What is the difference between using an Online Sitter Search Service and using a Professional Full-Service Nanny Agency?
In general, online Sitter Search Services are a 'venue for communication', not a referral agency. These websites are similar to the classifieds section of your local paper - but with more features and options. That means they have no control over the communications between parents and sitters. As a parent or care provider using any of these online services you take full responsibility for how you communicate and with whom.
Online Sitter-Search Services cannot provide assistance to you in your search for an appropriate care-provider or job. They are DIY (do-it-yourself) sites. A full service referral agecncy, on the other hand, for a significantly higher cost, may offer a high level of personal assistance to you in screening, background checking and selecting an appropriate match. Parents who make use of the online systems prefer to do all of their own interviewing and screening and assume all of the responsbility for performing background checks of their care provider candidates.
Online Sitter-Search systems are designed to help parents find sitters, nannies and other care providers - primarily students, most often between the ages of 18 and 30 years of age - who are already located locally to the family.
A Professional Nanny Agency works to place professional care providers. A professional or 'career' nanny is someone who is at least 18 years old, with years of prior experience, who has chosen to work in the field of in-home child care as their profession. They may be recruited from around the courner - or from across the nation. In the case of Au Pair agencies, the child care provider will be a foreign national student visitng the US as part of our cultural exchange program.
As a "do-it-yourself" environment, the online Sitter Search systems provide parents the ability to quickly locate and contact local sitters who have registered through the website. While often a great value for parents, these websites are not necessarily a substitute for the services of a Professional Nanny Referral Agency.
Nanny Agencies specialize in the placement of permanent or long-term child care providers. Professional Nanny Agencies do all of the hard work for you and can save you an enormous amount of time (and energy) by providing you with qualified candidates from whom you may choose a care provider that is right for your family.
If your needs call for the hiring of a permanent or long-term care provider, we encourage you to seek out the services of a reputable Professional Nanny Agency in your area. We cannot recommend or endorse the use of any Agency or "nanny website" that claims to work "nationally". More often than not these enterprises do little more than pull names of care providers from other databases. A Professional Nanny Agency conducts all screening interviews IN PERSON and documents the candidate's interviews and references, making them available for your review.
Visit the International Nanny Association (nanny.org) to locate a Professional Nanny Agency near you should your needs call for that type of personal service.
Nanny Agency fees vary widely, but most charge in the range of $800 to $1500 for a part-time permanent placement and $1200 to $2500 for a full-time placement.
A reputable agency will provide fully profiled and background checked candidates who are experienced and have been pre-screened to meet your specific needs. A thorough investigation of a candidates background and references can often be worth several hundred dollars alone. A good agency will not charge you any application fees until they have candidates that meet your requirements that you wish to interview... and they will not charge any placement fees until a candidate has accepted your job offer. A good agency will also stand behind their work with a replacement guarantee ranging anywhere from 60 days to a year.
Site Reviews:
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babysitter-jobs.com
Example web sites:
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SitterCafe.com
sittercity.com
enannysource.com
4inhomecare.com
Agency Directories/Associations:
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International Nanny Asasociation - nanny.org nanny.org
Alliance of Professional Nanny Agencies - TheAPNA.org TheAPNA.org
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Michael Gerard has more than 25 years sales and marketing experience in the consumer products industry. He is a past board member of The Alliance of Professinal Nanny Agencies (APNA) and currently serves as Education Committee Chairperson of the International Nanny Association (INA). Mr. Gerard is the Executive Director of both The Sitter Cafe LLC and Childcare Solutions. Write to him at michael at 4inhomecare dot com.
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