15th Avenue, pride themselves on their commitment to excellence and their dedication to providing exceptional service to both their clients and candidates. Whether you’re a private individual seeking household staff or a corporation looking to fill key positions, they are here to assist you every step of the way.
Their extensive range of services encompasses the recruitment of private household staff for positions such as nannies, private chefs, butlers, house/estate managers, housekeepers, gardeners, newborn care specialists, elderly companion caregivers, and domestic couples. They also specialise in family office recruitment, providing personalised assistance in sourcing personal assistants, executive assistants, office managers, and secretaries. Additionally, their lifestyle and travel division caters to UHNW clients by offering skilled security staff, chauffeurs, and wardrobe stylists. Furthermore, we provide yacht crew recruitment services.
15th Avenue’s team of experienced recruiters works tirelessly to understand the needs and aspirations of their candidates, ensuring that they match them with roles that not only align with their skills and experience but also with their passions and interests. 15th Avenue believe in fostering meaningful connections and building long-term relationships with both clients and candidates, striving to make every interaction with 15th Avenue a positive and rewarding experience.
With a global reach and a network of clients and candidates spanning the globe, they are proud to operate on an international scale, offering their recruitment services to celebrities and individuals regardless of their location. Whether you’re seeking top-tier talent or career-defining opportunities, trust 15th Avenue to help shape your future and unlock your full potential.
Our editor James W Phillips caught up with 15th Avenue CEO, Judy Obasi in Monaco…
- Business Evolution: Can you share the story of how 15th Avenue was founded and what inspired you to specialise in private staffing for family offices, private households, yacht crews, and travel and lifestyle services?
When I graduated from university, I worked as an Executive Personal Assistant for three CEOs accumulating experiences that spanned over a ten-year period. Part of my job description was finding staff for the household and the office and managing diaries for my busy employers. I was exposed to the difficulties of finding good and trustworthy staff whether it is for the office such as secretary or for the home such as nannies, cleaners etc. I gained firsthand knowledge handling and supporting my employers in vetting applications from prospective candidates, scheduling interviews, reviewing contracts, job listings and then matching skills and experience with the requirements to find suitable candidates that filled in vacancies in the establishments I worked for. This became the most interesting aspect of my job and I grew to love it and wanted more than being an Executive Personal Assistant. This experience, dedicated hours of research, certifications and keen interest in staffing trends equipped me with the requisite skills that have given rise to 15th Avenue.
- Industry Trends: What are some of the key trends you’ve observed in the private staffing industry, and how has 15th Avenue adapted to these changes?
High demand of specialised skills stands out so far in the latest trends we have noticed. Notable mentions are increased focused on discretion and privacy, emphasis on personalised services and global mobility and flexibility. Luxury clients often demand staff who are willing to travel and are flexible with their schedule. We recruit individuals who are open to global mobility and can adapt to various time zones and travel demands. They also ensure that staff are equipped to handle the logistics of international assignments. Furthermore, enhanced technology and digital skills is increasingly a big industry trend hence there is a rising demand for staff who are proficient in modern technology and digital tools. At 15th Avenue, we include digital literacy and technology proficiency as key criteria in our recruitment process. We provide training and resources to help staff stay updated with the latest technological advancements.
- Client Needs: What are the most common needs and requests from your high-net-worth clients, and how does 15th Avenue ensure these needs are met with the highest standards?
Most high-net worth clients have very tight timeframes when placing a request for staff. We deal with this by making sure we keep a candidate database up to date with the most highly skilled professionals who come with at least 5-10 years wealth of experience. The placements which are most in demand are: private chefs, nannies, cleaners and chauffeurs. In the event we do not have any candidates available we do offer a fast-track service which enables the clients to receive VIP treatment and priority on all other bookings.
- Staff Selection: Can you walk us through your process for selecting and vetting candidates for your clients? What qualities and skills do you prioritise when hiring staff for such specialised roles?
While hiring for our clients there are lots of qualities we look out for in prospective candidates which include experiences, qualifications which could be in the form of formal education, training, workshops, bootcamps etc. Qualifying certificates as well as the issuing bodies are carefully vetted to make sure they aren’t coming from hoax establishments parading as industry players. Furthermore, we take cognizance of prospective candidates’ personalities. Hard, soft as well as transferable skills comes to the fore of our selection process. Additionally, and very important, our prospective candidates past history of crimes are considered. Have they been detained for violation of set rules and regulation? Do they have unspent convictions? Have they restrictions on data barring services? We at 15th Avenue Ltd are poised not to associated candidates who will pose a risk to our business and our clients.
- Challenges and Solutions: What are some of the biggest challenges you face in the private staffing industry, and how does 15th Avenue overcome them to maintain excellence in service?
One of our major challenges is culture and language barrier. We operate in countries housing people of various ethnic races. For example, in the United Kingdom, there are clients of Italian, Spanish, Russian decent mostly preferring bi-lingual domestic staff that not only speak English but also their local languages as that would help inculcate social and cultural norms in their children. This poses a serious task of sourcing the best bi-lingual candidates for these roles. Being bi-lingual doesn’t automatically qualify a candidate for these roles hence candidates have to embody much more than language and rarely do they come by but we always deliver because we have team members who speak Spanish, Italian, Russian, Hindi and Urdu so this makes things a bit easier most times.
- Client Relationships: Building strong relationships with clients is crucial in your line of work. How does 15th Avenue cultivate and maintain trust and satisfaction with your clientele?
At 15th Avenue, we prioritise our clients. They are the reason we are and will remain in business. To achieve a long-standing client-business relationship, we make the standard high, carefully vet and handpick employees who have demonstrated absolute expertise and wealth of experience in the roles we are filling up for clients. We set up bi-monthly review of employee performances. We listen and welcome feedbacks from our clients on what we have done better and what needs improving. Mostly importantly, we pride ourselves as having keen eye to spot the best talents. Our talents are a reflection of us, they are the bridge between us and our clients. The fate of our business rests solely on their performance therefore, in order that we continue enjoying trust and satisfaction from our client base, we are constantly on the lookout for best professionals that will exceed expectations. Because we staff for clients across the globe and their continued business relationship is paramount to us, we keep track of candidates’ nationalities, immigration requirements, where they are permitted by law to work and live. This helps us not complicate the process and make our clients happy all the time.
- Yacht Crew and Travel Staff: Staffing for yacht crews and travel-related roles must come with unique demands. How does 15th Avenue handle the specific requirements and expectations for these positions?
We remain abreast with latest industry trainings and best practices which we offer our existing candidates and prospects. Exceeding client’s expectation is our watchword so we strive to go over and beyond to remain the best in what we do whilst being compliant with set industry policies, guidelines and safe guarding.
- Future Plans: What are your future plans for 15th Avenue? Are there any new services, expansions, or initiatives on the horizon that you’re particularly excited about?
The future looks so bright for us at 15th Avenue. We are going to capitalise and seize opportunities the digitised world and technology is offering in lifestyle, household and celebrity staffing. As for expansion, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America are in consideration with a possible diversification in real estate.
