New nanny hire question

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, You may have created a big problem for her by contacting the agency and telling them about the other prospect. It may well be that she did not want them to know as some agencies want exclusivity.

OP - when I spoke to the agency they said she wanted to honor the commitment to the other family and they’d get back to me this weekend when she makes a decision. They weren’t bothered about it at all. In fact the only that is inconvenienced is me! I paid the agency and upfront fee and this is the only viable candidate they’ve presented. She wanted to do a full week trial which we accommodated and paid her for, then she told us she wasn’t ready to make a decision. We also paid our current nanny to take last week off as she’s staying with us until we hire someone.

Was the upfront fee an application fee in the neighborhood of a few hundred dollars or a big fat $7-8 thousand where you can't find out much about the nanny until after you agree to interview her? Just wondering because there is an agency that does the latter, and it's pretty horrible but once you are out the $$$, it's hard to switch to another agency.

[Anonymous]

It’s obvious she’s not interested in your position and wants to work with younger children not be a maid. I would cut my losses and move on if I were you

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, You may have created a big problem for her by contacting the agency and telling them about the other prospect. It may well be that she did not want them to know as some agencies want exclusivity.

OP - when I spoke to the agency they said she wanted to honor the commitment to the other family and they’d get back to me this weekend when she makes a decision. They weren’t bothered about it at all. In fact the only that is inconvenienced is me! I paid the agency and upfront fee and this is the only viable candidate they’ve presented. She wanted to do a full week trial which we accommodated and paid her for, then she told us she wasn’t ready to make a decision. We also paid our current nanny to take last week off as she’s staying with us until we hire someone.

Was the upfront fee an application fee in the neighborhood of a few hundred dollars or a big fat $7-8 thousand where you can't find out much about the nanny until after you agree to interview her? Just wondering because there is an agency that does the latter, and it's pretty horrible but once you are out the $$$, it's hard to switch to another agency.

OP it was the former

[Anonymous]

OP here - we just heard from the agency and she’ll be starting with us on Monday! We’re super excited, thanks all for the help

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - we just heard from the agency and she’ll be starting with us on Monday! We’re super excited, thanks all for the help

Don't treat her like your maid or she'll be gone fast.

[Anonymous]

Offer her the job and let her know you want to hire her but keeping interviewing since she is.

[Anonymous]

Nannies have different options. Most nannies contact 2 different agencies and shop around. They interview at least 3 families before they make their decisions; likely they’d be interested in higher wage, full health insurance reimbursement, unlimited sick days, 10 +days PTO, family provides a car to transport the kids, weekly hours guaranteed, workers comp, all us holidays paid. Keep in mind that some Nannies don’t like to use their own vehicle(I wouldn’t, avoid wear and tear). Agencies are in charged of negotiation and contract.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The nanny market is extremely competitive and most nannies receive multiple offers.

A few thoughts:
-The agency should be the one extending the offer and doing contract negotiations on your behalf. They have protocols in place for situations exactly like this and would have been able to nip it in the bud with clear cut expectations.
-The nanny may have been caught off guard to hear an offer directly from you because agencies typically handle that.
-If time is of the essence, you are totally within reason to expect a response by X date. Again, the agency should have a policy for how long a candidate has to respond to a job offer.
-The agency should be experienced enough to know they shouldn't stop sending you candidates until you have a signed contract with a nanny. If the nanny is clearly pursuing other options, you should be as well.

-Another agency

My agency doesn't negotiate my contract, I do. And I get offers, my agency doesn't field them for me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The nanny market is extremely competitive and most nannies receive multiple offers.

A few thoughts:
-The agency should be the one extending the offer and doing contract negotiations on your behalf. They have protocols in place for situations exactly like this and would have been able to nip it in the bud with clear cut expectations.
-The nanny may have been caught off guard to hear an offer directly from you because agencies typically handle that.
-If time is of the essence, you are totally within reason to expect a response by X date. Again, the agency should have a policy for how long a candidate has to respond to a job offer.
-The agency should be experienced enough to know they shouldn't stop sending you candidates until you have a signed contract with a nanny. If the nanny is clearly pursuing other options, you should be as well.

-Another agency

Thank you, this is very helpful perspective for me
I wasn’t making the offer as opposed to letting her know that we liked her and planned to make an offer. She hasn’t worked for a month so I thought she’d appreciate getting our feedback and we’d both have a plan for next week. I did speak to the agency this morning. They were not aware that she has a different trial next week so they said they’d speak to her and get back to me. Do you think we should try to negotiate with her now or just wait to hear what she thinks after the other trial next week? I know we pay generously and we offered a better package than she expected

Yes, I would definitely make her the offer. It sounds like a formal offer hasn't been extended so of course she should continue her job search process until she has a signed contract. I'm a little thrown that the agency didn't know she had another trial and heard that through you. Typically the agency should be following up with you right after the interview, being transparent (and aware) that nanny has another trial, and tell you the best game plan foe moving forward efficiently.

Thanks so much. The agency said they didn’t set up the second trial so they didn’t know about it. But apparently she prefers to do five day trials which is a long time! We were ready to make an offer and I went through all of the details with the agency but she said she won’t make a decision until next weekend. We’re offering her 50% more pay than her last position!

This all still seems off to me! When my clients love a candidates, I'm on the phone with that nanny within minutes letting them know how well the family thought it went and asking if they have any other interviews, trials, or pending offers. If they do, I ask if they're comfortable sharing the details of any trials or pending offers so I can ensure my client puts their best foot forward in an offers. I also have 100 creative incentives up my sleeve to make our offer most attractive even if the logistics are similar. I do agree if your offer is that much higher than her last role there's something else at play here either with your job or the other one. Maybe the other one listed a higher pay range, includes international travel, the nanny just likes the age group better (but if that's the case agency should know and ideally isn't placing you with a candidate that doesn't love your kids' ages), the commute is better, better benefits, etc. Most people would JUMP on a 50% pay increase.

I really hope this works out for you the way it should- whether you get your great candidate or if she passes hopefully it's for a reason like she really just didn't want to be with older kids. In which case would be a giant waste of time, but best to know now in the long run. Hope you have some more interviews lined up in the interim!

Wait, what? It's not your offer, it's between the nanny and family. You're just the matchmaker.