Nanny Employer Blog

One of the main reasons anyone looking to hire a nanny should go through an agency are the steps we take to protect you and your family. The main avenue in which we do this is a extensive, thorough background check. Now you may be asking yourself, “can’t I just perform a background check myself online for a few dollars?” The scary truth is that those background checks rarely perform an extensive search that covers all states in which an applicant has lived.

An article published by APNA, the Association of Premier Nanny Agencies, states:

“Top notch nanny agencies will require that applicants’ social security numbers are traced to identify every state in which they have lived. That information is used to check records in those states – a process that costs more than $10.”

Furthermore, many less thorough online agencies will offer a nanny placement for a fraction of the price of traditional agencies. Beware of this tempting alternative because these online services never meet their nanny candidates in person and even have disclaimers on their websites stating that they do not perform background checks in all states a candidate has resided. This issue is elaborated on by Lynn Peterson:

“I’ve found that most nanny candidates with criminal records have committed misdemeanors which rarely show up on the various nationwide computer searches that are offered. Felonies are more likely to be listed. So, the nationwide computer check sounds good, but it probably won’t find a person’s minor run-ins with the law which can tell you a good deal about their past and their character…There is simply no substitute for a county, criminal-court search and a statewide check in every location where an individual has lived,” says Peterson. “It takes time and knowledge to do it right. And most importantly, it should be a human being conducting that search, not a computer.”

Mom’s Best Friend employs CSIdentity for all of our background checks. They provide the most comprehensive background checks made available today. CSIdentity will authenticate that the caregiver is who they say they are. They will also run a driving record check to make sure their license is valid and that they have a clear driving history. Additionally, CSIdentity checks the caregiver’s criminal record. It checks every county that he or she has lived in. Most background check companies limit themselves to counties that have information digitally stored, but CSIdentity does not. If a county has yet to make the conversion to digital data, they will send a ‘runner’ to collect the physical file of the caregiver to verify that their background is clear in that county as well. For an additional cost, MBF can also provide a credit check and/or drug test.

At Mom’s Best Friend, we continually strive to make sure we are always offering the most extensive checks and screening available, for the peace of mind of our client families who have placed their trust in us! After more than 15 years, families continue to come to us based on our reputation for weeding out 92% of all applicants with this comprehensive sifting process! Your children deserve the best, and you come to us for peace of mind!

Hiring a nanny can be a daunting process and, for many, the idea of bringing someone new into their home and leaving their kids in the sole care of someone they don’t know can be scary. It’s very important to identify each step needed to carefully navigate this search, the end result of which yields comfort and peace of mind. Whether using an agency or not, this same 10 step process will help you gain a better understanding of how to approach hiring a professional and loving caregiver who is the right match for your family and your unique needs and expectations.

1. Determine your needs: map out the criteria most important to you, from personality to special skills, hours and schedule, salary/package, age experience, education, training, childcare and discipline philosophy, responsibilities, etc.
2. Write a job description: put your thoughts down on paper and spell them out in a one page summary that you can share with an agency and/or potential candidates. This will be the framework of your future employment agreement and a conversational piece for an interview.
3. Register with an agency or post your job: turning over your search to a reputable and experienced agency will allow you to greatly minimize your time and effort in the remaining steps. However, if you are a do-it-yourselfer, you can write a short blurb with the key points in your job description and post it online or in the paper, but be prepared for a flood of unqualified applicants you may have to weed through in order to move on to the next step(s). If your needs are time sensitive or you are very busy, this may not be an option for you.
4. Screen applicants/conduct phone interviews: make sure to screen for the most important criteria (hours, salary, age experience, responsibilities willing to perform, area of town) before moving on to any more detailed probing (an agency will already have done this for you). Above and beyond having the right experience on paper, you will want to have enough chemistry on the phone to warrant an in-person meeting. A good fit is a combination of both!
5. In-person interview: arrange for promising candidates to come to your home to meet with you and get a preview of the potential future work environment. You may want to meet without the children in case it is not a good fit, or bring the kids in for part of the interview to observe the interaction. This initial meeting mainly serves to feel out compatibility (assuming the main needs will be able to be met by this person); a good candidate should interview you too!
6. Trial time/working interview: observing someone while working will give you the best indicator of future performance. Trial time is typically 3-5 days for local non live-in candidates. Try to duplicate the duties, hours, etc. as closely as possible so that the candidate can experience the job as accurately as possible (ex. morning traffic patterns) before moving forward. This time should serve as reinforcement for your decision or bring up possible red flags to halt you from moving forward. A good agency will provide a guarantee period (typically 90 days) in which you can get a free replacement.
7. Reference/background checks: when deciding between two great candidates, a reference check can be the tie breaker. An agency will already have checked references prior to sending you a profile. However, after you have interviewed with a certain candidate, you may have specific questions that are generated that a former employer can specifically address, above and beyond verifying simply whether or not they are qualified for the job. Background checks are essential for peace of mind and the security of your children. Individual families may not know how to conduct these checks themselves or where to go to obtain the most comprehensive and up-to-date information. An experienced agency can assist and can provide ongoing monitoring services as well.
8. Job offer/employment agreement: an extensive written agreement is the key to a long-term relationship where expectations are clear and misunderstandings minimized. An agency may provide a template for you that addresses the most typical scenarios in question in a comprehensive way. The job offer should come in the form of this written proposal with an expectation for some negotiation back and forth to ultimately arrive at a clearly spelled out and mutually beneficial , agreed upon working arrangement. An agency can act as the middle man in cases where negotiating directly is uncomfortable or an awkward way to kick off the new relationship.
9. Job begins: the employment agreement is signed and a start date is set!
10. Post-hire relationship maintenance/job satisfaction: the greatest way to ensure success is to set up regularly scheduled one-on-ones to discuss the job and what is working well and what is not. Providing an open forum for communication and discussion of struggles, obstacles and accomplishments as well (recommended at least monthly) will ensure the long lasting satisfaction of both parties involved. Semi-annual reviews and annual opportunities for bonuses and raises will also demonstrate the perceived value of the performance and relationship.

