Three years ago this month, NannyMall, llc, came into existence. It was in motion several months before that, however I was with another agency and truthfully, I really liked my position there, so I took my time in preparing this agency, there wasn't a hurried sense about it.
I think that's what made a difference, the slow process. Getting everything lined up and being involved in every area/decision.
I took what I knew from being a previous business owner and culminated it with the "love" I had seeing Families & Nannies matched, thus making sure NannyMall was everything and more that both groups would appreciate. So far so good.
Yes, there has been a few potholes along the way, but nothing that has caused this agency "to pull over to change the tire." I think every business has it's moments where it could have done something different, made a better decision, but instead of letting those moments stimy us, we choose to learn and grow from them, knowing that we can serve the next Family even better!
So I guess this really is a thank you letter. Thank you to all the Nannies, the Families, the learning times, and all the NEW FAMILIES & NANNIES coming in!
When searching for a Nanny Placement Agency, what do you look for?
What is most important to you?
Is it cost?
Is it the customer service?
Is it the level of involvement of the Owner?
Does it matter how many office workers they employ?
What about years in business?
The services they provide?
The Nannies they offer up for your childcare needs?
Is it all of the above and then some?
Yep! All of the above because after all, the agency you choose to work with is going to be involved with your family for a good time to come!
NannyMall is a small, dedicated Nanny Placement Agency that works a bit differently than the other traditional agencies. Now we can't say that we know everything about other agencies because we don't work there nor do we keep up with their practices.
But we do know this about our agency:
The cost of our services are substantially lower than other traditional agencies w/o lowering our standard of service!
Our Customer Service is 2nd to none. We are quick to respond, helpful & sincere.
Our Owner is involved with everything. Hiring, screening, scheduling, CS, etc...
Our office has 1 to 3 workers depending on the day and are still able to fit everyone's needs into their schedule.
Our agency has been in operation for 2.75 years, well over the "business hump."
We may not provide every desired service but we do offer On-call, FT Placement, Vacation coverage, Hotel and Overnights. (for Emergency Placement, go here: NannyNurseNetwork)
Of course every agency feels like they have the best Nannies, but we really do! The reason for this is because our Nannies KNOW beyond any doubt that they are respected and honored for their experience and childcare service. What we sow as an agency towards them, is what we (and the families) reap in return!
We hope you are one of our next clients and we TRULY look forward to serving you!
As a reminder, we provide Nannies in St. Louis & St. Charles Counties!
Recently our office has been going through a pretty big transition.
We have gone from offering all Nanny services to mainly offering On-call services. That's not to say we won't do the occasional permanent placement, but not without some certain guidelines. Please see site for more info regarding permanent placements.
We are all pretty excited about going to mainly On-call! Our Nannies are preparing their schedules and turning them in to the office, our current Families are putting in their requests for their favorite Nannies before they are booked up and the office is welcoming new Families in each week.
Families are finding that our agency is so affordable and easy to work with that they question why it took so long to Register with us! They LOVE our Nannies and our Nannies love the awesome Families!
Right now we are running a Special, please check our On-Call Page for more information. Our On-call placements include: week days, week nights, weekends & overnights. We can send Nanny to your house, hotel, reception hall, place of business, Church or Temple!
We are SO excited about our new changes! Our ultimate goal is to have every Nanny (about 50 and counting) working every week 30-40 hours, with our current and new families but each day will be with a different family! How fun!
The BabyKid Expo was a great success! There were nearly 3000 people who attended and the best part was, there were approx. 280 that received info about our services! Thanks to all of you that came by and registered and took time to talk with us about our services, we look forward to working with you! We also met some really great potential Nannies! :-)
We're hopeful you check this blog often because there will be some great savings posted from time to time! And/or find us on Facebook @ NannyMall St Louis
The really big news is: Paula S. entered and won the Family Membership to the St. Louis ZOO and she won a 40$ gift certificate she can use towards our services! Yay Paula!
NannyMall Nannies really helped pull this off and we're so appreciative!
Why should families use a Nanny Agency? Doesn't it cost too much? What is the Agency's role? How do families benefit when using an Agency? Why can't families just use an inexpensive online Nanny locator?
Why should families use a Nanny Agency? The use of an Agency cuts down your time spent looking for childcare. A dedicated Agency will take the time to learn your needs, spend time going over your family application, making sure nothing is overlooked or forgotten.
Agencies should and will match criteria between both the family app and the Nanny app, cutting out the Nannies families wouldn't even consider. Agencies contact Nanny's references, eliminating "phone tag" for the families.
Doesn't it cost too much? Some Agencies charge Registration and then a flat Agency Placement Fee onlyafter Nanny is hired. NannyMall's Fees can be found on the website. (NannyMall charges a flat fee)
Though most Agencies charge a Registration Fee and a percentage of the Nanny's Annual Gross once placement is confirmed. For example: Nanny's Annual Gross Pay is $28,000. That's a placement fee of $2800. (plus Registration)
The fees we are discussing are for permanent placement; the fees for On-call Nannies are relatively inexpensive! They can range from $12 to $25 per on-call placement.
