and now there are a lot of companies that provide Corporate Concierge Services, and Lifestyle managers to help their employees.
What I really like, is that the companies that have really got it right, are advertised on http://www.capabilityjane.com/ . It’s nice to know that there are companies out there that care, and invest money in their employees. It also shows, in the loyalty towards the company. Tesco’s IT Director, Jon Higgins, has been there for over 18 years.
It is said that 10% of a staff member’s time is spent on doing personal things at the office. Well, there are two trains of thought here. One, if they are doing it in their lunch hour, then they are perfectly entitled. Two, if it’s only 10 %, then I recon you are lucky to have that person, hold on to them!
I work a 10 hour day, and travel for an extra 2. That’s twelve hours taken care of. Then I get home and manage children, and their lives, another 2 hours, and then I have time to sort out the necessary things. Only by that time it’s 9pm and the doctor I have to phone, shop I have to go to, hairdresser I have to make an appointment with, and plumber I need, are all off duty and in the pub.
So you see, you HAVE to do it in office hours. How else is it to be done? Is that unreasonable?
I don’t think so. In fact, I think that those that have the luxury of a person at home to ‘take care’ of things are lucky. Single Moms don’t have that luxury, no, they give away half their wages every month to have peace of mind, and to beg someone else to manage some of the little things that need doing (you won’t believe how many au pairs won’t do ironing or shopping). So I need a concierge. Yes, I do. But I don’t want to pay for it.
What do they do? Just about everything, see a list here:
The find people to do : cleaning, lawn mowing, ironing, French polishing, washing windows, chimney sweeping, gutter clearance. You can use them to run the simplest of errands or project manage jobs that take years to complete.
They can help to find tutors, nannies or dog-walkers, security for the home. If you give them access to your house keys they can co-ordinate deliveries and arrange entry for suppliers.
Some even look after all your cars and other vehicles. They can even buy cars for you! Some say they can secure better value, shorter lead-times and give expert advice.
Some have all these experts in house, and some outsource the work to teams they have been using for years. Basically, whatever you need, they can offer – for a price of course, and that is where it comes in. HOW MUCH? Well, more expensive than an evening at home playing Bingo, but perhaps more useful at times. It’s even a way to get someone else to do your chores whist you play Bingo online with your friends perhaps? Now, I wonder if they have someone that’ll sleep with my partner as well? ;- 0
