Seven Steps to Hiring a Nanny with the Right Qualities

You’ve made the momentous decision to hire a caregiver for your child. But now what? How do you ensure that you will find a qualified nanny who will seamlessly blend with your parenting style and family values?

Choosing the right nanny for your child can be a stressful and time consuming endeavor. But arming yourself with a step-by-step plan can be the key that leads to peace of mind, knowing that you have matched the ideal candidate with the most important person in your life—your child.

Here, seven Chirp-recommended steps to ensure you find a nanny perfectly suited to you and your family.

1. Evaluation of Need: What do you want in a nanny? Consider practical aspects such as her schedule and responsibilities as well as the personal qualities you’d like your nanny to possess. Write them down in order of importance.

2. Getting the Word Out: Let the world know that you are searching for a qualified caregiver for your child. Ask relatives friends and colleagues for leads, and post notices in local mother’s groups, online and with college and university job offices.

3. Prescreening: Before you meet the candidates in person, conduct brief telephone or email interviews to determine suitability. Request that resumes, letters of recommendation, certificates of education and background check clearances be emailed for your review.

4. Interview Process: Choose the top 3 to 5 candidates from the prescreening process and evaluate them for a fit with your family. Use your instincts as well as evaluating her past work to make the final decision. After all, you want a nanny who will feel like part of the family.

5. Trial Period: Though the trial period is scheduled and paid, it is a time when both the nanny and family determine whether the arrangement will work long term. During this time, your nanny will obtain CPR/First Aid training, TB testing and complete background check requirements.

6. Contract: If she is a fit for your family at the end of the trial period, offer her a contract. Sit down at a formal closure meeting to review emergency procedures, review employment documents and to review and sign the contract.

7. Performance Reviews: For the first few weeks, conduct a weekly discussion about your child’s care with your nanny to ensure that you both feel comfortable with the situation. Once you are confident in your nanny’s abilities, formal discussions can be held monthly or quarterly.

For a more detailed explanation of the Seven Steps to Hiring a Nanny with the Right Qualities, click here.

Photo credit Simon Blackley

Hiring a Nanny: Challenges and Solutions

Chirp: Connecting Families and Nannies

Whether you've just had your first child, you're going back to work, or you simply need assistance with the day to day chaos of raising children, the time may be right to consider hiring a nanny. It may sound simple, but the fact is, hiring a nanny to care for your children in your absence may be one of the most important decisions you can make in your family's life. After all, you want the nanny to be an excellent caregiver who not only adheres to your parenting style, but whom your kids will trust and come to love as part of the family.

But what considerations should be made in attempting to find a nanny? One of the challenges is the sheer number of questions you must ask and answer in the process, many of which you may never have thought of.  Here's some to consider:

1. What kind of nanny arrangement will suit your family best?
2. Will the nanny's job description include housework or errands? 
3. Will the nanny receive health benefits, paid holidays, sick days?
4. What about a preference for language, education/training or amount of experience?

 These and many, many more probing questions must be addressed as you go about your search for a nanny to ensure your family ends up with a good fit. Chirp has ample experience helping parents consider these important decisions and assists families step by step through the nanny hiring process. We utilize a 15 page workbook filled with questions about what you're looking for in a childcare arrangement, questions for the potential nanny, and information about the hiring process in general. To take a look at this nanny selection workbook, click here.