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How to Choose a Proper Nanny Agency

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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: 

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

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:

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

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:

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:

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. 

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:

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:

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

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: 

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:

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.

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