Eight questions to ask before you hire, for a home or a business

1. What exactly do you verify, and when?

A good answer names the checks — identity, Aadhaar, police records, a skill test — and says they happen before you see a profile. “All our staff are verified” with no detail is not an answer.

What is at stake is the same question in three settings: a nanny alone with your child, a cashier alone with the till, a guard alone at the gate at three in the morning. Ask whether the checks are the same for a one-person household hire and for twenty people joining a site at once.

neato: identity and Aadhaar verification, police verification records where available, a skill check and a documented profile — before a candidate is recommended, for household, business and facility roles alike.

2. What happens if they leave or do not suit us?

Ask how many replacements, within what time, and on what conditions. A replacement promise without terms is not a promise.

If you run a shop, a kitchen or a site on a rota, ask how fast as well as how many. A cashier missing on a Saturday or a guard short on a night shift is a cost you carry that day, not next week.

neato: replacement assistance is recorded in your booking confirmation, with its number, timeline and conditions.

3. What is the salary, and who pays it?

Get the monthly salary for the shift length in writing before anyone starts, and ask whether you pay the staff member directly or through whoever placed them. For business and premises roles, ask how a second or third shift, a night rota and overtime are priced — that is where a quote and a payroll stop matching.

neato: salaries for household and business roles are published by shift length on the website and in the app; facility roles are quoted against the roles and headcount you ask for.

4. What is your fee, and when is it due?

The service fee is separate from the salary. Ask how much, what it covers, and whether any of it is refundable if the placement does not start. For a request covering several roles, ask whether the fee is charged per hire or on the whole engagement.

neato: the service fee is separate from the salary and depends on the engagement; it is explained before you confirm, and raising a request costs nothing.

5. What will I receive in writing?

At minimum, the staff member’s profile and a document recording the salary, hours and terms. If nothing reaches you on paper, you have nothing to hold anyone to.

For a multi-role request — a store opening, a society takeover, a factory shift — that means a line per role with its own headcount, salary and start date, not one total at the bottom.

6. How do you match?

A service that matches properly will ask you about the things that decide the fit, and they differ by setting: for a home, the hours, the locality, the size of the household and whether the role is live-in; for a shop or restaurant, the format, the footfall and the shift pattern; for a premises, the headcount per shift and the certifications the role needs. One that sends whoever is free will not ask anything.

neato: the request form asks the same questions as the app — hours, pincode, staff preference and the details specific to the role and the premises.

7. Who do I call after day one?

Most problems start in the second week, not the first day. Ask who you speak to then, how, and — if you are running shifts — who you call when someone does not turn up for one.

neato: our support team by phone, WhatsApp or email — the details are on our contact page.

8. What does compliance look like for this role?

For household staff, registering them with your local police station is the employer’s step, but whoever you hire through should tell you how and give you the documents you need.

For business and facility staff, ask what the role itself requires before anyone starts — security personnel in particular must be engaged through PSARA-licensed arrangements, and a provider who cannot tell you how that is handled is one to walk away from.