We recently had the honor of attending the Association of Premier Nanny Agency’s annual conference and one of our favorite sessions included incredible information about the differences between using an agency vs. searching through online job sites like care.com to hire a nanny.
Our friends at GTM Payroll Services shared some great insights from a survey they conducted with both families and nannies who work with them, and it really illuminated how the family’s chosen search method impacted their lives. We wanted to share some of the great metrics they presented.
Hiring someone to care for your children is one of the most important decisions you make as a parent. Developing a deep level of trust and confidence in someone while they teach, nurture, and support your little ones is a meaningful and in-depth process. When you work with an agency you have the expertise and support of professional recruiters who are highly-skilled at procuring the ideal candidate to join your thriving family, with very little time investment on your part.
What Parents Are Looking For In Prospective Nannies:
- Demonstrated responsibility and trustworthiness
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Personality fit
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Passion for childcare
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References
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Experience
How Much Time Does It Take To Conduct A Nanny Search On Your Own?
When you take on the searching, screening and interviewing of nanny candidates on your own, you can expect to spend at least 20 hours searching for the right person. As a busy parent, that is a ton of time invested in a process that doesn’t guarantee success or even long-term satisfaction!
Hiring A Nanny Using An Agency vs. Using An Online Job Site
When a family goes through an agency rather than an online job site to find a nanny, they’re going to get a higher quality candidate, a dedicated professional who will stay with them longer, and they’ll spend less time finding the right match.
Top Three Reasons Parents Choose To Work With An Agency
Online job sites aren’t able to offer anywhere near the thorough and intense background search, criminal screening, prior job research, reference checking, and digital footprint review of the candidate that a reputable agency does.
In addition to being absolutely necessary when determining if a stranger is fit to care for your children, these safety precautions are incredibly time-consuming when done well, so when an agency takes the reigns you’re not only finding a better, more qualified candidate, you’re saving yourself an unbelievable amount of time.
What Did Families Like Least When Using Online Job Sites?
When parents in the survey were asked what they disliked if they’d ever used an online job site to search for a nanny, 83% of them said they strongly disliked the number of responses they received from unqualified candidates.
The truth is, this is an extremely competitive industry for the highest caliber of childcare professionals, and when your search is conducted online, you’ll receive tons of emails, phone calls and texts from people who are not qualified for the position but who are very persistent and interested to learn more about the details.
These aspects of active recruiting can be overwhelming to busy parents who have so much on their plates as it is, and may or may not have previous experience with recruitment.
How Do Experienced + Professional Nannies Find The Right Position?
On the topic of high-caliber candidates, 44% of the exceptional nannies surveyed said that they search for jobs through agencies, while only 28% of them used online job sites. Using online job sites is not only time-consuming and lacking safety precautions, it’s also likely not where your dream nanny is looking.
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We loved this entire presentation at APNA from GTM Payroll Services, and want to thank them for sharing such valuable information with the industry.
If you have any questions about this information, or you’d like to learn more about how hiring an agency can save you time, we’d love to hear from you!
If you are a highly-skilled, professional nanny and you’re interested in joining our roster of incredibly talented caregivers, take a moment to visit our job board.