Your Child's Sleep Needs

We have quite a few customers who have children between the ages of 6-8 years old. My grandson, Ethan, who lives with us, is 7 years old, and attends a local Chinese school. With all of the homework pressure, it is difficult for Hong Kong children to get adequate sleep. How much sleep does a 7 year old boy need? I found this answer on the Internet. Please give me your feedback. Does your child get enough sleep? If not, why not? Constantly depriving someone of sleep is a guarantee for less than optimum performance, and will, cause that person to feel angry and resentful. What do you think?

Your Child's Sleep Needs

According to experts at the St. John's Mercy Sleep Medicine and Research Center in St. Louis, the current estimates of the sleep needs of children for each 24 hours are as follows:

• 0-6 months: 14-16.5 hours
• 6 -12 months: 14-15 hours
• One-year-old: 13.75 -14 hours
• Two-year-old: 12.75 - 13 hours
• Three-year-old: 12 to 12 1/2 hours
• Four-year-old: 11 ½ to 12 hours
• Five to seven year-old: 11 hours
• Eight to nine year-old: 10 1/2 hours
  
• Ten to eleven year-old: 10 hours
• Twelve to fourteen year-old: 9 1/2 hours
• Fifteen to twenty-four year-old: 9 hours
• Twenty-five and older: 7-1/2 to 8-1/2 hours

Baby Kingdom

I've recently had a customer criticize me in a public forum on the Internet. Many people have asked me about it, so instead of ignoring it (my personal preference) I have decided to address some of the issues raised.

First, let me begin by saying that we have never claimed "infallibility". We do make mistakes in assessing the abilities of people, and in matching people to families. Sometimes the helper is not a good match for the family, or perhaps, the helper is not as good as we thought. Sometimes the employer is not as kind as we thought. Every agency in Hong Kong, from the large chains to the small "mom and pop" business like ours will have a certain percentage of mismatches. At Arrow, we have gone to great lengths to reduce these occurrences, but they still occaisonally happen.

Mistakes in matching will occur. This is part of the business.  If you expect perfection, you have definitely come to the wrong agency.  I believe that how we handle mistakes says a lot about our character and the character of our company. When we make a mistake, we we admit it, and do our best to make amends. We go the extra mile in trying to make things right. We have sent our trainer to customer's homes to observe the helper's routine. We have had numerous young ladies into our home for cooking lessons. We make follow up calls and employers know they can call us anytime to discuss a problem they might have with their helper.   At Arrow, we  try our best to "get it right", and when we don't, we take responsibility for our mistakes.

When it comes to choosing a helper, it is vitally important you, the employer, KNOW YOURSELF, and your family. We do our best with the information you give us, but if you withhold information from us, or fail to consult your spouse or family in the hiring decision, please don't come back later and blame us.  In this public forum case, we never met the spouse, and the wife made the hiring decision without consulting her husband, who, as it turns out, did not like her choice of helpers.

Many people want "instant noodle" helpers. If you expect the helper to walk in, and within a few days to be fully functional, then you need to hire a person with recent Hong Kong or Singapore experience. Don't hire a first timer, and don't hire someone who worked in HK 10 years ago. If you hire a first timer or someone who hasn't been back to Hong Kong in a while, then you  need to give them time to adjust and learn to work according to your ways.

How long, after the helper arrives,  should you wait before deciding whether or not a helper is suitable for your family or not? Is a few days time enough? Even an experienced person may have some culture shock or have adjustment problems. Unless your helper is dishonest or dangerous, I personally think it is irresponsible for an employer not to give them at least a month or two to adjust and learn the job.  A few days is NOT enough time. 

We have a number of employers who come to Arrow looking to replace their helpers (hired from other agencies). They tell us their current helper is stubborn, lazy or even dishonest. When I ask them "how long has she worked for you?", I am surprised to hear "Six months or 9 months". I then ask "Why did you tolerate this so long?" and they tell me, "I knew she borrowed money to come to HK, and I wanted her to be able to pay off her debt first. I didn't want her to suffer financially."  I admire this kind of employer and I personally want to be more like them.  We have never claimed to have the "best helpers" in Hong Kong, (even though we have some pretty good helpers out there). We do, however, proudly claim to have the "best employers" in Hong Kong. 

