Website for domestic helps?

We take our domestic help for granted; not really granted the way we do with our family members… domestic servants are pampered like a prized employee. But we take for  granted the constant availability. But there are many today who will tell you that it is best to do anything and everything to retain the existing domestic help as coming across this help has become tougher than hiring an IT professional.  And given the spate of crimes in the country, hiring help with only valid papers has become a necessity for most of the well heeled domestic help seekers. A domestic help could have worked for 20 years but if has no reference letters to support his claim, he simply does not hired.

And to resolve this issue and showing us the way in which things are headed, a web site has been launched for the domestic helpers – TrueProfile. It is a LinkedIn-style online platform for domestic workers, drivers and office boys who serve homes and businesses in India. They do not have resumes so this site gives them a platform to electronically document all this past work experiences. This will also make it easier for the employers to validate the credentials. Employers will pay to access the security profile of an employee to check their credentials. The service is free for those submitting their resumes.

This will be a great tool for the banks too as these people, often working off the grid and on the fringes of the society have no bank account or are simply not accounted for. This database will help the banks get new clients.

All this sounds very good and altruistic but the real truth is that majority of the ‘helps’ have no access to internet and computers and are never keep to provide any data about themselves. This site could capture less than even 10% of the huge unorganized workforce. The house helps in India are almost always recruited through word of mouth so whether households will trust an internet service is doubtful. But then, with many marriages today happening through websites like Shaadi.com or Bharatmatrimony.com, maybe this is also an idea waiting to take off.