Things you should know before hiring a Nanny.

Children can be the most rewarding thing in a person's life but as any parent is likely to tell you they are also the most demanding.

The role of the Nanny holds a rich history of service and support to busy parents and their children.

In this blog, we hope to describe some key steps you should take before hiring a Nanny. If you are using a reputable agency like Discretion Staffing to find the right Nanny for your family you will find many of the steps below will be taken care of for you.

The first piece of advice we would offer as a premiere recruitment agency for Nannies is that a good Nanny is more than a list of qualifications.

Whatever Nanny suits your needs, be it a 'live-in Nanny', 'live-out Nanny' or a 'rota Nanny', you should always ensure they are qualified and experienced. In addition, they need to be a great addition to the family. After all, if your children don't like your choice you may find yourself in an unhappy situation and looking to hire a Nanny again.

Choosing a Nanny is a huge responsibility. With Discretion Staffing on your side, you can be assured that when you hire a Nanny we understand how important caring and raising your children is. An excellent Nanny will see their role as their vocation, not a job.

Finding the right Nanny means finding someone who will practically become a part of your family. After all, they will be invited into your home, look after your children and are likely to be entrusted with valuables.

When you hire a Nanny you are hiring a person you need to be able to trust.

As with all relationships, trust often comes from transparency between individuals working in an environment of honesty even when conversations may be difficult. This is another reason why picking the right person is so important to making the relationship between your family and the Nanny work.

So, how do you sort the excellent from the average? What can you do to hire the right Nanny for your family? 

It can be difficult to make the right decision but Discretion Staffing is here to help you hire a Nanny who has the skills, experience, temperament and character to become a valued addition to your family.

Here are our tips to help you make the right choice.

Be clear about the responsibilities of the role.

Knowing what you want when you start your search to hire a Nanny is important. It would help to write out a job description for the Nanny before you begin the search for the right Nanny for you. This way you are more likely to share the same expectations of performance and boundaries with the person you hire.

Personality is often far harder to measure. At Discretion Staffing, when we introduce a Nanny to a family we conduct interviews have chemistry meetings and (at our client's discretion) have collated the results of personality questionnaires to give some insight into the Nanny's personality type.

Here are some things to consider when writing your job description for a Nanny.

• Outline the duties you expect the Nanny to perform.

• What work type is best for you, Live-in Nanny, Live-out Nanny, or Rota Nanny?

• Think about the Nanny's working hours, what hours would suit you and the family?

• How much will you pay the Nanny?

• What breaks and holidays will you offer?

• Are there any other benefits you can offer as the family hiring a Nanny?

• What sort of personality are you looking for in your Nanny?

• How can you describe the boundaries the Nanny should have?

Know the market rate for the Nanny you want to hire.

The team at Discretion Staffing are experts at finding Nannies for families around the world. With our international reach and deep market knowledge, we are well-placed to understand how much it will cost to hire a Nanny that suits your needs.

We will review the reward package you are prepared to offer against the industry average for the experience and skills you require.

Like all services, a Nanny that suits you will come at a price that's dependent on the Nanny's skills and scarcity. This is where you can depend on Discretion Staffing. We will do everything we can to provide someone at the budget you set. We will always be honest and advise if your offer is below market average or above it.

Don't try to squeeze extra value from your Nanny. A Nanny is a childcare professional. A Nanny who has been introduced by Discretion Staffing is often a highly qualified individual with years of experience. Most won't mind picking up duties outside of their agreed role as long as the requests are rare and they have time but are less likely to be happy if ad hoc extra duties become the norm especially if they don't relate to childcare.

If you find yourself in need of household staff then visit our services page and view the extensive range of support Discretion Staffing can offer.

What qualifications does a Nanny need?

Experience matters and excellent verified references are critical to making the right choice when hiring a Nanny. It is of equal importance that the Nanny you hire has qualifications relevant to your situation.

Discretion Staffing are expert in finding you a qualified Nanny who will meet your needs.

It is important to note that at the time of writing this Blog, there is no official Nanny qualification in the UK. However, depending on the situation you have there are some you should require.

NLS and PILS. These certificates are issued to people who have passed life support courses.

NLS is specific to Newborn Life Support and would be a recommendation from us to any client seeking to hire a Maternity Nurse. NLS provides instruction on how to conduct life support techniques for newborn babies. As a basic requisite, we ask all Maternity Nurses seeking Maternity Nurse jobs through us to hold an up-to-date NLS certificate.

PILS relates to Paediatric Immediate Life Support. We would encourage any client seeking to hire a Nanny to specifically hire a Nanny who has passed a PLS course. The majority of the Nannies we represent are PILS-qualified.

If the family has challenges such as Learning Disabilities you will want to ensure that when you are choosing a Nanny, they hold qualifications that enable them to care for your family thoughtfully, and with current best practice at the the heart of their practice.

More basic considerations we would look for when hiring a Nanny on your behalf would be a recognised qualification in child care, childhood studies or early years care and education.

When we screen people for our clients, our team check thoroughly that any professional we place with you has relevant qualifications and certificates in place. In addition, any applicant we introduce to our clients must pass stringent security checks.

Your hiring team includes your children.

Once the ink has dried on the agreement your child or children will be spending the most time with your Nanny.

If this is your first time hiring a Nanny then you should take time to overcome any concerns the family may have.

It could be a big change for them even if they have had a Nanny before. The best Nannies often become a much-loved part of a child's life and bringing in a new Nanny might be a turbulent time emotionally for your family.

We always recommend that when you are close to offering the role you consider arranging a chemistry meeting between the Nanny and your family. Some of our clients have even invited the Nanny for a day of activities. Discretion Staffing can arrange all of this for you.

Involving the family in such an important choice is wise. Involvement often equals commitment, making it more probable that the family warms towards the new Nanny.

Next steps.

We hope this blog on what to consider when choosing a Nanny has helped to point you in the right direction.

Let Discretion Staffing support you in making the right decision when choosing a Nanny for your family.

Contact us today, our dedicated team are ready to answer your questions.