How to Choose a Proper Nanny Agency

What is a nanny agency? A nanny agency is kind of like a professional matchmaking service. A nanny agency offers a placement specialist with industry experience skilled in sourcing, vetting, & interviewing candidates to find the best-matched nanny for your family. They thoroughly screen their potential prospects before recommending them. They help find the best person qualified to help with in-home childcare services for your family. Using a nanny agency makes finding childcare less stressful, peace of mind, and less work for you. Using these services can shorten the duration of the search and get it right the first time eliminating the chance of a revolving door of candidates as a result of attempting it on your own. A nanny service: 

• Does background checks
• Interviews potential candidates
• Does reference checks
• Does criminal history checks
• DMV Reports 
• Does qualification checks
• Does employment history checks

Employment timeline verification and thorough professional & educational reference checks.

In-depth social media audits & personal reference checks.

Collect and verify vetting items such as CPR & First Aid, TB, and Tdap vaccinations. (Flu and Covid vaccinations if requested by a family.), Valid ID, Valid Car Insurance.

Candidate interviews with families.

Complete thorough background and DMV check BEFORE scheduling a working trial.

CA nannies only- Trustline process begins once a working agreement between the candidate and family is signed.

Let Us Begin

So how do you know which nanny agency is proper for your family? Here are some suggestions on how to begin your search:

• Talk to others
• Research them online
• Read reviews
• Find professional affiliations
• Interview them
• Discover the services they offer
• Learn their cost of services
• Gauge experience
• Ask about replacement guarantees
• Determine whether they have backup care or a sitter network
• Ask about their industry experience 

Talk to Others

Asking around is one of the best ways to learn about a business. Word of mouth is the greatest advertisement tool. By talking to others you can find out their experiences, and suggestions, and learn about new businesses. By talking to others you can ask specific questions about different agencies or questions about specific experiences. This will help give you an in-depth idea of what you are dealing with.

Research Them Online

Most professional nanny agencies will have a website. Websites are a great way to see what services they offer, who their staff is, how long they have been around, and other information that can help you learn a little about their agency. By doing research on the internet, you can also find out if there have ever been reports written on them, if they are affiliated with other companies, if they have multiple websites, or ways of contacting them, perhaps through social media. Social media is a great way to see the things they post, pictures, perhaps things their clients have posted about them. 

Read Reviews

Online reviews are becoming more and more popular. There are websites such as Google Reviews that are being updated constantly on local businesses. You can almost always type in a business name with the word reviews into a search engine and find any reviews made on the world wide web about the nanny agency. This is a great way to see the good, bad, and ugly. It can give you ideas on what to ask, as well, when interviewing the nanny agency. There are always two sides to every story, so perhaps you can ask about a specific review you read.

Professional Affiliations

Because nanny agencies are typically exempt from licensing, it is a good idea to find one that has professional affiliations. for example, is a professional membership organization for serious business owners who establish and enforce standards of professional industry practices. They are dedicated to maintaining ethical business practices, supporting quality childcare, exchanging useful business information, and promoting agency efforts on a national scale. These professional affiliates help keep the nanny agency professional and make sure they are offering nothing but the best, safest services.

Interview

What better way to get to know a company and get answers to your questions than to go straight to the source? Interview each professional nanny agency you have in mind. Here are some suggestions on things you might ask:

• Do you have any licenses?
• Do you have any professional affiliations?
• Does your agency hold any special credentials?
• What is the screening process for your nannies?
• What are the requirements for the nannies you hire?
• Do you have nannies certified to handle special needs families?
• What family support services do you offer?
• What is the cost of your services?
• Exactly what services does that fee cover?
• Will your agency have someone available to go through each process with us before placement?
• Will you offer any support after placement?
• Are there any accommodations should our family’s needs change?
• How long does the placement process typically take?
• What is the turnover rate for the nannies in your agency?

Services They Offer

Each professional nanny agency offers different things. Some may have minimal services such as part-time or full-time live-out nannies. Whereas others may offer services for families with infants to teens. You want to clarify what services they offer as far as times, and what support services they offer. Find out what parts of the nanny hiring process they are a part of and what support they offer the family throughout and after that process. Nanny services could include:

• Live-In
• Live-Out
• Full-Time
• Part-Time
• Temporary
• Nanny
• Household Manager
• Mother’s Helper
• Professional educator
• Babysitter

Live-In

A live-in nanny is an experienced childcare professional that resides in your home. You can find a good one through a live-in nanny agency. Typically parents that work a lot of hours, have crazy schedules, or need extra help, will hire a live-in nanny. A live-in nanny helps alleviate some of the pressures the parent may face while trying to be a parent and maintaining a busy work life. The live-in nanny will typically help with:

