Monday, May 22, 2006
Hiring the Best Nanny for Your Family - Part 1
Obviously, hiring a good nanny is important. After all, this person will have sole charge of your children. Knowing that you have a good nanny allows you to focus on your work, free from worry about your children and the home front.
Most of us choose our spouse with care and rear our children with nurturing and compassionate attention. Yet, we tend to select the nanny on the basis of an interview or two, and once they start work, they often find that they must fend for themselves.
How, then, are we to know we have done our best to locate the best nanny for our family?
It is important to remember that if you want a quality nanny, your employment situation must be of the same caliber. Competitive pay, reasonable hours, benefits and perks play a large part in attracting and retaining quality employees. The nanny is undoubtedly there to serve your family, providing an important and valuable contribution to you and your children. With that said, it is useful to remember that your family's needs cannot always come first; the needs of the nanny have to be balanced and figured into the work relationship.
When you recognize and attempt the meet your nanny's needs, many good results will follow. First of all, you will have a happy nanny. The service the nanny provides to your family will reflect this contentment in the relationship. She becomes equally willing to recognize your needs.
A open, friendly nanny|family relationship is a must. Let your nanny know you respect her knowledge, and are open to suggestions she might make. When she raises a concern, listen to it carefully. All concerns cannot be met equally; however, compromise and a sincere willingness to partner with the nanny is a key ingredient to a successful, long-term employment relationship.
Many perks that your nanny might truly value cost you little or nothing. One family, knowing that their nanny lived in an apartment, suggested that she was free to use their hose to wash her car. Another family, recognizing the long hours the nanny was working offered to allow her to use their washer and dryer for her laundry, both freeing up some of her valuable spare time and saving her the laundromat fees. Does your nanny have an out-of-town weekend planned? If so, could you offer to return home a few hours early one Friday so she could get an early start? This comes back to you in her flexibility to come in early or stay late when you have an important meeting or a plane to catch.
When interviewing, ask yourself, "Is this nanny candidate a nice person?" Experience is important, but a nice person can learn almost anything. Nice people are easier to teach and pleasant to be around.
Coming next - what can you do before hiring to learn more about the nanny candidate?
Kathleen Webb is a founding partner of HomeWork Solutions Inc., the leading nanny payroll and tax service provider, and 4nannies.com Inc., the first online nanny recruiting venue. She has nearly 20 years experience in the nanny industry.
Related Link: 10 Tips to Hire the Best Nanny
Most of us choose our spouse with care and rear our children with nurturing and compassionate attention. Yet, we tend to select the nanny on the basis of an interview or two, and once they start work, they often find that they must fend for themselves.
How, then, are we to know we have done our best to locate the best nanny for our family?
It is important to remember that if you want a quality nanny, your employment situation must be of the same caliber. Competitive pay, reasonable hours, benefits and perks play a large part in attracting and retaining quality employees. The nanny is undoubtedly there to serve your family, providing an important and valuable contribution to you and your children. With that said, it is useful to remember that your family's needs cannot always come first; the needs of the nanny have to be balanced and figured into the work relationship.
When you recognize and attempt the meet your nanny's needs, many good results will follow. First of all, you will have a happy nanny. The service the nanny provides to your family will reflect this contentment in the relationship. She becomes equally willing to recognize your needs.
A open, friendly nanny|family relationship is a must. Let your nanny know you respect her knowledge, and are open to suggestions she might make. When she raises a concern, listen to it carefully. All concerns cannot be met equally; however, compromise and a sincere willingness to partner with the nanny is a key ingredient to a successful, long-term employment relationship.
Many perks that your nanny might truly value cost you little or nothing. One family, knowing that their nanny lived in an apartment, suggested that she was free to use their hose to wash her car. Another family, recognizing the long hours the nanny was working offered to allow her to use their washer and dryer for her laundry, both freeing up some of her valuable spare time and saving her the laundromat fees. Does your nanny have an out-of-town weekend planned? If so, could you offer to return home a few hours early one Friday so she could get an early start? This comes back to you in her flexibility to come in early or stay late when you have an important meeting or a plane to catch.
When interviewing, ask yourself, "Is this nanny candidate a nice person?" Experience is important, but a nice person can learn almost anything. Nice people are easier to teach and pleasant to be around.
Coming next - what can you do before hiring to learn more about the nanny candidate?
Kathleen Webb is a founding partner of HomeWork Solutions Inc., the leading nanny payroll and tax service provider, and 4nannies.com Inc., the first online nanny recruiting venue. She has nearly 20 years experience in the nanny industry.
Related Link: 10 Tips to Hire the Best Nanny
