Frequently Asked Questions

What can a Household Assistant do or not do?

HomeHQ Household Assistants (‘HAs’) can do the following. The list is not exhaustive but generally requests outside this scope will be considered on a case-by-case basis:

Laundry – loading and running washer and dryer, folding clothes, putting them away in dressers
Washing dishes – loading and unloading dishwashers and hand-washing items as needed
Wiping down counters and tables
Taking out trash, recycling and compost to bins
Bringing trash, recycling and compost bins to curb and bringing them back in after pickup
Tidying up – Putting back toys, jackets and other items back to their designated locations
Package returns, pickup and other shipping requests
Grocery shopping from a client-defined list
Meal prep – washing, peeling, chopping, measuring and cooking ingredients according to a recipe (or just preparing ingredients for cooking by clients)
Making snacks – washing and cutting up fruits and vegetables
Cleaning out the refrigerator – periodically cleaning out the refrigerator from spoiled foods
Spot cleaning – for example, cleaning out the crumbs in the corners of your kitchen cabinets
Disposing package boxes – flattening out and taking out for recycling
Replenishing toilet paper, napkins and soap
Running errands – picking up medication, dropping off/ picking up dry cleaning, dropping off things at Goodwill
Make appointments for doctors, haircuts, and other service providers where a HA can call on your behalf
Researching and booking extracurricular activities for kids
Researching and making appointments with top vendors for household jobs (e.g., home repair)
Creating meal plans for client’s approval
Creating grocery list against ingredients already at clients’ home
Planning birthdays and holidays
Support management of school and caregiver schedules
Water plants
Feed and walk pets

HomeHQ HAs do not do the following but we can find partners who can provide these services:

Deep cleaning
Heavy furniture moving
Furniture assembly
Handyman/construction tasks
Landscaping work
Transport of people, including children
Babysitting
Catering
In-person food service (i.e., acting as an in-home wait staff)

Will a HomeHQ Household Assistant be my employee?

No. HomeHQ handles the employment relationship with the Household Assistant. This means you don’t have to deal with the tax and legal considerations of being an employer – hurray!

What does the onboarding process look like?

Once a HomeHQ HA is placed with you, the HA, the client and a HA manager will schedule an in-person meeting to walk through the client’s home, typical tasks to be done and any specific considerations from the client. Many clients find that this is also an opportunity where they can set up systems in place to manage their home more effectively not only with their HA but with other people involved such as their spouse, children and babysitter.

What if I’m not satisfied with my Household Assistant?

If you are not satisfied with your HA for any reason, please contact HomeHQ client service. We will attempt to work with the client and the HA to change the quality of service to the client’s satisfaction during a defined trial period. If client satisfaction is not achieved within the trial period, HomeHQ will attempt to place a new HA with the client. HomeHQ also regularly schedules check-ins with clients to request feedback.

How soon can a Household Assistant start?

From client registration, HAs may be placed the client in as little as 3 days to a few weeks, depending on the hours required, client location and other factors. Clients do not pay for service until a HA placement is confirmed, other than the deposit which will be credited to the first month’s payment once a HA is placed or refunded to the client if a HA cannot be placed within 6 weeks of receipt of the deposit.

What areas do you serve?

Currently we serve households within the city limits of Seattle, Bellevue and Mercer Island.

Can a Household Assistant babysit?

No, HomeHQ HAs do not babysit.

What if we are going on vacation?

If a client is going on vacation and does not require HA services during that time, the client is required to give at least 14-days prior notice in writing to the HomeHQ client services team. The cancelled sessions will be credited to the clients’ account in the next month’s billing.

How will a Household Assistant safeguard my privacy?

HomeHQ HAs are required to sign a Confidentiality Agreement to safeguard any private information they may come across while serving clients.

What hours do Household Assistants work?

HAs typically work between 8a-6pm Monday-Fridays.

Do Household Assistants speak English?

Yes, all of our HAs are interviewed for fluency in English.

Do I get to pick my own Household Assistant?

No, clients do not get to pick their own Household Assistant. We have our internal process and criteria for screening candidates who would make successful Household Assistants, which is based on experience across a wide range of candidates and clients.

Why should I use HomeHQ? Can’t I get my own Household Assistant?

Of course, people who are seeking household support can always try to find their own candidates. However, working with HomeHQ can result in significant savings in terms of your time, mental load and money:

HomeHQ finds the qualified candidates for you. It can take dozens of hours for individual families to recruit a candidate and we have experience in finding the people who make the most promising Household Assistants.
HomeHQ handles the legal, tax and administrative work. If you hire a Household Assistant directly, you may very well be their legal employer meaning that you are obligated to run payroll with all the required withholdings and comply with other legal, tax-related and administrative requirements. Researching these requirements and managing compliance to these requirements can take several hours per month, and purchasing software designed to support these tasks can run $50-$200 per month.
HomeHQ coordinates the schedules that work for clients and Household Assistants. It can be hard to find someone who only wants to work 6, 10 or 15 hours per week. We coordinate across multiple clients and Household Assistants to create a schedule that meets everyone’s needs.
HomeHQ provides a supervisory layer that helps you get what you need from a Household Assistant. We understand our client’s perspectives as well as those of our HAs. We bring our experience to make sure feedback is given in a way that has the best chance of positive impact and we work proactively to head off common problems.

Why do you require a deposit?

We require a deposit because when a new client signs up for our service, depending on our current roster of Household Assistants and their schedules, we may not be able to place a Household Assistant right away with that client. We may need to hire a new Household Assistant to add to our roster to meet the new demand. This involves making a commitment to the new candidate that we will have work for them when they start. The deposit helps ensure that the client is serious about working with HomeHQ for at least the first month of service. If we are not able to place a Household Assistant with the new client within 6 weeks of the deposit, we will refund the deposit.

What if my Household Assistant needs to go on vacation or cancels service?

Household Assistants, like everyone, occasionally may need to cancel sessions due to vacations, illness or other reasons. We proactively ask our Household Assistants of any upcoming events when they know they will need to cancel sessions. Whenever possible, we try to notify clients as soon as we know of any cancellations and clients will always have the option of getting sessions cancelled by the Household Assistant refunded. If the client would like HomeHQ to try to find a substitute Household Assistant for the cancelled session, we will try to do so though substitute placement is based on availability.

What is the package that is right for me?

This depends on the types of routine tasks you need help with as well as one-time tasks (e.g., re-organization of a playroom). Our client services team can help you determine which package is likely the right one for you.