Agency V’s Online Nanny Finder

Regarding childcare, deciding the best fit for your family is tricky. You must consider your daily routines, work and school schedules, and, most importantly, what will work best for your child.

Many families decide on a nanny as their childcare option.  They find that the in-home, tailored childcare meets all of their needs.  You would think that choosing between daycare and a nanny might be the biggest decision a family must make. Think again.  Once you decide to hire a nanny, you have the task of finding a nanny, not just any nanny, but the right one for your family.  How does one even go about finding a nanny, you may ask?  Several key options exist; online nanny and care finder websites or nanny placement agencies.  Each offers pros and cons.  We hope this blog highlights the differences between these services and potentially helps find the correct one for your family.

What does each entity do?

Nanny Finder Sites:

While childcare finder websites and apps (examples: Care, Sittercity, etc.) differ, most allow you to create a family profile and post a job listing. To create this profile, you need to sit down and decide what you want and need for your family and children.  Importantly, you will want to decide the level of compensation you are willing to offer. You can often expand on this process and draft a family biography, giving the nanny an overview of your home environment and the family they would be working for.  After this step, you can search the profiles of potential nanny candidates by scrolling through the many messages from interested applicants or viewing suggested candidates from the site.  Candidates on the site are also required to create a profile, but it is important to note this information has not been verified and has been written by the candidate.  Candidate profiles will vary with details providing information such as job history, experiences, any special skills or qualifications they hold related to child care, and sometimes reviews or references. Once you have found a few candidates that meet your requirements, you can reach out via message (or their contact information if they have provided it) to set up a trial day or interview.  From there, you must follow up on their references. The site may allow the nanny to post a letter of recommendation or reference, but it is always advised to check the legitimacy by personally contacting the reference. The online services run a fairly basic background check on the nannies for your viewing, or they may not. When you have selected your nanny, and they have accepted an offer, you’re in the home stretch.  However, there is still work to be done.  You must create a work agreement to secure your nanny and protect you both; this will also help you gain clear expectations of duties and daily routine. You must start thinking about state labor laws, unemployment, and overtime.  If you pay your nanny over a certain amount a year, you’re also responsible for paying employment taxes.  The work agreement should also include details of compensation, benefits, sick pay, vacation pay, insurance you will offer, and termination/resignation guidelines.  These agreements are not a guarantee, but if a nanny is willing to sit down with you and create an agreement, it will give you an idea of their reliability, loyalty, and professionalism.  As long as everything works out well with your nanny, your life will become much easier. The only road bump you may hit is if your nanny is sick or unable to work, as you may have to return to the online hunt of finding a replacement while your nanny is unavailable.

Nanny Agencies:

A nanny agency provides the services of finding you a nanny but with many different tools. Usually, someone from the nanny agency will meet your family to ask detailed questions so they have a clear idea of what you need.  Once the agency paperwork has been signed, the agency will begin sending you potential nanny profiles to view.  The nannies they send will have met the standards of the agency.  Each agency is different, but most require a minimum of 2 years experience within the nanny or childcare field, current Infant and Child CPR, and First Aid certifications, 3 child-related references, an in-depth background check through a professional screening service, DMV records to ensure a clean driving record, and proof of auto insurance.  In addition, they will have met with and interviewed the nannies.  A high-quality agency will send viable candidates that meet your needs.  You can interview, conduct trial days, and select your nanny; some agencies even facilitate these procedures.  Once you have selected your nanny, the agency will advise and assist you with the job offer, including hourly rate, taxes, benefits, length of agreement, etc. When a nanny accepts a job, the agency may draft employment guidelines that include details about the position to avoid confusion. The agency will advise how best to pay your nanny directly or through home employment payroll companies.  Some agencies will even offer advice come tax time. If there comes a time your nanny is sick or unable to work, the agency can usually find a temporary nanny or sitter to fill in.

While we at Windsor House Nannies might be biased, we think nanny agencies can offer many benefits to a family searching for childcare help.  However, we will let you make the decision yourself.  If you ever find that you could use the service of a nanny agency, we would love to hear how we could best assist you.