How to be a good employer?
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Anonymous
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I just hired a nanny for my daughter, and I've got about a month and a half until she begins. We were lucky enough to hire a nanny that was previously employed by a close family friend, and she seems lovely. I'm thinking through all the logistics of working together, and was wondering if you had any tips about how to start the relationship on the right foot and keep it going that way. Specifically:
1. What is the best way to keep the lines of communication open? Does a weekly sit down help? 2. How do you keep track of hours? Does your nanny record them and report them to you or is that an employer responsibility? 3. What are ways to create the best work environment? Are there any little perks that make a work environment particularly appealing? 4. How do you handle petty cash? Do you just stick an envelope in a drawer somewhere and periodically refresh it? |
Anonymous
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1. Weekly meetings are great especially if you don't have time for a debriefing every evening. Our nanny kept a log book as well.
2. Doesn't your nanny have guaranteed hours and a set schedule? Both our nanny and I keep track of her hours - twice we have made a small mistake and she has brought it to our attention (which was very embarrassing for us so please chart her hours carefully) for months where she worked late for us or the month had more than 20 work days. I got an old fashioned block calendar - very no-tech and wrote her hours down every day. 3. Keep a clean home. 4. Our nanny uses her credit card and we reimburse her every month for groceries and such that she buys for DC. The most important thing you can do for any employee is to respect them and let them do their job. |
Anonymous
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Nanny here. First of all, kudos to you for putting in the effort to make sure your nanny is comfortable and happy in your home. Here are my answers to your questions:
1. What is the best way to keep the lines of communication open? Does a weekly sit down help? -I like to keep a log of daily activities so that I can talk to my employer when she gets home everyday briefly. If something is pressing or I'm confused then I text her right away and she seems receptive to that, even if she can't answer right away. This keeps our relationship healthy because it feels like we are working as a team and I don't feel like she is just dumping her kid with me and checking out. I have as much independence as I need but I also like sharing pictures with her (AND ONLY HER) or telling her happy things pertaining to the child's milestones that have happened over text during the day. Weekly sit downs would help until you get into a groove and then hopefully they won't be necessary. 2. How do you keep track of hours? Does your nanny record them and report them to you or is that an employer responsibility? -My employer texts or emails me the schedule ahead of time and then we keep track of the actual hours in the aforementioned journal. We keep the journal in a drawer by the front door so recording the time is the first or last thing I do when I arrive or leave the house. 3. What are ways to create the best work environment? Are there any little perks that make a work environment particularly appealing? -Being open and honest about things and making a nanny feel comfortable is the best perk I could ask for. It's awkward to be in someone else's home at first, so assuring her that she can do whatever she needs to do in order to take care of the child is pertinent. For instance, if she can't find something out of the ordinary that she needs like tweezers, make sure she knows that she can look for it in the appropriate places and doesn't have to worry about intruding. If you don't want her in your room (I have gone into my employers' room maybe 4 times in 3 years, no joke) then say "If you can't find something then feel free to look around for it, but you should never need to go into our room." They know that I sometimes go to a certain coffee shop with my charges, so they periodically give me gift cards to there or offer to pay for my lunch if I am taking the kids somewhere. I don't expect to eat their food or have them pay for my meals unless it is a special day, so this is meaningful. Birthday gifts, December holiday gifts, and random praise all go a long way. 4. How do you handle petty cash? Do you just stick an envelope in a drawer somewhere and periodically refresh it? -I pay for things and save the receipts, give them to my employer (I put them in an envelope in the notebook) and then she reimburses me every pay period. I have personally found that petty cash is harder to monitor. |
Anonymous
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1. What is the best way to keep the lines of communication open? Does a weekly sit down help? Yes, they help. One parent should be the point person, and needs to check in on a regular basis.