What is the Agency's role? Agencies are to provide excellent services to families in need of experienced childcare. They are there to walk you through the process of hiring the very best Nanny for your family. The family has unbiased people, aka the agency, to discuss each Nanny's portfolio should the decision become difficult. i.e. we're your sounding board! :-)
How do families benefit when using an Agency? 1. They have a knowledgeable staff to help guide them. 2. They know the ins and outs of hiring a Nanny. 3. They perform the interviews, backgrounds, reference checks. 4. They work side by side with Household Tax specialists. (who can teach the family how to pay Nanny legally AND help save on their taxes!) 5. They provide forms that help smooth out the hiring. (less confusion when there's a family-nanny agreement in place) 6. Most importantly your Nanny Placement Agency is there to help and encourage you through the entire process so that the very best Nanny is found for your children.
Why can't families just use an inexpensive online Nanny locator? They can....but there are many Agencies that would discourage that process and here are a couple of reasons why: Agencies screen potential Nannies with many methods: application, face to face interviews, reference cks, background checks, personal character references, etc.... Should any of those come up as a negative, Nanny isn't used within the Agency.
Some of these Nannies that have been turned away from an Agency will turn to an online Nanny placement service. And there's a real good chance they won't tell you why they were turned away from an Agency, nor is it probable the family will even know to ask if Nanny did apply with an Agency and then ask why she isn't with said Agency.
So a local Agency is your first defense in making sure Nanny is who she says she is and really has the experience she says she has. These are the people that are coming into your home every week and spending time with your precious children and they should be who they say they are. Plain and simple.
Also, I'm not one to use a cliche' but, you get what you pay for......who do you turn to when "hired from the internet Nanny" decides to bail for the day or week or worse yet, totally? Do you have a backup plan/person to take over? When you use an Agency, the Agency first makes sure Nanny is on the up an up and not only that, they also have meticulously weeded out the "not for us Nanny" and have given you only the best of the best. Not to mention....should the best of the best not feel well one day, Agency has backup Nannies that can be called out to help!
A call to your local Agency is the first step a family should take when hiring childcare. Although, it is true that you can find great help online....Agencies just make it easier.
These are but a handful of Why's w/the questions answered....written in Our Own Words.
NannyMall is local to St. Louis and St. Charles, MO and offers many services to meet your childcare needs.
NannyMall's Nanny meeting was smaller in numbers than expected but it was mighty in strength due to the speakers!
Shirley McFadin spoke to the Nannies about her recent diagnoses of breast cancer. She was able to tell us of the challenges and triumph of recovery and now being cancer free. She also shared with us the beauty of her doctor's words, "You do not need any further chemo or radiation." She is an inspiration to so many women and probably doesn't even know it.
Connie Houlihan also joined us and told the Nannies about her great service. NannyNurse™ Network. * When your child is sick & you need to work, NannyNurse™ Network creates peace of mind for your family. They provide medically trained and screened caregivers, NannyNurses™, in your home to nurse your child back to health. They serve the Greater St. Louis area.
If you'd like to contact Shirley please shoot an email to us and we'll get you in touch with her. To visit NannyNurseNetwork, just click the link.
Our meetings from here on out will be held at the Comfort Inn & Suites in Chesterfield Valley. The conference room had more than ample room, it was clean and they served coffee and water. Plus it was very reasonable!
We hope that ALL Nannies will begin to attend. This group/meeting was started in order for all Nannies, ours, independents, from other agencies, newbies, etc.... could come and connect with other Nannies. No one knows the joys and challenges of a Nanny profession except another Nanny.
We're looking to redefine the public's view of a Nanny....it is a true profession that is seasoned with experience, laughter, patience,grace and joy; at these meetings the Nanny will learn, grow and experience understanding from leaders in the industry and from this humble agency. We invite all Nannies. For more information please visit our site: NannyMall.com
The single most important thing to know about a Nanny is: She's a professional through and through.
Nannies take their jobs very seriously and whether they are a Nanny for 1 year or 30, they will all tell you how rewarding the profession is and they prefer working with children.
As with any profession experience speaks volumes! If you are considering hiring a Nanny the 1st thing to look for is a diverse background in childcare.
The second most important thing to check is their references. They can call themselves a Nanny but perhaps they were sitters for a couple of families on weekends....look for length of time with a family, look for consistency and talk to the previous employers. If they aren't friends or families they will definitely give an unbiased reference.
Ask them to give you a copy of their background check and driver's history. They can have that pulled M-F. Ask if they are CPR certified, if not, are they willing to become certified? Infant CPR has changed in the last few years so make sure they take an updated class!
