https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 05 Apr 2026 01:01:03 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2104678 Wed, 11 Mar 2015 21:32:59 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2104678@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PrincessBaby: yeah in your situation I defintely think an agency would be something I'd do, if it's financially feasible (and it sounds like it is!) They can help with splitting a nannys schedule so even if she wants more hours they might come from another family. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2104647 Wed, 11 Mar 2015 21:02:52 +0000 MenagerieMama 2104647@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PrincessBaby: PM'd the info to you. Our fee included finding up to two permanent placements if the first one ended up not working out so that was nice! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2104636 Wed, 11 Mar 2015 20:58:34 +0000 PrincessBaby 2104636@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MenagerieMama: I would greatly appreciate you sharing the name of your agency! I really need to spend the next couple of weeks comparing services/rates. Or really placement fees. It is SO STEEP for a FT nanny, but we only want FT half the time, and super PT for the other half, and I wish we could negotiate that placement fee bc we are in the middle. I need to definitely feel out a few more agencies. Thank you so much for your help and for taking the time to send me that info!</p> <p>@raintreebee: Ugh! Paying that fee again would be a nightmare! I wonder what happens if the nanny leaves/quits and it's not the family's fault - I wonder if the family is responsible for another placement fee. I need to read into that. That's actually what I'm scared of...Biting the bullet for their help finding someone to fit our needs, and then something going wrong and it being all for nothing and me kicking myself bc I end up on a care.com anyway bc I don't want to pay their crazy fee again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2103928 Wed, 11 Mar 2015 12:52:12 +0000 raintreebee 2103928@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MenagerieMama: I would love to have the name of your agency too!</p> <p>We went through a fancy service because we also had unusual needs. Unfortunately, our nanny hasn't worked out too well so we are in the process of trying again. It's been 9 months since we hired her, and the agency won't reduce their very steep fee for replacement so we are also thinking about conducting the search ourselves. I think that basically the same pool of candidates is on care and sittercity, but the agency screens everyone which is very helpful. And they can also make sure the candidate is on board with your requirements. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2103159 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 21:21:58 +0000 MenagerieMama 2103159@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PrincessBaby: Glad it was helpful! It was also nice to have a third party to handle firing and rehiring and such so I didn't have to handle that messy business (although to be fair we also got fired a few times from people who couldn't handle LO's separation anxiety). They're a national franchise with local businesses, I can PM you the name if you want, though I suppose it may be inconsistent from city to city. The upfront fees weren't outrageous and we literally have no family/friends in the state so having that backup available was a life saver. They came out to my house (great when I had a newborn) to tell me about the company and go through paperwork, and they have been super responsive via phone/email to deal with issues and coordinate things. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2103017 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 19:45:50 +0000 Mrs. Yoyo 2103017@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gotkimchi: Just wanted to say we had a great experience with Care.com -- found three strong candidates and have had an awesome PT nanny since October. We live in a college town so we probably have a better pool than some places, but it's not hopeless. You will have to weed out some people who don't bother to read what you post and all that, but I expected that. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2103009 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 19:35:14 +0000 spaniellove 2103009@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MamaBehr: I think the people not responding has gotten worse over the last several months. Don't know if it's because they started their community where caregivers can gripe about moms. But I also dreaded posting a position because no one would ever read it and the responses would be generic and have nothing to do with what I was asking for. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2103003 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 19:33:00 +0000 spaniellove 2103003@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gotkimchi: Don't know if my gripes are the same as others', but...I tried it for different services. Some people were no-shows for interviews or just unprofessional, one person we hired I'm not quite sure was who she claimed to be. The site also autorenewed and billed for an entire year at a rate they shouldn't have. </p> <p>Unrelated to us but there was an incident where they got sued when a family hired a nanny and paid for the site to do a background check but they didn't disclose that she had a DUI history, and the nanny got drunk and killed their baby. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2103000 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 19:29:34 +0000 MamaBehr 2103000@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@gotkimchi: maybe it is because I only needed help twice a week for a short period of time (though for a whole semester) and wasn't willing to pay a premium for someone to come to my house to watch my kids during nap (where I put them down before I left) but I had people not respond to me, not show up to interview, and one chick (who I hired to do the job) just stopped responding to my text messages! It was horrible. The person who I found to watch my kids was from care.com, but it took forever and she was hired after the semester started! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102999 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 19:28:13 +0000 soyjoy222 2102999@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@PrincessBaby: I can't offer anything in the way of help, except I wanted to say that DH and I literally just had the conversation about whether or not to use an agency. So glad you posted this! Can you update if you end up using an agency with your experience? I would love to know how it goes! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102973 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 18:59:42 +0000 gotkimchi 2102973@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@spaniellove: @MamaBehr: how come? I need help and was going to use care.com but I guess I didn't know how else to find someone </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102952 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 18:36:22 +0000 spaniellove 2102952@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Like @MamaBehr: I also grew to hate care.com. So much that DH has been looking into nanny agencies. