The short answer: a good maid hire has five stages — source candidates through references you trust, interview for reliability rather than just skill, verify identity (and ideally police verification), run a paid trial week, and then agree the terms explicitly: salary, tasks, schedule, leaves, and how attendance will be tracked. Most bad outcomes trace back to skipping stage five, not stage three.
Stage 1 — Where to find candidates
- References from neighbours and your building — still the best channel. A worker with three years in your building has a reputation to protect there.
- Your existing staff's network — cooks know cleaners; drivers know gardeners. Good workers tend to recommend good workers.
- Security guards and RWA groups — building WhatsApp groups often circulate availability when someone's employer relocates.
- Placement agencies — fastest option, useful for live-in roles; expect a placement fee (commonly half to one month's salary) and verify what background checks the agency has actually done, not just claims.
- Apps and online platforms — growing in metros; treat platform "verification" badges as a starting point, not a substitute for your own checks.
Stage 2 — Interview questions that actually predict reliability
Skill shows up in the trial week; the interview is for everything else:
- "How long were you with your last two employers, and why did you leave?" Tenure is the single best predictor. Two multi-year stints beats any answer to a cleaning question.
- "What other houses do you work in, and what times?" A part-timer's schedule tells you whether your slot is realistic or destined to slip daily.
- "How do you inform employers when you can't come?" You want a call the night before, not silence at 8 a.m.
- "How many leaves do you usually take a month?" Sets up the leave-policy conversation (see our paid leave guide) with her expectations on the table.
- "What salary are you expecting for these tasks?" Compare against your building's going rate — the 2026 city-wise salary guide gives ballpark ranges.
- Ask for two employer references — and call them. Ask each: "Would you hire her again?" The pause tells you more than the answer.
Stage 3 — Verification
- ID proof: keep a copy of Aadhaar or another government ID, along with a current address and an alternate contact number.
- Police verification: many cities offer tenant/servant verification through the local police station or citizen-services portals. It's inexpensive, standard practice for live-in staff, and reasonable for anyone with house keys.
- A photo and emergency contact — for everyone's safety, including hers.
Do this matter-of-factly; professionals expect it, and how a candidate reacts to routine verification is itself information.
Stage 4 — The paid trial week
Agree a 3–7 day paid trial at the pro-rated daily wage. You're watching for punctuality, whether instructions stick after one telling, and how she works unsupervised. She's evaluating you too — clarity, respect, and whether your home's expectations match the salary. Pay the trial wage promptly even if it doesn't work out; word travels in a building.
Stage 5 — Agree the terms explicitly (the stage everyone skips)
Five minutes of explicitness prevents a year of friction. Cover, ideally in a written note or message both of you keep:
- Tasks, precisely. "Cleaning" is not a scope. Sweeping-mopping, dishes, bathrooms how often, dusting which rooms.
- Schedule and time window. Days per week and arrival window — this becomes the working-days base for salary.
- Salary, payday, and the calculation rule. Amount, date paid, and that salary follows attendance on a 26- or 30-day base — the formula is here.
- Leave policy. How many paid leaves per month, and what festival days are given.
- Advance policy. That advances are fine, recorded, and deducted transparently — the advance system in one sentence.
- Increment and bonus expectations. Annual raise conversation month, and the customary festival bonus.
Day one: start the record
Whatever terms you agreed exist only if there's a record behind them. Add her to StaffAround on day one — name, role, salary, schedule — and mark attendance from the first morning. At month end the first payslip lands on WhatsApp with the full breakdown, and the tone of the whole employment is set: transparent, on time, no surprises. The free plan covers your first two staff members.