Finally, I have been criticized for caring too much for the Filipino helpers. To this charge, I happily plead "guilty".  At Arrow we care about the people who find work through our agency, and we care about the families who hire workers through our company. Love is a "renewable resource". There is unlimited supply of love available in God. You needn't worry that by loving Filipino workers, we will then, not have any love left for Hong Kong employers. Does God care less for Filipinos than he does for Hong Kong people?  Would it surprise you to hear that Filipino helpers criticize me for standing on the side of employers and caring too much for employers?

For too many years, Hong Kong agencies have taken advantage of the poor, and Hong Kong employers have unknowingly aided and abetted them. We have tried to swing the pendulum back toward the middle, and we are considered "extreme".  I can live with that label. Jesus was "extreme", and was greatly concerned about the poor, so ... "why not?"   

We have intentionally marketed to "people of conscience", people who care about issues of fairness, human dignity and poverty. Although we have a reputation for having good, reliable "trustworthy" helpers, we don't expect everyone to respond to our approach to business.  We will continue to do our best to make sure our helpers are competent and trustworthy, but we cannot promise perfection. We do promise to do our best to "get it right" and if something goes wrong, we'll do our best to "make it right". What more can ask for?

Thanks for listening!    Allan

Arrow 1st Annual Thanksgiving Party

I've edited video from our 1st Annual Thanksgiving Party. Take a peek at a great party!

Philippine Job Training Brings People to Christ

We recently completed two weeks of training in Manila. I filmed a few highlight testimonies from the first week. You can get an idea of what the training means for those who attend. You can also hear the level of English of those who attended. Of course, the candidates were quite nervous about making a video, and their English is a little better than their performances. Many candidates have learned a lot of English, but have not used it in years. After 1 month in Hong Kong, many of them will have absolutely no problem communicating in English. They just need a little time to "shake the rust" off their English, and they'll be fine.

Arrow Training November 2007

I was "wow-ed" yesterday. At our Arrow training I ate some of the best Chinese food I have ever eaten. The Spring rolls were delicious and, for the first time, I ate this egg dish (5 on the plate in the middle). They were delicious. The soup was average because we didn't have enough of the proper ingredients, but everything else was fantastic. I was impressed!

Overall, the level of English in this group is quite good. I have not yet interviewed anyone with below average English. A couple of them have learned a little Mandarin or Chinese. One or two have impressed me with their initiative, bringing me coffee, etc. (Coffee is always a good way to get my attention.)

We have tried to discourage some of the ladies with small children at home, but some of them are in desperate financial need and feel they have no choice. 

A word about finances: Potential employers, you need to remember that these ladies often borrow  money to pay for their processing in the Philippines.  If you hire someone, you need to be patient with them. If you terminate an employee over minor issues like absentmindedness or occasional lateness, bad cooking, etc. you will be hurting their whole family financially.  We work with our Philippine partner to keep fees on this side as low as possible, but most women still need to borrow to pay their fees here.   Some of them even need to borrow money for the bus fare to attend our training. Please have some compassion and patience.

The importance of Gratitude

"Neither were they thankful" Romans Chapter One

I've been thinking about "thankfulness" lately, thankfulness and ungratefulness. Thankfulness is a wonderful attitude to cultivate. It will protect your relationships and fill your life with joy. On the other hand, ungratefulness is a destructive attitude that steals the joy from life.

The opposite of "thankfulness" is a "sense of entitlement". This sense of entitlement says "I deserve only the best, and if I receive anything less than what I deserve, well - then I complain."

As employers are you grateful for the service of your helper? Do you routinely say "Thank you. Dinner was great!" or are you more likely to say "the rice was overcooked". Thankfulness looks not just at outcomes, but at the heart, the effort. When I pay my staff, I say "thank you, for your hard work", and my staff says "Thank you for the job and the paycheck." When I get up in the morning I say "Thank you Lord, for a beautiful day!" If it is raining I say "thank you for the rain", and I enjoy it!

