A Kaamwali bai is as much an integral part of any household these days as a Manager is to an Organization!
And there are so many interesting lessons that one can learn from your Kaamwali Bai, which can be implemented in your office to take you to the top of the Organization chain.
Amazed?
Here, have a look at the 10 management lessons that you can learn from your kaamwali bai:
- Negotiate The Best Deal
Have you ever observed a Kaamwali Bai negotiate?? Whether its her salary or the amount of work she will do?? Cleaning, Sweeping and Wiping the floor … ”pharniture ponchne ka ixtra payisa langega saab! mangta hai to bolo!”
By the time she is done negotiating with you, you are almost ready to agree to everything she has said and even end up giving her a Diwali Bonus, in advance!
- Get The Best Possible Resources.
When a Kaamwali Bai demands a certain type of soap or even a particular make of broom, you end up buying it for her. If you don’t, you never get the work done to your satisfaction. She has perfectly mastered the art of getting the best resources you can afford, for her to work with.
- Take Some Time Off Work For Yourself and Get Paid for It Too.
If you ever want to perfect the art of taking a day off, from your work and yet get paid for it, you have to learn it from your maid. Either you give her the day off when she wants it, or she doesn’t show up for work for just enough time to make you suffer and yet just back in time before you start looking for someone else.
Hell, sometimes you even give her an advance to take a holiday, which is never returned.
- Get the Boss Involved in Your Work.
“Memsaab, ye aisa karu kya?”
“Saabji ye kaise karne ka?”
The KaamWali Bai makes sure that you are involved in almost everything she does. At least everything new that she does. That way, if something does go wrong, she cannot be blamed and you are a party to the mistake.
- Impress Your Different Bosses and Yet Stay Away From Inter-office Jealousy
If you only notice the way the Kaamwali Bai sweet-talks both the woman and the man of the house, you will know exactly what I am talking about.
On one hand, she has to be just sweet enough to make the Man of the House have a soft corner towards her and not be over-sweet to infuriate the Woman of the House, into thinking something is wrong.
- Make Your Own Rules and See That They Are Followed
One does hire a maid, according to their timings, but over a period of time, it’s actually you who is adjusting to her timings. You have your breakfast based on what time your Khaane Wali Bai comes; your house gets cleaned when she wants it to be cleaned. You actually don’t invite guests based on when your Kaamwali Bai takes a day off. “Sorry yaar, agle hafte party karenge, ye hafta bai gaon gayi hain”.
- Carve Your Own Niche and Stick to It
Like every Specialist Manager, even the Kaamwali Bai sticks to her specialty. If she is cleaning, she won’t be cooking. She will Clean, Sweep and Wipe in 10 houses, but will cook in none. Same applies to cooking. By the end of it, she will be a known specialist, of her craft only! If your friend’s Cooking Wali Bai isn’t around, you know exactly who will fit the bill …. on a temp basis, of course !!!
- Be Always Updated About Everything that Goes on in the Organization And The Industry Too
Important changes in an organization play a very important role in your job. The better informed you are, the better you can perform …. or manipulate. The Kaamwali Bai knows exactly which date the Sahab or Memsaab gets the salary, which month they gets their bonus, have they got a good appraisal this year?? They gather this information through innocent sounding questions, but they are actually being keen observers and gathering important information.
This very information helps them ask for Chuttis, salary raise and the always dreaded advances!!!
They are also updated about the Bais of other houses getting a raise or leaving the job! They have their options ready, you see!
- Make Sure Your Absence and Importance is Felt
Another interesting trick to learn from the Maids is how to make sure your absence is felt. When you are not there, and some work doesn’t happen, and when your boss says “Damn, if so and so was there, this work would have been done” And BAM!!! That’s when you have achieved what you have set to achieve.
In most of the houses, clothes aren’t washed for days, if the Kaamwali Bai is absent, even if the house has a Washing Machine!!! “Yaar Gangu Bai kab aayegi! Ek bhi shirt nahi bachi pehnane ko”. When, all she is doing is using the machine herself.
- Make Yourself and Your Position Indispensible
And finally the time comes when you feel completely helpless when you don’t have a KaamWali Bai. End result, you will hesitate firing her even if she has now started taking liberties with her job … well, more than she has already been taking. You won’t get another Bai as good as this one, not in the same cost as you end up paying her and of course “She knows everything about the house” , “At least I am getting cooked food everyday”… these are the general feelings that haunt you !!
And that’s when you have to bow down to the Managerial skills of the Kaamwali Bai. Coz she has won this game and you are forever caught in the trap of having a Kaamwali Bai … Hook Line and Sinker!!
So, the next time you want to update your Managerial Skills and climb up the corporate ladder, all you have to do is observe your Kaamwali Bai. She can perhaps teach you better than attending Shiv Khera’s “You Can Win” seminars. And you will be able to do that at a much lesser cost than paying the Management Gurus and your house remains cleaner too 😀
Disclaimer: Do make sure that you keep a safe distance when you observe your Kaamwali Bai …. Shiney Ahuja didn’t keep his distance and we all know what happened 😉
