Nanny Agency vs. a Family Searching On Their Own: What's the Difference?
The winning question:
What’s the difference between going the agency route, and searching for a nanny on my own? Can’t I just do it myself?
As an agency owner and a mom myself, I have been on both sides of the coin. I can vouch for some obvious differences, and some that are less obvious. Let’s dig in.
Parents searching for a Nanny on their own:
When parents are hiring their very first nanny, often without prior knowledge on what it’s like to hire a nanny, the first thing they do is ask themselves:
“What are my family’s requirements? What am I looking for?”
Unsurprisingly, and rightfully so, experience level and reliability rank high. They often feel, that “the more experience, the better” and set very high expectations on how many years of experience these candidates should have as a career nanny. A common result is:
“I would like this person to have 10-15 years of experience… ideally someone with the ability to work a 40-45-hour work week, who is flexible adding hours, and who therefore probably doesn’t have children of their own or outside obligations…….….”
Next, they ponder:
“What is my budget? What should I offer to pay a nanny?”
Very often, the first thing that comes to mind are rates that they’ve heard their friends pay their date-night babysitters. This results in a strict expectation on what your future nanny should earn versus doing research on the market rates in your area, specifically for professional, career nannies. The general public may understand that there is a difference between an on-call babysitter and a career nanny, but we often find that parents have a hard time envisioning the pay rate to be as drastically different as it is.
(Remember: we are taking into account multiple variables; education level, unique/past experience, location, responsibilities on the job, etc. whereas with an on-call babysitter, they are generally comfortable with a basic hourly rate and their main responsibilities are to keep kids happy and safe).
All in all, without prior knowledge on the nanny-hiring process—perhaps just mimicking what we see other families doing on Facebook—parents might feel like they’re taking a shot in the dark. If you are venturing into unknown territory, especially in a highly-competitive market, the search process is likely to be very time-consuming and require a lot of trial and error.
As a parent [attempting the search], how can I set myself up for success?
The key to a family searching on their own is to first, collect data and research your market from a variety of angles (blog posts, talk to neighbors/co-workers, employment calculators online, perhaps Facebook groups) rather than jumping in and offering too low of a rate, and having your job post become stale. Once you’ve ironed out an appropriate range for career nannies in your area and combined that with what your budget may be, you’ll be able to better-determine an appropriate schedule that you can offer at that rate. The next important step, if you hadn’t done so already, is to become familiar with industry standards for career nannies, which includes: guaranteed weekly pay, and paid time off. Without offering these standards/perks, you run the risk of a very high turnover rate. Career nannies in long term roles will not settle for a role that does not include stable/consistent income, and a sustainable amount of PTO.
Becoming familiar with market rates and industry standards can be time-consuming, and then there is the length of time that the search takes, alone. If you’re in a pinch and need a nanny right away, the pressure to find the perfect fit (especially without understanding how to employ a nanny properly) can be be overwhelming.
Given that this IS a relationship, think of it like how you would approach dating — the best relationships happen when you’re not in a stressed, rushed state of mind. Just because we WANT to find someone ASAP, doesn’t mean that we’d be successful if we rush into something. All in all, with patience, time, flexibility and an open mind, you can certainly be successful in your own nanny search.
HIRING An AGENCY TO FIND your best-fit NANNY:
What’s less obvious to the general public about the greatest differences? What are the common misconceptions?
While there are a lot of resources out there to find caregivers, most career nannies prefer to work through agencies. Thus, the type of candidate that a family is targeting (highly-experienced, seeking long term commitment, reliable, certified in CPR and/or other credentials) might not be using such resources/platforms. Agencies tend to have access to a higher-tier of career candidates because they work tirelessly to set expectations (such as on market rates, industry standards, etiquette, etc) between nannies and families, and career nannies appreciate the advocacy and support.
Common family perspective: “If I cut out the middle person, I can avoid paying thousands of dollars. Are agencies just trying to collect money? And why so much?”
It is important to keep in mind that a nanny agency is a service. It is a customized experience. It is not a product, but an investment. When searching for a sectional sofa or a new vehicle, we generally allocate a higher budget since our intention is to invest in something that is long-lasting. While our children are more important to us than anything, the way in which we source professional, safe, reliable, trustworthy, long term caregivers matters.
Here at Nanny Harmony, we have spent years curating an intimate, personalized experience for families that incorporates direct contact with one agent, includes how-to guides, resources, a replacement guarantee, and gift cards toward some of our favorite, local baby/family services. While people may underestimate the work that goes into a nanny search, Nanny Harmony’s team of 4 works 7 days/week to engage with candidates and keep a close eye on market fluctuations. Our approach throughout the entirety of the nanny-search experience (which is generally 3-8-weeks) is to connect on a very personal level with families to ensure that we’re targeting the right fit. For a more detailed look on what the fee includes, check out our family process.
Agencies hold everyone accountable throughout this search process. Have you heard stories of nannies or babysitters ghosting families before their first day of work? Why is that? Is that something that just happens in the nanny industry? Definitely not. Because of the nature of the internet, people (both families and nannies) can feel less committed, or less tied to one another and this puts each parties at risk of the other to not follow through on their verbal commitment.
At Nanny Harmony, we put each candidate through a multi-step screening process which can take days, sometimes weeks. Throughout this journey, our expectation is that candidates are communicative, professional and consistent. If we sense any red flags (such as a lull in communication), we will no longer represent that candidate. The reality is, we turn a lot of candidates down. We experience ‘no-shows’. The ups and downs are part of our search experience, and this is all the more reason why when we send a top contender to a family, that person has made it through all of our checkpoints, and therefore we are very confident in their potential.
On the same token, we are clear with families about what we expect with communication and participation through the search. We want to help set families up for success, so we are actively guiding/preparing them through each stage. As agents, we are in a position to guide both parties in a timely, strategic and efficient manner to foster a happy partnership.
Whether you decide to search for a long term nanny on your own, or to reach out to an agency, it is definitely important to consider the depth of this journey. Hiring a nanny is a luxury and undeniably costly, but the value of the relationship/bond between a nanny and family is unmatchable. We hope this blog helps you to weigh our options, and helps point you in the right direction.
If you have any questions, or if there is any way we can be of assistance to your family, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at hello@nannyharmonychicago.com.
Best,
