Have you ever noticed how people have a total soft spot for getting-to-know-you stories? Movies usually don’t focus on the mundane, everyday aspects of relationships, but on how these came into being in the first place. We also prefer to enquire about how people got to know each other, instead of asking whether they still like each other after five years of being together, despite the fact that person A never takes out the rubbish and person B still leaves the toothpaste open even after being told not to do so over a thousand times. So, if you’ve ever wondered how we go about getting to know our team members, then this story if is for you!
Our aim is to help migrants and people from ethnic minorities to get out of the isolation they often find themselves in when they lack employment and the relevant language skills. Sometimes, it can be quite difficult to get out there and make contact with people. This is why we proactively target groups and organisations that provide a point of contact for people of a range of different nationalities, distribute flyers and advertise on social media.
If someone is interested in working with us, we ask them some basic details via the application form on our website. Next to the usual information, we are especially interested in how integrated into society the applicant feels at the moment, how much contact they have with Swiss society and whether they would like to have more contact. This is because we are looking for people who are motivated and are looking to improve their situation. People who do not just want to work for us but also on themselves. People who are not just looking for a well-paid job but also for the opportunity to participate in German language courses, vocational training and community-based activities.
We then invite potential candidates to an interview. We use this opportunity to explain to them in detail why we do what we do and simultaneously get to know them better. In this way, we also get an understanding of their current language abilities. A basic understanding of German (or English) is required in order to be able to communicate with customers. If the person’s language skills are not good enough to get started with us (as of yet), we recommend the applicant other points of contact that may be more suitable for them for the time being. But if we have a good feeling about the candidate, then we organise a first trial cleaning to find out whether they can work with our cleaning supplies and see where there is still room for improvement.
And this is where you come in! As a customer, you have the opportunity to book a trial cleaning at a discounted rate of 35 CHF/hour. Compared to regular cleaning sessions, this is more of a goodie bag that includes a little bit of everything. Of course, we won’t be sending anyone whose potential we don’t have full confidence in. However, there is a chance that not everything works out 100% perfectly. This is why you subsequently have the chance to provide detailed feedback that will help us work with the candidates to improve future sessions. Your feedback will be used as the basis for a follow-up interview, which will ideally (and luckily this is usually the case) lead to a permanent contract!
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Would you like to (or do you have friends or family who may be interested?) make your apartment available for a trial cleaning? Then please send us a message at hallo@valeriana.ch. We will get back to you as soon as we have a suitable candidate and arrange a date that works for everyone.
And in the best-case scenario, we’ll all be able to say: “And they worked together happily ever after!”
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