• Cooking and Light household duties
• Day-to-day duties for the child/children:
  • Bathing 
  • Dressing
  • Homework help/tutoring
  • Driving them to and from wherever is requested
  • Other needs the child may have

Live-Out

Live-out Nannies typically have the same responsibilities as live-in nannies, except they reside in their residence. A live-out nanny will require a set schedule, an outlined contract that states expectations, and guaranteed hours. The live-out nanny will typically help with:

• Running of errands
• Driving the children to and fro
• Cooking 
• Cleaning
• Planning of age-appropriate activities
• Day-to-day activities

Part-Time and Full-Time 

Part-time and full-time Nannies help care for the child’s day-to-day needs. Such as making snacks, entertaining them, stimulating their mind, and participating in activities. The difference between them is the amount of time spent with the family. Part-time and full-time Nannies typically have fewer responsibilities than live-in and live-out nannies, unless otherwise discussed and agreed upon. 

• Part-time Nannies typically work 29 or fewer hours per week
• Full-time Nannies work 30+ hours per week.

Temporary

Typically live-in, live-out, full-time, and part-time Nannies are long-term, 12+ months. Temporary Nannies provide services for a family on a short-term basis. The parent and nanny will discuss expected responsibilities.

Nanny

A nanny will watch over your family and care for their daily needs. Typically they will:

• Homework help
• Baths
• Bedtime routine
• Make snacks and sometimes meals
• Provide entertaining, mind-activating, age-appropriate activities for the child/children to participate in
• Other special needs the child/children may have

Household Manager

The household manager plays the role of the caretaker as well as other duties that keep the household in running order. They will oversee staff, including the nannies. They help with things such as:

• Running errands
• Laundry
• Light household duties
• Administrative duties 
• Other duties that might help the parent keep the household running smoothly

If they have the position of nanny/household manager they may work with older children who are in school all day, as well as:

• Manage the household in the morning and afternoon 
• Pick up older children from school and do typical nanny duties such as
  • Drive to activities
  • Homework help
  • Possibly meal prep
  • Tidying up

Mother’s Helper

A mother’s helper is an assistant who is there while the parent is there, typically a stay-at-home parent or parent working from home. Duties could include: 

• Caring for the children
• Light cleaning
• Cooking and meal prep
• Running errands
• Entertaining the children while the parent prepares their meal

A mother’s helper is there to assist the parent by relieving some pressure on the parent. A mother’s helper could be either a recent graduate learning how to become a babysitter or an adult just beginning their career in the field of childcare. It is a great way for them to gain experience and understand how to care for children. A mother’s helper can also be a seasoned nanny with years of experience.

Professional Educator 

A professional educator is a person who handles homeschooling. This type of nanny will teach the children from home. The nanny will create and teach the curriculum and does the testing and reporting. They will make sure the children meet their educational goals.

It is a great way for the children to be homeschooled while the parents work or do other daily tasks. The children would receive the one-on-one attention they need.

Babysitter 

The babysitter works short hours, with limited amounts of time. The babysitter is responsible for caring for the child/children while the parent is out. For instance, if mom and dad want to go out on a date night, they would hire a babysitter to care for the children while they are out. Because it is nighttime, the babysitter may to:

• Feed the children dinner 
• Engage in age-appropriate activities
• Bathing
• Bedtime routine

Cost of Services

You will most likely have a budget for your nanny services. There may be a placement fee, a search fee, or a booking fee. Some agencies may offer packages at different rates that include different things based on the length of time the nanny is needed, the type of nanny needed, whether the nanny is live-in or out, or the age of the children being cared for. It is a good idea for you to get an itemized list of what those services are and what the fee is for them before making your decision. Some agencies require a membership to hire one of their nannies. They could also charge you for the background checks and screenings run on the nanny. Most agencies charge a placement fee between 18-25%. Others offer a flat fee service which mitigates any conflict of interest of showing you candidates that come in at a higher rate than others. 

Experience

You will want an agency that has years of experience. Find out how many families they have worked with, and how many nannies they have employed. Make sure to find out if their company has experience with all types of families at different stages of life. Make sure they have experience with a family such as yours because every single family is different.

Conclusion

The best way to find the best nanny agency to suit your needs is to take the time to do the research and see what they are all about. There are agencies that are always looking out for the best interests of their clients and their nannies, but there are also the ones out for the money. If you take a moment to really look at the company, it is usually pretty easy to see which ones are there to help you, and which ones are there to help themselves.