If you are a "I'm entitled to", "I deserve", "the world owes me" kind of person, you will be demanding, rarely say "thank you" or "good job". Your children and spouse will be starved for "encouragement", and you will, frankly, be a "pain in the neck" to be around.

I can usually tell which employers have the "entitlement" attitude, because they start complaining long before their helper arrives. It doesn't matter that we have done everything in a correct and timely matter. If there is any small bump in the process, they get very angry.  "I paid you so much money, and the helper is still not here." (Most of our helpers arrive within 2 months of contract signing). Of course, a customer is entitled to expect certain things from those providing a service to them, but there are some things we can't do.

"Can you get me a helper in 4 weeks?" No!
"Can you find me a helper who speaks fluent Cantonese, cooks really great, but cannot be more than 30 years old." Not likely.

To be honest I worry, "If the employer is this demanding with us, how will they treat their helper?"

We have helpers who have the "entitlement" attitude as well. When we find them a job, they are excited and full of gratitude, but some of them, after a month or two of work, start to complain. If they get sick and we can't take them to the doctor (on behalf of their employer), these ladies complain "Arrow doesn't care for us." If we visit them in the hospital and take them into our home, while they recover, they don't say "thank you", but rather complain that we didn't do enough for them." They don't treat our help as something given out of love, but rather as something "owed to them".

Entitlement and Gratefulness are opposites. Don't take for granted those who live with you or those work with you. Thank them, praise them, encourage them, and you will create a home environment where everyone feels happy and appreciated. Discard the idea that the world owes you something. It will only make you unhappy and the people around you will be miserable too.

Think about it.

Treat your helper well

I try to treat people as human beings.... If they know you care, it brings out the best in them.

                            --Sir Richard Branson, Founder and Chairman, The Virgin Group

Do you think that the Richard Branson approach might work in your relationship with your domestic helper?   Here are a couple more quotes to stimulate you.

"The end result of kindness is that it draws people to you."

                        Anita Roddick, Founder and CEO, The Body Shop

"What creates trust, in the end, is the leader's manifest respect for the followers."

                    James O'Toole, Author of Leading Change

Sounds somewhat like Jesus said

"Treat other people the way you would want to be treated."

This is the key to being a good boss or a good employee. As employers, let's lead by example. Focus on being a good employer and see what happens to the performance of your employee. Of course, a good employer will have reasonable standards and expectations, but he won't place all of the burden on the employee, but rather will bring out the best in his employees. 

Part-time Help

The employment ordinance says that either the employer or the employer can end the contract with just one month's notice.  It takes, on average, two months from the time you sign a contract until your helper arrives in Hong Kong. So what do you do when your helper gives you 30 days notice? 1) Ask her if she would be willing to stay until the new helper arrives and/or 2) Look for part-time help to get you through the extra month. The Hong Kong government has a service, 本地家務助理，matching local domestic helpers with employers. I've added it to our permanent links in the right-hand column.

Jackie Cheung turns to Indonesians for help

I'll be very interested to see how this turns out.

HONG KONG--Spurned by the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (Polo), Canto-pop star Jacky Cheung and his wife, retired actress Mei Lo, have turned to Indonesians for help. The couple, which has been banned from hiring Filipino helpers due to a record of frequently firing maids or causing them to resign, has asked recruitment agencies to find Indonesian domestic workers to replace the Filipinos who have left their household. Lo mentioned the resignation of the four Filipino maids during the actress' meeting with Philippine consulate officials in September. Cheung himself confirmed the resignation of his maids after learning that the couple had been placed on the Polo's watch list. "We don't know why, they (maids) just resigned voluntarily," Assistant labor attaché Leonida Romulo told Hong Kong News. The Polo had not been contacted by any of the helpers who recently quit."

Read the full story by clicking on the link.

HK star turns to Indonesians for help - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

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菲傭：感激小姐救全車人

　Wenweipo.com has the following encouraging story.

