Nanny Employer Blog

Wherever we go in today’s society, we are constantly bombarded by media.  TVs are in almost every room of your house; most of us have an iPhone or Blackberry which allows us to always be connected, and the radio is usually on while we are sitting in rush hour traffic.  Unfortunately, most of the news we hear is often negative.  This certainly holds true to nanny-related events.   However, nannies around the world have been caught in some pretty heroic acts lately.  These nannies have been inadvertently been placed in tragic situations, risked their lives, and never thought twice about risking their own lives for their charges. 

A few weeks ago, a house right outside Louisville caught on fire in the early morning hours.  The family’s live-in nanny was home alone with their five-year-old child. She woke up to find the house engulfed in flames and knew she had to get the little boy out quickly.  Alyson walked barefoot through the fire and pulled the boy to safety.  Fire fighters believe that, within minutes, his room would have been engulfed in flames.  When Alyson was interviewed in the hospital, covered with severe burns, she said she never thought twice about walking through flames to rescue this little boy.  She is now recovering, and the little boy is very vocal about how much he misses her!

Many miles away, nannies are continuing to put their charges well-being before their own.  In Israel, a shooting broke out in a temple.  Over 180 people were killed, including the parents of a two-year-old little boy.   His brave nanny stepped in front of the gunman, was shot herself, and survived.  Due to her actions, the little boy made it out unharmed.  No matter how far from home, this act deserves recognition.

Sadly, we are faced with stress and worries each day. Hopefully knowing that your children are in the hands of a great nanny will allow you the peace of mind to sleep a little better each night.

     A trend that we have seen recently has been for two families to pool resources and share a nanny for their combined children. Not only does this significantly reduce the amount that each family pays, but it can be a great avenue for children to play and socialize with others outside of their immediate family. I have touched on this issue in previous blogs in reference to long-term options and advocated that families consider this when determining the solution that best fits their in-home childcare needs.

     However, lately, we have been experiencing this same trend among temporary client families who call in for a need that is brief in duration, and can even be last-minute. Families may forget to mention in advance that there will be children present in the home that do not belong to the client family or commonly, neighborhood kids may wander over to the home for a spontaneous play date. We want to make sure that we are doing a good job of locating a suitable caregiver based upon the information provided so that she is prepared to handle the number of children and particular ages present at any given job. In order to do this, we need to make sure that we are notified in advance of the addition of more children needing supervision.

     We can usually accommodate these needs but our caregivers may be thrown for a loop if unprepared. It is also critical that the family lets both the agency and caregiver know who can or cannot come over to the home while parents are away (eg. neighborhood kids). As a reminder, in order to prevent complicated billing, any additional children that will be cared for at any point in time within the job assignment will incur an additional $1 per hour charge for the job’s entirety, even if the extra child is only there a portion of the total time.

     As a reminder, per the contract that you signed with MBF, the other family may not call the MBF caregiver directly to book her to watch their children without going through the agency (this is referred to as an “indirect referral” by you). Your caregiver has also signed an agreement committing to redirect these inquiries to MBF. Thank you for helping us to enforce these agreements without which we could not remain in business.

     Our sitters love your kids and want to make sure we can always over deliver on our attentiveness and care for your little ones, so please make sure to let your placement counselor know of any additions the next time you book a job!

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!

I recently had the opportunity to visit our new Vail office.  We are thrilled to be able to offer services to existing and new clients who may vacation or own a second home in the Vail/Beaver Creek/Bachelor Gulch/Arrowhead/Eagle part of Colorado.

My family loves to vacation there and we experienced our first Thanksgiving with all 4 of our kids in ski school!  Our youngest, 3 year old twins, were finally potty trained and anxious to hit the slopes!  They got as far as the “Magic Carpet” where they rode up a motorized flat escalator of sorts and were able to “ski” a few feet down with the help of a wonderful (and very patient) ski instructor, making “pizzas” (wedges) and avoiding the alligator alleys (translate “trees”).  We are all anxious to head back up again on Christmas Day for some more practice.  Even though I have a wonderful nanny who lives with us and will be travelling with us to Colorado, I’m sure that I will avail myself of our services there so that I can give my much-loved and hard-working nanny a chance to ski herself!
 
We are so thrilled to have partnered with Jill Smirl, our franchisee in Vail,  to open a much-needed office in that area.  Jill is a mother of 3, knows everyone in the Vail Valley, and is an awesome realtionship builder with a passion for quality and customer service, so she is a great fit for MBF!  She also purchased a local operation, Vail Sitters, and has incorporated their client base into Mom’s Best Friend Vail/Beaver Creek.  We offer a wide range of services in this market, some of which differ from other markets, including ski companions, property managers, and more.  If you are a current member in any of our cities, keep in mind that your membership is good in Vail as well.  A membership is so versatile, since it can be used in any city for a wide range of services, and makes a great Christmas gift so keep this in mind for a stocking stuffer.  If you’re planning a white Christmas in Vail, don’t forget to make MBF part of your plans!