Nannies can be a great option for child care in the safety of your own home. Do plenty of research before deciding on a nanny since this person will end up spending a lot of time around your children. Here are a few things to consider when evaluating prospective nannies for your family.
There are a few ways to locate nannies to interview for your household. First, ask other parents in your neighborhood or at your child’s school if they have any recommendations. Word of mouth is always the best way to go in hiring a service provider because you can get an honest appraisal of the nanny and their work. If possible, ask the children what they liked and didn’t like about the nanny. Be very careful if they give you several reasons they were not satisfied with the nanny’s services or personality. There is not much hard evidence available to evaluate a nanny’s job performance, so you may have to trust these kinds of gut impressions.
If you can spend a little bit extra for a finder’s fee, you may want to consider a placement agency specializing in nannies. These companies make the process easier because they will handle all of the pre-employment, payroll, and tax paperwork for you. They also give you added assurance that you are getting a qualified and reliable nanny by conducting extensive background checks prior to hiring. However you find your prospective nannies, be sure to get a list of references and actually check them. Beware of anyone who refuses to provide references or only lists family members and friends. You want to talk to their prior customers to get an idea of how the nanny performed with their children.
Before conducting any interviews, determine exactly what you will need from your nanny. Decide on a schedule and put it down in writing so there will be no questions once the nanny is hired. There are nannies who work full-time and live in your home and nannies who will commute every day for a part-time position. If you are providing room and board, the hourly rate is usually less, so this may be an option if money is tight. The nanny candidates will probably ask about sick leave and paid vacation time, so think about this ahead of time as well.
Schedule phone interviews to save time if you have a pool of several possible nannies. Many times, you can weed out unsuitable candidates without having to meet them personally. Once you have narrowed it down to a few choices, then it is time to set up personal interviews with each prospective nanny. First impressions do count when it comes to interviewing nannies. Problems with punctuality, following directions, or personal hygiene are not likely to improve when they are on the job. After all, the interview is supposed to be a person’s best impression, so a sloppy appearance should make you wonder what they will be like in daily life.
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