受傷菲傭講述歷險經過時，大讚小姐勇敢，救回全車人。

　「如果唔係小姐，恐怕全車人都死晒……」經歷生死一線的車禍，唯一受傷的42歲菲籍女傭，憶述事發經過時仍猶有餘悸，不斷說：「當時好驚，好險！」並大讚老僱主的女兒英勇過人，能夠當機立斷，救回全車人性命。

她說當時剛扶著林老太登車時，旅遊巴突向前衝下斜路，車上及車外眾人都驚慌大叫司機，眼見巴士越衝越快，車上各人都不知如何是好之際，幸小姐不顧一切衝上司機位制停車輛，否則全車人都會凶多吉少。

　該名菲傭續稱，她來港4年，2個月前始受聘大埔九寮下村一村屋，負責照顧林氏老夫婦。

死裡逃生  相擁哭泣

　數日前林姓老僱主因心臟病發，在大埔那打素醫院病逝，昨日眾親友一起出席喪禮，不料中途卻發生驚險意外；當車停下後，各人都被嚇得哭了起來，恍如隔世，小姐亦按捺不住，情緒激動擁著一名親友不停哭泣。

張學友3年解僱21名菲傭

Jacky Cheung needs to read our article on "how to be a great employer". If you agree with him, then Arrow is DEFINITELY NOT the right employment agency for you.  All of these helpers probably  went into deep debt to come and work for Mr. Cheung in Hong Kong. His callousness and caviler attitude has probably financially ruined over 20 poor families.  He and his wife should be ashamed of themselves. I hope he stays "blacklisted". Let the big shot clean his own toilet for a while.

ETtoday

張學友3年解僱21名菲傭　被列入「僱請菲傭黑名單」
張學友列僱傭黑名單，3年換21菲傭。

2007/09/27 12:32
影劇中心／綜合報導

演藝圈中的模範夫妻張學友與妻子羅美薇近日被報導，因3年內陸續解僱21名菲傭，而遭到菲律賓駐港總領事館的關切，最後夫妻倆一同被列入「僱請菲傭黑名單」中，羅美薇還因此聲淚俱下的表示，他們被誤會了，但領事館依然堅持不再讓他們續聘任何菲傭；演藝圈眾多好友聽聞此事皆感到不可思議，認為張學友不會這樣做才對，但劉德華則認為，雇傭之間應不斷溝通，也應互信才是。

近日於香港有一份供菲傭免費取得的月刊《filipino globe》以頭條方式報導，張學友夫妻倆被列入僱用菲傭黑名單一事，這是菲律賓駐港總領事Alejandrino A. Vicente被訪問的內容，他表示，他們之所以會被列入黑名單是因為在過去3年內張學友不斷的解僱菲傭，導致菲傭因僱用期未滿而欠下許多債務，這使得領 事館必須出面干涉張學友再聘用菲傭一事。

而張學友本人對於自己被列入黑名單一事表示，目前事情都還未明朗，所以現在發表任何言論對誰都不公平，他還說一切就 等他看完所有的報導在做說明。事實上，學友家的菲傭風波並不是現在才開始的，早在去年就有一名叫派絲琳(Preslyn-saga Catacutan)的女傭，因偷竊張學友3張私人照片與信件而遭到控告，當時此名女傭被判刑半年，此舉也遭到菲傭團體「United Filipinos in HK」的嚴厲抨擊，認為香港法院太過偏袒雇主了，此事才剛平息紛爭，如今張學友又被爆太過不尊重菲傭的工作權。

而香港同為演藝大哥的劉德華對此事表示，他不太清楚學友的狀況，所以很難給什麼意見，但是他認為主僱之間應不斷的溝通，但他也不否認，對於聘請佣人這個問題真得很難處理，因為要請一個人來家裡幫忙又要不斷提防他，那這樣請佣人要做什麼？

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Don't be this kind of employer