Good luck in hiring a great nanny! We would love to assist you in this important process with our years of experience and expertise!

You may be aware that the CBS program, The Early Show, is running a week long series on nannies. The broadcast has made the common mistake of implying that online-only job sites provide the same level of service as professional agencies.

The Alliance for Professional Nanny Agencies has provided some of the following information to help parents understand and differentiate between an online nanny database and a full-service nanny placement firm (like Mom’s Best Friend).

A Sittercity spokesperson was interviewed in one segment. Sittercity connects families and nannies online and rarely screens either. Job listing services such as Sittercity should not be confused with full-service nanny agencies.

Online job listing services can give the client a false sense of security. Many online services steer parents to low-cost, computer background checks that offer minimal screening compared to what a top-notch nanny agency would consider adequate. Sittercity connects parents to the LexisNexis background check that costs $9.99. Sittercity’s own web site has a disclaimer that the LexisNexis check covers just 38 states (http://www.sittercity.com/help_detail.html?tag=bgcin). Some online job listing services call the LexisNexis check “nationwide” which can be misleading.

Top notch household staffing agencies require a computer background check, and much more, on each job candidate. Most quality agencies hire a seasoned professional to conduct background checks. You can read in detail about what a thorough background check entails on our web site at: http://theapna.org/blog. We, at Mom’s Best Friend, use a company that provides the most comprehensive background check available at this time, as well as ongoing monthly monitoring for the lifetime of the placement.

Quality nanny agencies also meet each nanny candidate in person and check the candidate’s references and resume. Online job listing services most often do not check qualifications or references. They simply advise parents to perform those tasks.

Careful, experienced household staffing agencies are the best way to protect children, but they also help ensure a job seeker’s safety. Katherine Olson of Minnesota was found dead last October, one day after she responded to an online ad for a nanny job. The 19-year-old man police suspect placed the ad, where he posed as a parent seeking a nanny, is charged with her murder and awaiting trial.

A responsible staffing agency knows when one of its job candidates is being interviewed, and the candidate is expected to report in afterward. The personal contact that a qualified agency provides is an added security measure for both candidates and the hiring families. That service also increases the chances a family will find a nanny that is right for them and decreases the chances of high turnover of nannies in their employment.

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You might have seen one of the two news segments this last week featuring Mom’s Best Friend and our background checks partner, CSIdentity. View Fox segment | View CBS segment

We are very excited to roll out this new program for our clients which will incorporate the most comprehensive checks now available. We believe that we are the first in our industry to introduce this type of check into the screening process, thus guaranteeing our client families tremendous peace of mind.

This new firm we have partnered with, CSIdentity, searches more than 350 million unique identity records for criminal histories, which accounts for 70 million criminal identities in its database versus the FBI which has 55 million. New to our screening are two added features now possible through CSIentity:

• Identity Authentication: validating the identity of each candidate through a series of questions that only that candidate would be able to accurately answer
• Ongoing Monitoring: monthly monitoring that continues to ensure the candidate maintains a clear criminal background.

This last feature is at no additional cost to our clients and continues for the entire duration of employment between the client and caregiver. We are so pleased to be able to offer this unique and exhaustive background checks package to our valued clients.

Mom’s Best Friend has been active in helping to create standards for our industry through the International Nanny Association (www.nanny.org) and The Alliance for Premier Nanny Agencies (www.theapna.com) in the realm of background checks so that there is consistency across the country in this arena, thereby protecting families and children from substandard screening. Let us know what you think about our new offerings!