The Importance of a Cuidador
Feb 12th, 2008 by Kevin
The term cuidador in Spanish roughly translates to guard or watchman in English, and when you travel to Nicaragua you will find that cuidadors are as common as cab drivers in New York. Also, just as cab drivers are a critical componant of New York, cuidadors play a critical role in Nicaragua. In fact, being a cuidador is a very prestigious position: they are watchers of property, and caretakers of land. Finding a good cuidador is key to any offshore investment that you aren’t planning to monitor full time yourself. Even if you lived in Nicaragua, cuidador’s can still be very useful and important. At a basic level you can think of it just like any other type of outsourcing arrangement in a business. Just like other types of outsourcing, it makes good sense to choose a cuidador that you can trust and choose one who will do the job to your standards. The relationship is best handled as a business relationship, and in my experience a good business relationships are based on good personal relationships. A good cuidador takes pride in his job and the land that he cares for. He will treat it as his own. But, it is a two sided coin…. The property owner must respect the service the cuidador provides and must either have the skills to manage the situation or outsource the management to a qualified management company.
I deal a lot with software outsourcing. I have seen arrangements that look great on paper but with no real relationship between the companies outside of a contract, the work performed is often sub par. Currently I am dealing with a small software company in India where we have a great relationship. They are treated just like our employees. We talk to them multiple times per week, sometimes on our schedule and sometimes on theirs, and we even send some of our developers over to their shop to work with them so they can learn from us and we learn from them. Their productivity, quality, and commitment to our business is outstanding. In addition, everyone on both sides has a good understanding of the cultural differences. This is how you make a good outsourcing relationship great. In the case of a cuidador relationship of course the tasks are different and the frequency of engagement does not need to be near as high, but it still ultimately comes down to a people thing - your relationship with a cuidador needs to be more than just a contract. Having that relationship and commitment on both sides will make an acceptable arrangement an outstanding arrangement.
Coastal Dreams ensures that we have top notch cuidadors on any property that we are working on. With over 30 years of combined experience in hiring, managing, and operating business with employees and subcontractors we have the skills to make the proper selections and decisions when employing a cuidador. Whether its a managed investment or assistance with finding a retirement property. We ensure that they are selected carefully and taken care of properly to ensure that your offshore investment is well taken care of. This is yet another area of logistical risk reduction, that makes offshore investment safer for you without the hassle of the details involved. This is also one more step towards enjoying your retirement property or investment rather than having to work your property or investment.