Gmail - Google 快訊 - 女傭

張學友被列黑名單3年換21菲傭
臺灣蘋果日報 - Taiwan
張學友（左）2月與羅美薇（右）攜女飛美國度假，菲傭 （紅圈處）抱他2女兒張瑤萱，另一女傭（左三）則牽他大女兒張瑤華。 對被列入黑名單一事，張學友昨表示現階段發表任何言論 對各方都不公平，但言語間卻暗示，此事與之前他告菲傭 偷竊一事有關聯。至於是否在3年內更換21名 ...
查看此主題下的所有報導

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Domestic Helper faces death penalty

A Filipino domestic helper in Kuwait murdered her boss after being subjected what sounds like verbal abuse over a period of time. I hate to report news like this, because I don't want people to worry about their domestic helpers, but at the same time I don't want to be guilty of only passing along good news.  Good domestic helpers are a big blessing to a family, but if you have the misfortune of hiring someone who is unstable then watch out... Read the story below.

As reported by Global Nation

MANILA, Philippines – A Filipino domestic helper facing the death penalty in Kuwait for killing her female employer could get her sentence reduced after the Philippine Embassy convinced the victim's mother and two siblings to forgive her.

Vice President Noli de Castro, presidential adviser on overseas Filipino workers, relayed the news from Ambassador to Kuwait Ricardo Endaya.

De Castro said the embassy was now working to convince the victim's estranged husband as well as another sibling to forgive Marilou Ranario, a move which could reduce the death sentence meted by a Kuwaiti court.

Ranario, from Bicol, admitted to killing her employer in January 2005 after the latter had repeatedly maligned Filipinos.

According to De Castro, the embassy has hired another lawyer to argue Ranario's case in the Kuwaiti Supreme Court which is scheduled to hear the appeal this week.

The Department of Foreign Affairs denied reports that Ranario had only 16 weeks to live, saying the verdict was still on appeal.

When it doesn't go according to plan

I really enjoy running Arrow. Everyday we have the chance to serve people and learn. Our training and our service are improving constantly. When we introduce a helper to someone's family, we feel confident that we have done our best to find and train the best helper for them. BUT what if, in spite of all our efforts, the helper turns out to be "not good"?

How do you handle failure? So far we have had one girl turn out to be what I would call a "lemon".  I recently met with our partner in the Philippines. He sends helpers around the world and said that five out of every twenty sent to Hong Kong come back within the first few months. One out of every four gets fired within the first month.  So far, Arrow has placed one person who was not ready to work in Hong Kong. She completed our training more than a year before she was deployed and when she arrived in HK, she didn't perform well. We listened to the employer, and their employee and agree with the employer that she was unsuitable to work in their family. We apologized and offered them a replacement or a refund.

One failure distresses us. We ask questions like "Why didn't our screening and training didn't catch her unreadiness to work in HK? What can we do to improve our training and screening?"  As a result we have tightened up our screening, training  and orientation.  We want to ensure that everyone who comes to Hong Kong is ready to succeed.

We have also become more strict with employers. We will not introduce Arrow trainees to "just anyone". Sad to say, someHong Kong employers are overbearing  perfectionists who fire their helpers for petty reasons. We have a reputation among employers as the company which tries hard to train and provide trustworthy competent helpers. We also have a reputation among Filipinos as the company which attracts loving, kind-hearted employers. We are working hard to ensure that we deserve both!

Don't Let This Happen to You

I've been learning Taichi with a group in a nearby park. Once a month we go out to "yamcha" together. Last Saturday I sat next to a Mrs. Lam who related to me her troubles in hiring domestic helpers.

She said that the 1st helper she hired turned out to be pregnant, and she had to send her home. The helper had passed her physical and her pregnancy test had come back negative, but after her physical exam she must have had one last tender goodbye with her husband.

Her next helper decided she didn't want to be here. She later confessed that her family pressured her to come to HK. Her employer told her she had a brand new wooden floor and it had to be cleaned with a damp cloth only. She couldn't mop with lots of water. The owner came home one day to find the whole floor had come up! When she was questioned the helper admitted doing it on purpose, so that she would be fired and could go home. She got her wish.

This could be avoided with proper screening, but what agency does that? Arrow does!