If you are a nanny who has worked for a year or more in the childcare industry and have joined some of the incredible online nanny communities, you have undoubtedly seen the many debates about agencies. Are they worth it? What do they even do for nannies? Do they take some of your annual pay? They don’t care about the nannies like they do the families, right? There are so many questions, myths, and general uncertainties about nanny agencies and we wanted to address some of these topics and offer our perspective.
We cannot speak on behalf of all agencies, but at Adventure Nannies, we take our mission very seriously and one of the essential cornerstones of our business is transparency. We want our potential candidates to have a clear understanding of what we are all about, how we can help- them, and what our expectations are for the process.
Our aim is to place exceptional, multi-talented, driven, glass-ceiling-crashing candidates with active, loving, and phenomenal families. Here are some common myths about nanny agencies that we’d like to clarify based on our experiences in the industry.
Are Nanny Agencies Even Worth It?
Many nannies wonder if working with an agency is even worth their time and energy. With sites like Care.com and Sittercity, many nannies wonder if they might as well take their job hunt online and just initiate contact with prospective families on their own. The truth is, when you work with an agency like Adventure Nannies, you actually save time and energy because your time is valued and respected by everyone involved. You won’t be running down potential families online, waiting for them to contact you or reply to your email or return your call, only to find that the details of the job were hugely misrepresented in their online ad. We vet our families and make sure that when we present potential candidates, everyone involved is on the same page and we support negotiations for any details that are not already mutually agreed upon.
Don’t Agencies Take Some Of The The Nanny’s Salary?
Again speaking only for Adventure Nannies, the answer here is a clear and resounding no. We can’t speculate about the practices of other agencies, but we absolutely do not take anything in payment from nannies. We work with some of the most successful and innovative families in the world, and as a result, their expectations for the nannies that work with their children are clear and precise. Along with a clear set of expectations comes fair and even generous pay, our families want the very best and they are prepared to develop a compensation package that reflects the extraordinary performance that they expect. As the liaison in this working relationship, we as an agency are compensated directly by the family with zero relation to the employment agreement and salary that is established between the nanny and family.
What Do Agencies Even Do For Nannies?
When you’re looking for the best job to meet your needs as a caregiver, you want to work with and for the most respectful and professional families possible. One key way to make sure that you are working with an agency that is also respectful and professional is to make sure that the agency is APNA certified. The Association of Premier Nanny Agencies is an organization that holds their agency partners to the strictest standards of ethics and business practices. Take a moment to review the qualifications for an APNA agency linked above and you’ll see why it is essential to seek out agencies that adhere to these industry standards. One of the greatest benefits of working with an agency like Adventure Nannies is the exclusive access to potential families that you would not typically find on more generic and unfiltered job search sites. The sort of families that we are so fortunate to work with are often leaders in their industries, inspirational, record-breaking, world-traveling and have a profound love for their children. As an agency, we can help nannies format their resumes, prepare themselves for interviews, and support them throughout the screening process. Our placement managers are so devoted to making the perfect match for both nanny and family, so they’ll often do everything in their power to set the nannies up for success in the screening process, then reach out to the nannies upon hire and offer any needed advice and feedback throughout the placement. When you work with one of our placement managers you’ll see that they are advocating for what is right for you just as much as what is right for the family. If it’s not a good fit for you, it certainly is not a good fit for the family and vice versa. As an agency, we are committed to making the perfect matches that surpass everyone’s expectations and allow for the children to receive the highest quality of care consistently.
What are some of the myths you’ve heard about working with agencies? We’d love to hear about your personal experiences – reach out to us on Facebook, Instagram, and check out the other posts on the blog!
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