Know this before hiring a Nanny!

Parents need to know this before hiring a nanny

Hiring A Nanny – Negotiating pay. At Lullaby Staffing we believe that you should talk to your spouse about what can you afford? What is the least you want to pay (keep in mind these people are taking care of your children!), and what is the most you can afford? When walking into negotiations do not start with your top number. Negotiate from a lower number but do not insult them. Keep in mind, that these people should be treated as you would want to be treated by an employer. They deserve respect and they deserve fair pay. Nickel and dimming is NOT THE WAY YOU WANT TO GO HERE. Also, before you offer know whether you are offering straight take home or whether you are offering to pay taxes for your nanny. Talk to your tax attorney honestly and get advice. Next point — do your research. Talk to other families in your neighborhood. Talk to other nannies. Keep in mind that NANNIES TALK TO EACH OTHER. So if you are low-balling your nanny in salary they will find out. You cannot do too much research on salary. Everything you learn will serve to make you a better educated employer. Negotiating Duties Like the salary negotiations, it’s important to know what you want from your nanny before you start to negotiate your duties. How important is a clean house to you? Is it important to you that the nanny do dishes? Cook? Drive? Do laundry? Just your kids’ laundry or laundry for the family? Try to keep in mind when making these decisions that each of these duties take time. How much time do you want the nanny to spend on housework vs. kids alone? Is your house a non smoking house? Is that a deal breaker for you? Think about what you want from a nanny — figure out the base hours and stick to it. Put it in writing. When things get tense between you and your nanny, it’s nice to know that you defined the nanny’s duties in writing so you have something to refer back to. Caught your nanny having a drink on the job? If it’s number three on the list then you know you have it in writing and it becomes fireable. Nanny tells you that she is sorry she is late for the 20th time? It’s in writing, punctuality is key. Keep in mind though, you need to have respect for the nanny when making out the duties. If the nanny is working from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, make sure not to be late too often. That’s a long day for someone — and coming home on time is an important sign of respect. Firing Your Nanny — Letting Go Of Your Nanny For Natural Causes Letting go of someone is never easy and it’s always slightly uncomfortable. But if you find yourself in a position to let someone go for natural reasons such as work transfer, kids are too old or are starting full-time school, you could find yourself in the position of firing your nanny. There are no personal reasons here, just a necessary decision. In cases such as these, be courteous. This person is a member of the family so give them what they would want to feel better. Perhaps offer some severance (again know your number ahead of time), give proper notice. Offer to call other families with a recommendation. Think of how you would like to be let go from a job like this and make sure the nanny has a way to explain to the kids what is happening and to say goodbye.