2. How do you keep track of hours? Does your nanny record them and report them to you or is that an employer responsibility? It's the nanny's responsibility, but we as employers have a firm grasp on when the nanny arrived and left so we'd recognize if they were padding. 3. What are ways to create the best work environment? Are there any little perks that make a work environment particularly appealing? We make sure we leave a clean house in the mornings. We don't have the nanny come in to dinner dishes from the night before and two babies who need diaper changes and a full diaper pail. Clean house, food for the kids lunches and snacks, diaper bag packed, etc. We pay for monthly mass transit for nanny since it's used to take the kids places daily. We keep some of the snacks and drinks the nanny likes in our house. 4. How do you handle petty cash? Do you just stick an envelope in a drawer somewhere and periodically refresh it? Our nanny leaves us a note on Friday letting us know the loose schedule for the following week. Monday - Toy Museum $25 total, Tuesday, art class & story time, Wednesday - Aquarium & play date with Larla $55 total, etc. Over the weekend DH and I add up how much is needed based on that, then add up the costs for errands we want the nanny to do for us (it is in our contract that she will do x number of errands per week), and leave that much money in petty cash. Throughout the week the nanny takes money and leaves us receipts for each thing money is spent on. We usually add $20 or so to what we think it should cost. |
nannydebsays
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1. What is the best way to keep the lines of communication open? Does a weekly sit down help?
Yes, a weekly sit-down is great, and don't let it fall by the wayside 6/12/18 months into the relationship. Another good thing to do is pay attention to how nanny communicates, and accept that her style is what it is - being told you are a poor communicator is no fun at all, and will make nanny reluctant to discuss anything. 2. How do you keep track of hours? Does your nanny record them and report them to you or is that an employer responsibility? If nanny doesn't have set and guaranteed hours, then you do need to record them, and a paper calendar is a great way to do that. I'd suggest you and nanny each keep records, so that any mistakes can be dealt with easily. 3. What are ways to create the best work environment? Are there any little perks that make a work environment particularly appealing? Find out what she likes to drink, and keep it on hand for her. If she will be providing her own food, make sure there is space for her to use in the frig/cabinets/pantry. If you choose to offer to provide food for her, tell her to add it to the grocery list. Say "Good Morning", and thank her at the end of the day. 4. How do you handle petty cash? Do you just stick an envelope in a drawer somewhere and periodically refresh it? It depends how much money she will be spending for you. If she is only paying for the occasional outing/snack/errand, have a cash envelope that you check and refill frequently. She leaves change/receipts for you. If she will be doing a little more spending, like occasional errands, a refillable Visa/MC/Amex gift card is a good choice, and she will again leave receipts for you. If she will be doing household management level spending (groceries, kid clothes, classes, etc.), a credit card linked to your card is a good choice, or a debit card linked to a checking account that you add money to as needed. |
Anonymous
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Expecting a nanny to front her own money for you is highly inappropriate, to say the least.
I would never do that for an employer who has more money than I do. But I'd do it for an employee. |
Anonymous
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I'm a long term nanny to a family I still adore and I feel we have excellent communication.
1: I think a weekly sit down sounds kind of babyish, but if you both enjoy that then go ahead. Personally in my situation we email and text a lot, so I have no hesitation to email MB and let her know anything I feel she needs to know. They tell me often they appreciate me and are completely happy with my services, so the rare times I get an email with that request to change something or fix something I don't get offended in the slightest and just adjust what needs to be adjusted. 2: I have guaranteed hours, if I ever do more than my normal hours they pay generously, I have never kept track and they have never once been late without notice. They have occasionally asked me if I could stay late but always with plenty of notice that I felt unpressured to say yes. 3: I enjoy working for my family because they keep the house clean, MB and DB are more friend than employer, we chat, they ask me how my day was and I ask them about theirs. It's friendly and cordial and low key. 4: For petty cash they gave me cash, I keep it in an envelope at home and I just pencil in my expenses on it just incase they ever ask, but so far they have simply given more cash when I asked for it. I keep in in cash, although I have considered just depositing it all into my account and just using debit, but it feels too wrong to deposit petty cash into my account lol. |
Anonymous
I assume you mean me - the PP who has the nanny pay for things and I reimburse her. First, it was the nanny's idea and, second, I am fairly sure the nanny has a lot more money that we do. |
Anonymous
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Nanny here.
