Starkey’s Certified Curriculums

StarkeyCrestWe Teach Personal Service as an Expertise

The Starkey International Institute for Household and Service Management is deeply committed to meeting the needs of industry Service Professionals and their Principals.

Mission Statement

“Create and serve a world-class Private Service industry in which Estate Management, Household Management, the Personal Assistant, Butlering, and Private Chef Service are viewed as art forms, where continuing education and growth are valued and standards of professionalism are recognized, honored, and fortified.”  

Our extensive and very modern curricula includes the following courses.

  • Certified Household Management Program
  • Certified Estate Management Program
  • Certified Service Management System Course -Correspondence
  • Certified Butler-Chauffeuring Program
  • Certified Nanny Management Program
  • Certified Relationship of Service Course –
  • Certified Administrative Standards and Personal Assistant for Private Service
  • Certified Fine Housekeeping for Private Service
  • Certified Clothing and Valet Standards for Private Service
  • Certified Private Service Culinary Management Level I and II
  • Certified Entertainment in the Private Homes
  • Certified Sommelier and Wine Cellar Management Level I and Level II
  • Certified Property and Grounds and Maintenance Standards for the Private Home
  • Certified Personal Care Standards for the Private Home (including Guest and Pet Care)
  • Certified Transportation and Travel & Safety and Protection Standards for the Private Home
  • Certification for Private Culinary Arts – Flight Attendants
  • Certified Elder Care Standards for the Private Home

On-Site Service Training Curriculums for homes, hotels and other service venues for
Butlering, Administrative/Personal Assistant, Housekeeping, Laundry and Valet, Culinary and Entertaining

HQ Software for Private Homes and Ipad Household Management Forms
Currently the above curriculums include Power Points and Videos for teaching.
Also available in Electronic format

Starkey’s Unique Employer Clientele

Starkey's Unique ClienteleStarkey International has always led the way in leading edge Service Management Education and Placement.  Starkey seeks those who desire the highest of standards in Service Delivery.  Every school seeks a particular Style of Client for placement of their Graduates.  Starkey has nourished their clientele, who are considered to be the overall high net worth community, for over 30 years.  These employers typically have assets of $200 million or more.  Their unique expectations continue to exceed those abilities of candidates who have not been educated in Private Service.  Starkey’s clientele want the best of the best and are willing to pay well for high quality candidates.  To learn more about the High Net Worth, read Richistan by Robert Frank, Senior Writer for The Wall Street Journal.

Our Highly Successful Placement Strategies

Starkey Placement

Starkey began placing within the Private Service Profession in 1981.  Most placement agencies then, and still today, collect the resumes of potential candidates and randomly forward them to employer clientele seeking to hire.  Today everything has changed.  It was not until Starkey began to educate Household and Estate Managers in 1990 that we learned who a candidate has worked for is just a portion of the overall placement process.  The accountability of what a candidate really knows technically and their service style must be identified and communicated.  Further, most employers are new to service hiring and rarely understand what they are asking a potential staff member to accomplish.  Employers are frustrated, as our industry has not settled upon consistent titles, terms or position descriptions; nor does it have generally accepted practices.  Private Service continues to be new and somewhat unknown as a real profession.  As a result, Starkey focuses on placing our Graduates, whom we know, by understanding exactly what management and technical skills they bring to the employment table.  We also know their Service Management Style, which is essential knowledge in Private Service Placement.

Mrs. Starkey has created innovative techniques for qualifying and specifically placing her Graduates to support our high-net worth clientele.  She states, “Our Graduates are our life blood and our ability to place them in the right position – the first time – has become an art form.”  She and the placement team provide a variety of consulting services to our Employer Clients including our Site Visit Services, customizing the Employer’s Service Management Plan, and then matching the perfect Graduate to manage their household or service management team.  Starkey also provides on-going services which include helping our clients to identify their service standards, zoning and customizing task sheets, helping outline and negotiate appropriate employment offers and salaries, and offering assessments in risk management and other management support as needed.

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Assessing the Needs

Identify the right candidate for you

Identifying the Right Candidate for You

What does it take to maintain your quality of life? What price would you put on your peace of mind?

Each candidate will bring a unique set of skills, service-style knowledge, and experiences that will need to be matched with your own.

Experienced individuals are typically seeking large estates and/or multiple residences that can provide them the challenge they desire. Their experience is reflected in their skill level as well as their ability to anticipate needs. Salaries for experienced Household Managers generally range from $80k to $200k annually, plus benefits and housing.

Newly Certified Household Managers have completed extensive training through the Starkey International Institute of Household Management. Armed with the Starkey System, these individuals are flexible and eager to succeed, adapting easily to a household or family’s service style. Salaries range from $50k to $80k annually, plus benefits and housing.

