Funeral directors are professionals who help ease the funeral planning and execution process. However, since you want high-quality services, choosing a funeral director can be an involved process. Below is an extract with some tips to help you hire a funeral director. 

Cultural Understanding

The primary reason to hire a funeral director is to give your loved one a befitting funeral and allow family members to grieve without worrying about the funeral. Therefore, you should consider hiring a director who understands your family practices and cultural rites. For instance, a director who has worked with other family members in the past might understand your family's expectations when planning events. Nevertheless, you should not be worried if you do not have a referral to a particular director. When vetting the professionals, assess their interpersonal skills to establish how they react to orders, their temperament and their communication skills. 

If you plan to hold a cultural funeral, assess the director's understanding of your culture. For instance, it could be that you hold several events before the funeral, dress in specific clothing during mourning, or conduct cultural rites on the body. If the director does not understand your culture but has the expertise needed to execute the funeral, meet with them and explain your expectations as they plan the event. 

Pricing

Do not ask for a quote before inquiring about the services the director offers. You could dismiss a director only to realise they offer lots of additional services not provided by other professionals. As a rule, the director should offer essential funeral planning services such as finding an appropriate funeral home, preparing the body for the funeral, counselling family members, leasing burial plots, sending invites, organising transport, preparing the funeral program, catering services, organising wakes and offering event security services. Look beyond the standard package and ask the director to customise the package to suit your needs. 

Insurance and Guarantees

Why would the director need insurance? Any business could make errors or omissions that could cause losses or injuries, including funeral homes. Insurance coverage protects you from compensating the injured people or repairing the damaged property. The director should also give guarantees on their work. A guarantee is an assurance that the professional will pull all stops to make your event successful. 

When hiring a funeral director, assess their understanding of your culture, and asses the funeral director's pricing, insurance and guarantees.