1. What is the best way to keep the lines of communication open? Does a weekly sit down help? I would never wait a week, I would forget half of what I wanted to bring up. Because I live-in, I have the option of leaving a note on the parent's dresser, sending an email or text during the day, getting up 5-15 minutes early for a quick chat before they run out the door or asking them if we can talk after all the kids are asleep. It all depends on the situation as to what works best. 2. How do you keep track of hours? Does your nanny record them and report them to you or is that an employer responsibility? I don't take overtime pay, I absolutely refuse, so we don't keep track of hours. If I offer to watch the child on Sunday because he hates bowling and the other one has a birthday party to attend at the bowling alley, that's my prerogative. If I choose to do personal errands during the school day and finish the household things after dinner, again, that's my prerogative. I'm not micromanaged; as long as the children are clean, well-mannered and educated, food is ready for meals and the house is kept up, how I manage my time is up to me. It's part of the perks of being a live-in, not having to have a set schedule. 3. What are ways to create the best work environment? Are there any little perks that make a work environment particularly appealing? An employer that recognizes that the nanny has to be comfortable in the house, whether live-in or live-out, makes sure that boundaries are clear. If rooms are off-limits to nanny or children, it's stated. I had employers whose suite was off-limits to children and I, I've had an employer who needed kids kept out of her office and I've had an employer that wanted kids and I to stay out of the attic and basement (safety issues). Expectations for how the house will look in the morning and evening are crucial. If she start work and the house is trashed, that's not good, but if the house is trashed at least one evening a week, that's not good either. 4. How do you handle petty cash? Do you just stick an envelope in a drawer somewhere and periodically refresh it? I'm willing to handle money one of three ways. Either there is an envelope with a weekly/monthly amount and receipts go n the envelope or I use my debit card and submit receipts each week for reimbursement. I haven't used a prepaid card before, but that could work too. I will not use a card linked to my employers' account, whether it's a debit card or credit doesn't matter to me. |
Anonymous
As for the spending money, I think it is a great idea what you suggested. Just keep a little bit of pin money around the house and when spent, you can always refresh it. I wish you lots of luck w/the new nanny! You sound like an awesome employer OP! 
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Anonymous
This sounds like a perfect situation and a really professional nanny and MB/DB. |
Anonymous
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Employer here....and I think our nanny is very happy....
1) we have a daily log that sits on the table - she leaves us notes because we don't have a lot of time to chat. If there's something I don't want to forget, I email her. 2) Our nanny has guaranteed hours 3) We have housekeepers come once a week and regularly clean up (we have a dog AND host a share, so I just need it to be cleaned professionally for everyone's piece of mind. Not an expense I love, but worth it). We have a double sink, so dishes we don't have time to tend to, we put to one side so she has an uncluttered space. We ALWAYS have food for her and we allow her to keep whatever she needs in our home. If you have the space, dedicate a drawer or a shelf for her to keep items there (a sun hat, her own sunblock, whatever else she needs - mine keeps her tea and other items, for example). 4) I give my nanny money, and she lets me know when it's out. I trust her, and it goes a long way in a city full of so many great free activities. I'll also add that we 1) give a bonus 2) give her little perks like movie tickets or a gift card for a mani pedi because I know she has a difficult job. We also try to be as flexible as possible with leave so she has time to recharge. She's so great with my son and the other little boy, I would do anything to make sure she's happy and knows she's appreciated (even at the expense of my own self care!) Good luck! |
Anonymous
+1 |
Anonymous
| OP, How's it all going? What's working? What's not working out so well? |