The Hiring Checklist
Ten steps, in order, from defining the role to the written agreement on day one.
How to Use This Checklist
These ten steps run in order, and the order matters. Households that interview before defining the role, or agree terms before verifying identity, consistently end up redoing work or discovering a problem after someone has already started.
If you hire through an agency, steps four through six are done for you before a candidate reaches your shortlist. If you are hiring independently through a personal referral, they are yours to complete, and skipping them is where most avoidable problems in Pakistani domestic hiring begin.
The Ten Steps
Write down what the role actually involves
Not the job title, the daily reality. How many people you cook for, which rooms need cleaning, which routes a driver covers. Most bad placements trace back to a vague brief rather than a bad candidate.
Decide live-in or live-out honestly
Base this on the accommodation you genuinely have and the hours you genuinely need, not on which sounds more comprehensive. An apartment without separate accommodation is a live-out household.
Set a market-rate salary before you start looking
Check current rates by role and city so your offer is realistic from the start. Beginning a search with a below-market figure wastes weeks and loses the candidates worth having.
Confirm identity against NADRA records
Check the CNIC is genuine and belongs to the person in front of you. Every other check is meaningless if this one is skipped, because a clean record attached to the wrong person proves nothing.
Obtain a Police Character Certificate
From the candidate own local police station, and dated within roughly the last year. Compare the CNIC number on the certificate digit by digit against the physical card.
Call previous employers yourself
Speak to at least two, directly. A written reference letter can be produced by anyone, including a friend. An actual conversation about how someone worked is worth more than any document.
Interview for judgment, not just experience
Ask situational questions: what would you do if this happened. The specific answer matters less than whether it reflects calm, sensible thinking rather than panic or rigidity.
Run a paid trial period
One to three days for most household roles, up to a week for drivers, nannies and carers. Pay a prorated daily rate. Set the end date before it starts.
Put the terms in writing before day one
Salary and pay date, hours, weekly day off, annual leave, notice period, and accommodation terms for live-in roles. One page in a language the staff member reads comfortably.
Agree how issues will be raised
Decide upfront how you will give feedback and how they should raise a problem. Households that establish this in week one resolve small issues before they become the reason a placement ends.
Steps four to six are the 40-point verification Staffly completes before any candidate reaches your shortlist. See how verification works for the full process, or the agreement template for step nine.
Common Questions
How long should this whole process take?
Hiring through an agency with a pre-verified pool, most households complete it in two to four days including a trial. Hiring independently, allow two to three weeks, mostly because obtaining a Police Character Certificate and reaching previous employers takes time.
Can I skip the trial if the interview went well?
You can, but it is the step experienced households would keep above all others. An interview shows how someone presents themselves; a trial shows how they actually work.
Which steps does an agency handle?
A genuine agency completes the verification steps before you see a candidate and typically helps with the written agreement. Defining the role, interviewing, running the trial and making the decision stay with you, as they should.