Both New Graduates and Experienced Veterans require one to three months to assess your specific preferences and service style as well as one to three additional months to implement your unique Service Management Plan.

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Private Service Management Tools for Service

Private Service Management Education for Homes & Estates, Luxury Hotels, Yachts & Corporate Jets

StarkeyHQ Software

Starkey has developed Special Curricula exclusively for the Luxury Market. We know that Service must be genuine, technically correct, mastered and be a lifetime commitment to be successful.

We take great pride in preparing and placing our Graduates in Private Service. We are selective in who we train; we evaluate their attitudes and abilities; and we provide to them real Private Service Management Tools.

They have specialized knowledge to customize and carry out your Service Management Plan, and the software to provide the Technical Skills required by your individual Service Expectations.

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Placement and Consulting in Service

Administrative -  Household ManagementThe Placement process has become quite sophisticated at Starkey International.  Typically, within the domestic industry, a number of candidate resumes are forwarded to a potential client presuming that they know what they are looking for; and that they know how to choose the most appropriate person for the position.  These resumes list who the candidate has worked for, a position title and generally what they did.  Unfortunately, our industry is still in its infancy and operates without a standardization of position titles, duties, accepted practices, or required education or certifications.

We have learned over the years that a good deal of resume interpretation must take place to learn what candidates’ real abilities are and what they actually know.   Starkey has created unique evaluation tools that help us to sort this out.

Understandably, our employers can be challenged when hiring.  Some employers have had private staff in the past and are looking to upgrade or replace.  Others are new to Private Service and do not know the degree to which Household Management positions vary, how to evaluate the position’s level of difficulty, essential abilities, or how education and experience might position a candidate’s understanding of the profession.  A Candidate’s skills, attitude, etiquette, boundaries and ability to customize a written Service Plan are essential.

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Private Service Professionals Positioned to Succeed

We Identify Your Style of Service & Choose the Right Candidate for You!

Mary Starkey TeaPlacement assistance to New Wealth, Diplomatic, Legacy Families, Notable Personalities, Dot-Com Families, Luxury Service Hotels, and Retirement Communities are Starkey’s areas of service expertise. Our Placement services and recruitment process are outlined in our Placement Service Agreement. Starkey’s Employer-paid placement fees are based on a percentage of the first year’s taxable salary. In addition to providing educational consulting and support to identify your style of service and the right candidate for you, we also help position Private Service professionals to succeed with on-going follow-up! Contact our Placement Team, Starkey &Associates, Inc. at 303-832-5510.

Our Placement Team works with Employers to position Service Professionals for success!

Our team will work with you to establish:

  • Identification of your individualized Service Preferences and Expectations.
  • Presention of the Evaluation Tools essential in hand- picking the right Service Professionals for you.
  • Identification of Day in the Life Duties.
  • The Number of Staff, their Abilities, and appropriate Position Descriptions for you.
  • How Starkey’s Service Management System and Management Tools will systematize service delivery for you.
  • Starkey’s on-going Follow-Up after Placement to maximize success!

Our Vision and Mission Statement

Make a Difference in the Life of Another

Service TrainingThe Starkey International Institute for Household and Service Management is deeply committed to meeting the needs of industry Service Professionals and their Employers.

Mission Statement:

“Create and serve a world-class Private Service industry in which Estate Management, Household Management, Personal Assistance, Buttling, and Private Chef Service are viewed as art forms; where continuing education and growth are valued and standards of professionalism are recognized, honored, and fortified.”

History and Philosophy
Starkey began as Starkey & Associates, Inc. in January 1981, offering housekeeping and placement services. In November 1989, Starkey International Institute for Household Management was created in response to marketplace requests for trained and skilled professionals. Since its first class offering in January of 1990, the Institute has benefited from the presence of old-world European and American Butlers, experienced service professionals, and Household and Estate Managers from the United States and abroad.

Our curriculum teaches private service expertise and an organizational structure which supports the management of complex homes and lifestyles.

The curriculum is creative, interactive, and transformational in style.  It is a method of conceptual and hands-on education that teaches the Household Manager and Service Manager to identify and attend to the specific needs or Service Standards of the Principal and household.

The Private Service Management profession in America is still in its young adult stages, but growing rapidly. Our response from the marketplace assures us that we are in the midst of a service explosion and the need for Private Service Management and service experts will continue to grow. It is essential that Private Service Management emerges into the American marketplace as a clearly defined, skilled, and respected profession. The future of this specialized Service Management offers the coveted revitalization of graciousness, etiquette, and a “Service Expertise” in the heart of fine homes and estates across the United States, Europe and developing India and Asia.