Funeral director serving West Kent and SouthEast London

What makes a good funeral director?

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Being a funeral director is one of the oldest professions there is – but it takes a very special person to be a good funeral director, funeral arranger, funeral chauffeur, coffin bearer or mortuary attendant. All of the people fulfilling these roles have to support families at an immensely emotional time, guiding them through a complicated process in quite a short time frame. There are therefore key characteristics that we look out for when recruiting people to join our family run funeral directors.

The importance of empathy among funeral directors’ staff

The most important characteristic for any of our staff working across any of the roles within our funeral directors’ is one that can’t be taught: empathy. It is vital that the people who look after our families under the Welham Jones name are sympathetic, people-orientated and excellent listeners, with a keen ability to understand both what people are saying, and what they’re not saying.

When families come to us to arrange the funeral of their loved one, we understand that they want to create a funeral that truly reflects and honours the deceased. Our funeral directors’ staff must therefore have an innate interest in people, a naturally caring attitude, an ability to listen and a willingness to take time to understand what our families are telling us, especially as they may struggle to put their feelings into words.

Attention to detail: essential for helping families plan a funeral

Being organised and having a close attention to detail are also vital, as is patience.

Most of the people we support have never arranged a funeral before. It’s a complicated process with lots of paperwork, all of which has to be done in the right order in quite a short time frame, during a period of personal loss. There can also be lots of personal decisions to take if the family wants to tailor the funeral to reflect the life and personality of their loved one.

Our staff need to be able to understand the processes, as well as the many options for crafting a bespoke funeral, and guide our families through them to enable them to shape a funeral that properly honours the life lost.

But attention to detail doesn’t stop with our funeral arrangers. It’s an important quality that we look for in all our staff, as it’s the small thing that can make such a difference to our families on the day of their loved one’s funeral. From having a spotless limousine, to the exact positioning of the flowers, to carrying the coffin with grace and dignity – every aspect of the day needs to be delivered to exacting standards so that the mourners will look back on it for all the right reasons.

Knowledge of local funeral customs in West Kent and Southeast London

While each funeral is unique, there are distinct local customs that prevail in the different communities of West Kent and Southeast London that Welham Jones serves – a funeral in Sevenoaks can a have a different feel to one on Orpington, while families in Tonbridge can have different expectations from those in Bromley.

While we don’t expect our staff to be familiar with these local customs when they join us, they do need to have a willingness to learn them quickly, so that they can help our families plan a funeral that aligns with their expectations.

This holds true across all the roles required to ensure a professional, respectful funeral. Not just our funeral arrangers and funeral directors, but also our chauffeurs, coffin bearers and mortuary attendants all need to understand the local customs that our families want to uphold.