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102902 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 17:20:33 +0000 Madison43 2102902@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't use an agency because in my area the local moms list serv is so active I was able to find a rock star nanny in a short amount of time. Had I not had that option, I would have totally used an agency. I guess my only suggestion would be to vet prospective agencies the same way you would a nanny candidate? I know I was solicited my a few agencies when I first placed my ad and while some seemed legit, others seemed a bit mail order bride :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102898 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 17:11:58 +0000 MamaBehr 2102898@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I hated using care.com. If we ever needed childcare like that again, I would totally use a nanny agency. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102895 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 17:08:29 +0000 Cole 2102895@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I worked through two different high end agencies and it was a great experience. With one placement we had a few minor bumps in the beginning and the agency really helped us figure out a way to make the situation work out. It was also really nice too have some help with the negotiations. </p> <p>For the families I worked for I would say they both found it extremely helpful to find someone. They both had unique needs and it was helpful for someone to sift through people to find someone who completely understood and was on board. It was in the agency's best interest to find someone in it for the long haul as opposed to someone who decides to "see how it goes" since they offered a guarantee on their placements.</p> <p>I do suspect part of the benefit of an agency was that they were offering a live in position so they could relocate someone pretty easily. Offering a place to live greatly increased the pool of candidates.</p> <p>If you have any other questions feel free to let me know. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102861 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 16:23:13 +0000 PrincessBaby 2102861@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MenagerieMama: THANK YOU! That is so so helpful!!!! I really appreciate you sharing! There is a pretty steep "agency fee" to get the process going so I am happy to see it was worth any extra costs you incurred! And good to know that they find you a fill- in as you cycle through prospective nannies. I hired a nanny for LO1 on care.com who totally did not work out, and I didn't find another one bc it's so much work and just left me with a bad taste in my mouth for hiring Randos off the internet. The fact that they take care of that is nice to know! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102859 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 16:18:03 +0000 PrincessBaby 2102859@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@loveisstrange: @2littlepumpkins: Good info! Thank you! I am just not sure that care.com or similar can handle our needs. It's good to hear that the agencies you worked with had high standards and were up for anything. My husband works away 3 weeks at a time, &amp; I work FT outside the home. We need a permanent FT nanny for LO2 on the 3 weeks that he's away, and just 1 or 2 days on the weeks when he's home (he obviously wants to take over when he's home), and meanwhile LO1 will be in a preschool program all day for 3 days a week, and home with the nanny and LO2 on the other 2 days. So we have a tall order and I feel like it would be too overwhelming to find someone who is okay with all of that on my own. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102854 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 16:16:15 +0000 MenagerieMama 2102854@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes. Not a "high end" agency I suppose but it's been worth it. I have really crazy and irregular hours and they were able to find someone that can work with that. We also have access to 24/7 backup care from a pool of nannies if ours isn't available which was great when she was out sick for a week. Also when we first started we had a really hard time getting a good fit, partially because we didn't know what was going to be important in a nanny for LO or what we needed. And with the agency we at least always had access to someone when we were cycling through people. Plus we just pay an hourly rate, if we don't need her we don't pay, she can pick up hours through their on call system so we don't need to feel guilty about losing her hours if we're out of town or something. And they do all the taxes and whatnot. Plus we can use our DCA to pay. Also everyone was background checked extensively and had standardized training - also with college degrees or in process. So worth the headaches saved for us for sure. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102800 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 15:28:49 +0000 loveisstrange 2102800@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>No, but I worked for a high-end agency in college. We were all college educated (or in progress), we had a health test, we were first aid and CPR (infant and child) certified, we had full background checks done, and we went through a pretty extensive interview process (first by the agency, and then by the family). In some situations, we even signed non-disclosure agreements. They offered pretty much any situation you could think of in terms of childcare. I guess it's more of a situation where you go in knowing what you're getting? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102792 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 15:20:25 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2102792@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Yes, well sort of. MIL paid for us to have a nanny through an agency 3x/week when I was in the midst of really bad PPD with my daughter. It definitely gave us more peace of mind. I am pretty weary of care.com. It wouldn't be something we could afford on our own, generally, but MIL said it was worth it to her as well. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/anyone-ever-use-a-nanny-agency#post-2102655 Tue, 10 Mar 2015 14:10:39 +0000 PrincessBaby 2102655@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have a unique childcare situation and I think it may be too complicated for us to seek someone out using a care.com or sittercity. I spoke with a nanny placement agency today, and it sounded like our complicated situation would be no big deal to them, and it would be no problem for them to permanently place someone with us to fit our needs.</p> <p>Have you ever used a Nanny Placement agency? Was it worth the placement fee/extra fees in order to have them find candidates for you? </p>