Anonymous wrote:We're growing frustrated with our current daycare and considering getting a nanny next September. We would have our 3yr old in preschool three half days a week and our 1.5yr old home with the nanny about 40hrs/wk.

I'm considering using an agency over finding a nanny on our own. Can anyone share their experiences?

Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:Most of the area agencies in DC do not do background checks before an offer is made or imminent. They scramble around on care and Craigslist, Facebook nanny groups, mom groups and neighborhood list serves. They go to college campus job fairs to recruit and post on college bulletin boards. That is where they get their applicant pool from when families are looking for a placement.

It's a joke and scam. Nothing you couldn't do on your own with a modicum of effort. Ask around to your neighbors for referrals. Hands down, the best way. Then, perform your own due-dilligence. It's worth the effort!

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My experience with agencies was that the fee was pretty nominal unless you chose to hire one of their nannies. I would look at both and hire the best nanny available.

Their fees are astronomical.

No they aren't. For example, White House nannies charges a $300 fee to register with them and interview their prescreened nannies. They only charge a placement fee of thousands of dollars AFTER you hire from their pool of nannies. If you find someone you like better on your neighborhood list serve, then you are only out the $300, and you get a chance to see what the agency has to offer.
Not that $300 is nothing, but it isn't astronomical.

No, $300 isn't astronomical. But 5k-10k in hiring fees may seem astonomical to many. Most agencies charge a percentage of first year's salary as their hiring fee. So that is many thousands of dollars, and not small change - especially as a one time cost.

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Anonymous wrote:Just an FYI-

Many agencies do not do a background check on their nannies these days until AFTER they receive a job offer. They don't like to spend the money on them unless they are getting something in return. Obviously most of them come back fine, but that's the current business model that I've seen most agencies use these days.

This is standard practice in all fields, including teaching and healthcare. Why would nannies be any different?

One of the biggest sale'so pitch of agencies is that they have the best well referenced, CPR and top background checks of all the candidates they represent. Employers seeing that from agencies assume agencies will not waste their time sending candidates they have not done a background check on. Regardless if it is standard practice in other forms of employment agencies are sending the message that their all their candidates have a background check before working with them. If agencies are sending a mixed message why would anyone employer pay the crazy fee and go online. And usually most employers will check references themselves and do their own background check even if the agency says they do it, for their own piece of mind.

So the question is what are agencies doing for their outrageous fees?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just an FYI-

Many agencies do not do a background check on their nannies these days until AFTER they receive a job offer. They don't like to spend the money on them unless they are getting something in return. Obviously most of them come back fine, but that's the current business model that I've seen most agencies use these days.

This is standard practice in all fields, including teaching and healthcare. Why would nannies be any different?

Anonymous wrote:Just an FYI-

Many agencies do not do a background check on their nannies these days until AFTER they receive a job offer. They don't like to spend the money on them unless they are getting something in return. Obviously most of them come back fine, but that's the current business model that I've seen most agencies use these days.

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Anonymous wrote:We tried doing it on our own first, but then ended up using an agency, which worked out great.

We were in a rush to get nanny hired. (Mother-in-law living with us until we did so). So the fact that the agency had already done the background checks and the candidates we interviewed were ready to hire was a big benefit for us.

I think care.com would have netted a positive outcome if we'd had more time. We posted a job, and got about 100 applicants. Of those, I would say about 8-10 of them had previous experience as a full time nanny. We scheduled 3 interviews. We like 2 of them, but before we had a chance to even start checking references and running background checks, 1 of them took another job, and another dropped out of the running since we couldn't guarantee we'd need her for more than 1 year.

After that, we went with Metro Parent Relief. They've been great so far. A nice thing about them is that if you hire someone as a "temporary" nanny rather than permanent, you do not pay a large (15%) one-time fee, but rather you pay $35 per shift.

For us, the fees did seem astronomical at first. Until we tried to do it on our own, at which point we really saw the benefit.

The nanny we found via this agency is amazing so far. A perfect match for our babe. They're getting along famously after just a few days together.

Over the top sales pitch. You work for them.

Anonymous wrote:We tried doing it on our own first, but then ended up using an agency, which worked out great.

We were in a rush to get nanny hired. (Mother-in-law living with us until we did so). So the fact that the agency had already done the background checks and the candidates we interviewed were ready to hire was a big benefit for us.

I think care.com would have netted a positive outcome if we'd had more time. We posted a job, and got about 100 applicants. Of those, I would say about 8-10 of them had previous experience as a full time nanny. We scheduled 3 interviews. We like 2 of them, but before we had a chance to even start checking references and running background checks, 1 of them took another job, and another dropped out of the running since we couldn't guarantee we'd need her for more than 1 year.

After that, we went with Metro Parent Relief. They've been great so far. A nice thing about them is that if you hire someone as a "temporary" nanny rather than permanent, you do not pay a large (15%) one-time fee, but rather you pay $35 per shift.

For us, the fees did seem astronomical at first. Until we tried to do it on our own, at which point we really saw the benefit.

The nanny we found via this agency is amazing so far. A perfect match for our babe. They're getting along famously after just a few days together.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My experience with agencies was that the fee was pretty nominal unless you chose to hire one of their nannies. I would look at both and hire the best nanny available.

Their fees are astronomical.

No they aren't. For example, White House nannies charges a $300 fee to register with them and interview their prescreened nannies. They only charge a placement fee of thousands of dollars AFTER you hire from their pool of nannies. If you find someone you like better on your neighborhood list serve, then you are only out the $300, and you get a chance to see what the agency has to offer.
Not that $300 is nothing, but it isn't astronomical.

Depends. How long do they allow you to try her out? And then what?

I think it depends on the agency. But I also think you are kind of an odd person if you are trying out different nannies for several weeks at a time. Most people interview several nannies, extend offers for a few hours for a trial to maybe two or three, and hire someone from there. Now, you do need to keep in mind that if you hire someone from an agency, there will likely be a very large placement fee. But if you can't afford the agency fees, then the whole thread is moot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My experience with agencies was that the fee was pretty nominal unless you chose to hire one of their nannies. I would look at both and hire the best nanny available.

Their fees are astronomical.

No they aren't. For example, White House nannies charges a $300 fee to register with them and interview their prescreened nannies. They only charge a placement fee of thousands of dollars AFTER you hire from their pool of nannies. If you find someone you like better on your neighborhood list serve, then you are only out the $300, and you get a chance to see what the agency has to offer.
Not that $300 is nothing, but it isn't astronomical.

Depends. How long do they allow you to try her out? And then what?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My experience with agencies was that the fee was pretty nominal unless you chose to hire one of their nannies. I would look at both and hire the best nanny available.

Their fees are astronomical.

No they aren't. For example, White House nannies charges a $300 fee to register with them and interview their prescreened nannies. They only charge a placement fee of thousands of dollars AFTER you hire from their pool of nannies. If you find someone you like better on your neighborhood list serve, then you are only out the $300, and you get a chance to see what the agency has to offer.
Not that $300 is nothing, but it isn't astronomical.