How to successfully select a nanny and create a harmonious relationship with her

An experienced nanny is a qualified help for parents to provide safety, attention and care for your child. Therefore, it is important to create a trusting relationship with her, discuss the rules of upbringing and family values. In this article we will consider how to find a suitable candidate and establish a harmonious relationship with her.

Before you start looking for a nanny, you need to carefully analyse the needs of your family. This is an important step that will help you find the nanny that best suits your needs.

Let’s look at a few key aspects

Key aspects to consider:

Age and number of children in the family
The amount of pay and hours of work (determine your budget for a nanny and decide how many hours per week you need them to work. This is important for determining the type of nanny, e.g. full-time, or part-time)
Job and schedule specifics (consider your work schedule, responsibilities, and children’s routines. For example, if you need a nanny who can work evenings or mornings, make sure this information is included in the job description)

Understanding your needs will help you determine the calibre of candidates and make a more informed choice of the right assistant. Once you have identified your needs, it’s time to start your search.

Here are a few common sources you can use.

Recommendations from friends and acquaintances

Pros:

Trust and reliability: applicants recommended by close friends or acquaintances can be quite reliable and trustworthy. If the family has had a positive experience with a particular nanny, then make sure that she also meets your requirements and ideas about the right person.
Additional information: ask people you know to share information about the candidate’s characteristics, such as their personality, work style and behaviour, and how the nanny interacts with children. These details will greatly help in evaluating and selecting a nanny.

Minuses:

Limited choice: personal recommendations significantly reduce the number of options, as you are limited to candidates with whom only your close friends have worked. This may not meet your specific needs at the time.

Subjectivity: the characteristics presented are very subjective and depend on the individual preferences and requirements of a particular family. What suits some parents and children may not suit others.

Specialised Domestic Staff Recruitment Agencies

There are many staffing services that specialise in the professional search for nanny governesses. They can provide you with a list of candidates with different backgrounds who have successfully passed a certain background check. This is the best option if you don’t have the time or experience to search on your own, but it is important to find candidates with a certain level of training and high quality of vetting.

Pros:

Professional recruitment: Agencies specialise in the search and assessment of personnel, and as a rule, they have quite a lot of experience and contacts in this area. Managers make a thorough selection of candidates and will offer the most suitable nannies who fulfil all your wishes and working conditions as much as possible.
Checked candidates: Agencies conduct a comprehensive check of applicants, including documents, medical certificates, work experience, references from previous employers, blacklists, which guarantees her reliability and important skills for working with a child.
Saving resources: if you don’t have enough time to search and check information about candidates on your own, the Agency will advise you and significantly save your energy and nerves. You will be provided with a personal manager and a ready list of suitable nannies. This is especially convenient if you urgently need an experienced governess and you are facing this task for the first time.

Guarantee of replacement and Contract: the main advantages for co-operation with the Agency are the signing of Contracts and the guarantee of free replacement. This will protect your rights and allow you to reapply for free counselling or to find a new nanny if reasons arise to deal with the situation.

Minuses:

Cost of services: recruitment with the help of an agency is provided on a fee basis, unlike searching on your own. You will need to pay the agency a fee, which is usually equal to the nanny’s full monthly salary.

Happy parents - happy children!

Contact the Dream Nanny Agency.

Fill out the application

Online resources and announcements

The internet provides a wide range of online resources and classifieds sites where you can post your vacancy to find a nanny or view profiles of available candidates.

Pros:

Direct contacts: You can explore options for candidates who are currently available with different skills and experience. Save CVs and contacts you like for direct interaction.

Control of your search: You publish your own adverts, set up your own search parameters and contact candidates, giving you more freedom to choose a convenient time and format for communication.

Minuses:

Security risks: Publishing online adverts can lead to a variety of responses, not all of which may be honest. There is a risk of coming across unscrupulous blacklisted candidates (including those who have been rejected by different services).
Self-inspection: you choose your own means of verification and are responsible for the quality of the information provided, including references, recommendations and all documents. This will require considerably more of your time and effort.
Limited information: Some online resources may have unreliable or incomplete information about applicants, which can make it difficult to assess their professional suitability and lead you to unreliable nannies.

Each source has its pros and cons and different effectiveness, tailored to your situation and basic needs.

Conducting an interview

Once you have found several potential candidates, it is time to conduct interviews. This stage is critical to make sure the nanny meets your expectations and needs. Here’s how to prepare for and conduct an effective interview

Preparing questions for the nanny

Before you begin the interview, prepare a list of questions that will help you better assess the candidate. These questions may include:

Experience with children: Ask about the nanny’s previous experience, the ages of the children she has worked with, and what duties she has performed.
Approach to Discipline and Parenting: Learn how she maintains routines, achieves goals, and helps resolve conflict with children.
Safety: Discuss the safety precautions she follows in caring for children, including knowledge of first aid.
Schedule, Duties and Pay: Clarify days out and working hours, level of pay and terms of leave, sick days, form of payment for duties, essential duties.

Additional wishes: Ask about the nanny’s readiness to accompany you on trips, discuss the conditions and duration of travelling, the need for trips around the city with the child (to the doctor, to developmental classes, swimming pool or other situations).

Selecting the right CVs

Analyse the CVs of the selected candidates to identify those who meet your criteria. Pay attention to experience, education, and relevant skills, such as basic childcare, language skills, ability to prepare children’s meals or engage in educational play.

Assessment of skills and experience

During the interview, discuss candidates’ experience and skills in detail. Ask questions to understand reactions to specific childcare situations.

Verification of documents and medical book:
Make sure that the candidate has provided all necessary documents such as passport, employment history, passport, education documents, medical records and references. This is important for your family’s trust and safety.
Social Media Check:
You can ask for links to the candidate’s social media profile to get more information about their interests and views on different topics.
Interviewing several candidates and carefully checking their qualifications – will help you make a better choice of a nanny for your child.
Once you have found the right nanny, you need to build a harmonious relationship with her. An important aspect of establishing a relationship with a nanny is to provide clear instructions and expectations. This will help both parties understand their roles and responsibilities, which is important for a successful partnership.

Defining expectations and responsibilities:

Discuss with the nanny your expectations for the care and upbringing of your children. It is important to outline at the outset what tasks and responsibilities she will need to fulfil, including feeding the children, hygiene, developmental activities, outings, washing the children’s clothes, caring for toys, and the format of interaction with parents.

Clear instructions and agreed expectations on both sides – will help to create the basis for a long-term co-operation with the chosen nanny. This approach promotes a harmonious relationship between you, which in turn will have a positive impact on the care of your child and the achievement of all your goals.

In this article, we have looked at a few key aspects that will help you find a nanny and create a quality partnership with her. We wish you a successful search and, most importantly, harmony and understanding in your relationship with your nanny. Remember that together with a caring and kind nanny, you will be able to create a warm and cosy atmosphere in your family. Thanks to your union and effective interaction, the child will grow and develop happily.

Share this post with your friends!