We know Dallas has arrived as a haven for the international high net worth crowd when Peter O’Donovan comes to town.
I’m talking Dallas as in the Park Cities, Preston Hollow, Southlake, Westlake, Fort Worth, and points north to Frisco, plus the penthouses along Turtle Creek Boulevard. If there is one thing all these neighborhoods have in common, it’s beautiful estate homes begging to be staffed with housekeepers, nannies, mannies, chefs, butlers, personal assistants, and house managers.
And now, they can have the best, straight from the Emerald Isle: International Domestic Consulting (IDC).
IDC founder Peter O’Donovan is an Irishman whose brogue will send you into such an Anglophile spin you will stride like Kate Middleton in your most painful, toe-pinching Loubies. You’ll try baking a plum pudding six months before the holidays.
But of course, with O’Donovan in town, you may never have to set foot in the kitchen again. Oh, joy!
His firm, International Domestic Consulting (IDC) opened a North Texas branch this summer. IDC is one of the world’s most exclusive household screening and placement agencies. The firm has placed and trained housekeepers, nannies, mannies, butlers, chefs, house managers, and personal or executive assistants, covering all aspects of liaising between the home and family office, from the USA to Europe and the Middle East.
O’Donovan’s experience, extensive world travels, and international savoir-faire make him uniquely positioned to staff exclusive residences. The Irish native has been in the personal service industry for the past 30 years. His skills and services have been commissioned worldwide to manage multiple-high net-worth property luxury households, including Royals.
Call the Nanny: Busy School Year is Almost Here
All that means he can quickly perceive needs, and meet and exceed the expectations of North Texas families looking for household support in their urban residences, ranches, lake, and vacation homes.
And don’t forget, the new school year is right around the corner!
O’Donovan’s firm, International Domestic Consulting, is a licensed, insured, full-service domestic staffing agency. U.S. headquarters are in Atlanta and Jacksonville, Florida. The firm, which places staff in high net worth households from Palm Beach to D.C., recently opened a regional Texas office in Carrollton.
“It’s all about placing the perfect person, into the right opportunity,” says O’Donovan.
The goal, he says, is to create cherished partnerships by working closely with all parties, beginning with an initial site assessment, interviews, selection, and subsequent training process.
When it comes to such placements, O’Donovan has a near intuitive intelligence for matching personnel to the right family and situation. Clients say this is because of the extensive pre-research O’Donovan conducts with each family.
Drawing on his Irish common sense, O’Donovan analyzes and graphs each household’s individual schedule and needs. That was how, for example, he found one Highland Park family a qualified housekeeper who also prepares dinner.
“This is a very busy household,” he says. “Two working adult entrepreneurs, two children, four dogs. As I researched her daily activities, we found that having someone prepare dinner — even to set aside, but be ready — helped tremendously and also brought us a much more qualified candidate.”
If you are a busy entrepreneur, the right person in a home can change your life, says O’Donovan.
“We are partners in your career,” he says. “And there is never any pressure.”
Peter O’Donovan now offers procurement and screening for housekeepers, nannies, chefs, butlers, house managers, etc.
Not only does O’Donovan place the highest quality candidates in every client’s home, but his direct affiliation and representation of London’s oldest, most preeminent domestic staffing agency also offers clients even more options. Hutchinson’s, with more than 35 years of placement experience, has been staffing homes in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East offers us the opportunity to have support at one of our homes anywhere in the world, not alone in Dallas.
O’Donovan offers training classes and support training of existing staff, helping retain domestics who may need some intervention.
“It’s very much like a continuing education program for any professional,” says O’Donovan. “Attorneys, CPAs, Physicians, Realtors, all professionals are required to enroll in scheduled continuing education to update their skills, stay abreast of the industry, and absorb any protocol changes.”
International Domestic Consulting understands the type of staffing necessary to manage the business affairs of clients’ homes. Every aspect of luxury home management and domestic household staffing is handled with genteel precision through training, placement, policies, protocols, and procedures that ensure a seamless experience.
