What do you think about nanny agencies?

[hannamaren]

I went to a nanny seminar this morning hosted at a local Mommy coffee shop. It ended up being more of a commercial for a specific agency, but I did learn some things.

I was planning on looking for a nanny on my own, I never considered an agency

They narrow down choices, save you posting on Craigslist, etc. Then you do the interviews from their small pool and choose one. You pay them 10% of the first year salary. Also, their nannies start at $15/hr. Most nannies I have heard about work for min wage(10.85) plus EI and Canada Pension. So for $3000, you get a smaller pool of potential candidates. If you want help with payroll, that is an extra $500.

I think I wil l try on my own. At least I know if I am stuck, they are out there to help. For a huge price.

[dcrunnergirl]

That sounds about right.

In 2010, I contacted White House nannies to find out about the process. They charged a $300 registration fee. Then, the placement fee was 15% of the nanny's first year salary (so you paid this to WH nannies on top of what you were paying the nanny). They said that the per hour rates for their nannies ranged from $16-20/hr, so the placement fee added another $4-6K.

[egishere]

I looked into it too and they were way more than I wanted to spend. I think of them for very busy and very rich people! We have done find finding ours through care.com

[ijack]

That's how I found all my positions as a nanny - it makes it very easy for both the nanny and the family, it's just expensive.

[fryjack2]

I just filled out paperwork for one yesterday. Its pricey, but I haven't had luck via other sources. We only need part time and will pay over the table. I like that the company does the background checks and pay roll etc. for us.

We have a couple more candidates to interview, but if neither of them work out, I'm hoping the agency will be able to find someone for us.

[kimibrighteyes]

We went through an agency to get our overseas nanny (both times). It cost $750 as a one time fee, but was well worth it. They do all the paperwork for you, including the labor market opinion etc.

For payroll, so easy to do yourself in Canada. I wouldn't pay someone to do it. I can go into more details at some time if you need it.

[hannamaren]

Tx kimi. If we get stuck, my bff has a nanny and promised to help. She even found us our first candidate

[fortmyersbride]

I had bad experiences with 2 separate nanny agencies. One in NY and one in GA. I felt they did a worse job matching us up with good candidates for our family than I could do with a bit more time on care.com. They also seemed to push us to just compromise on one of their candidates after we met 2 or 3. The rep for the agency in Atlanta waxed on an on about how great a certain nanny was, turns out she'd never even met the woman. Our interview with said nanny ended abruptly when she asked to hold the baby, baby started crying, and nanny started shaking her and yelling at her in front of us. We lost all faith in their screening abilities after that.