Don't forget about taking out taxes on Nanny's wages, she will get older too and will need to collect Social Security just like everyone else, so please take that into consideration. There are tax breaks for the Employer!
If you'd like to know more about hiring a Nanny please contact NannyMall.com and we'll be happy to answer all your questions! If you'd like for an agency to take care of gathering the Nannies to interview, we can help with that also! NannyMall.com
NannyMall Nannies know this agency is just but one source of finding a great Nanny position. They are encouraged to seek a position through another agency, word of mouth or independently.
If using independent sources, i.e. craigslist or kijiji, there are some strong rules of safety that should be followed.*(this blog is dedicated to all nannies but especially the nannies that relayed stories of unscrupulous people to my attention a number of times in the past few weeks.) ** PLEASE NOTE, this blog is simply for informative purposes only, it's not to be used in lieu of any safety training class or manual, nor to be viewed as a single source of safety procedures; it is simply suggestions of safety.
1. When a family contacts you, let them interview you and when it's your turn, ask a lot of questions! Don't feel intimidated. Ask pointed questions about their children, ask if they've ever hired a nanny, ask how soon they are needing to hire, ask if either parent works from home, ask about taxes, and then ask if the have personal references, yes you ask them if they have a friend and/or family reference you can call. You will find that 99.99% of the families will be fine with that request because they'll understand you are being cautious and who wouldn't respect that? Even though it's you looking for a position, you can still "interview" the family to make sure it's the right fit....and that's it a real position.
2. If all your questions were answered and you feel okay about setting up an interview, set it, and follow through with the reference check. If attempts to reach reference don't pan out but you are still interested, then perhaps drive by their home a couple of times, not in a stalker kind of way, but in a, making sure it's all legit, kind if way. Note the number of cars, note if there are children's toys outside (perhaps you won't see any in Winter), note the amount of lights on....if only one person lives there, most likely won't have but one or two lights on; with children look for several.
3. A day or two before your interview, call their house phone (if they gave # to you) and see who answers, if it's someone different than you originally spoke with, that's probably a good sign. You can say you are confirming the interview...because actually you really are.
4. Make sure you tell a couple of friends and/or family members when your interview is scheduled and also give them the name, address and phone number. Let them know that family interviews can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
5. When you arrive at the home, call a friend or someone to let them know you are there and are going in for the interview. Have them note the time. Once introductions are completed, politely ask if you may call your friend/mom to let them know everything is good to go. ---From a parent's prospective, they will deem you worthy because if you're THAT careful with your personal life, you will MOST LIKELY be THAT careful with their children. -----Make it a brief call!----
6. If you get there and something doesn't feel quite right, don't enter the home. Wait till you see the other parent or the children, or ask if there is a better time to come back when all the family is home.
7. You could always bribe a friend to go with you to sit in the car....just offer to buy her lunch or buy a small "thanks for waiting in the car for me" gift. Perhaps you'll ask the family to meet you in a public area such as McDonalds or St. Louis Bread Co. to avoid the home interview.
Whatever you do, remember safety first! ---This blog is in response to several stories relayed to me about nannies going for interviews and it would turn out to be a person with no children.
If you have your own methods of safety you'd like to share please leave them in the comment section.
St. Louis Childcare Agency St. Louis Nanny Agency NannyMall.com
When new clients call in and relay criteria they wish to have met within the Nanny they will be employing, what we're seeing is the beginning of a new trend.
Our observation: Up until 6-9 months ago, Families that employed Nannies would generally also employ a Household Manager and a Housekeeper. The hiring of 3 individuals is now morphing into one position, which NannyMall nick-named, "the Gold Star Nanny." (affectionately named after the gold star we received in school as children for going above and beyond what the teacher had asked of us)
Gold Star Nanny is asked to do a variety of duties, first and foremost, tend the children. But what was out of the question for additional duties before is now definitely required.
Looking back at our last 10 placements, 8 of them required/hired a Gold Star Nanny.
Families are looking for the well qualified, educated Nanny but also for the Nanny that doesn't mind cleaning the bathrooms and picking up the family dry cleaning. These Gold Star Nannies were few and far between but as the Families desires have changed, so has the Nanny's understanding. They realize in order to get into a long term position, they have to be willing to take on extra responsibilities.
As we talk with Families about their requirements, we let them know they are pioneers of the new household employee hiring trend and that while morphing the positions together is totally acceptable, they also need to keep in mind that while they save from having one individual do all three jobs, they should also expect to pay a higher salary for Gold Star Nanny.
To learn more about the changes in the industry or to hire your Gold Star Nanny, please contact us, we'll be happy to speak with you!
While this truly isn't just a "Nanny topic" it certainly can affect your life as an individual. And while being a Nanny is one of the BEST professions, unfortunately not all Nannies are paid above board and wages aren't reported to be readily seen by say a car dealer or mortgage co, so a really good credit report is a MUST for Nannies.
Credit reports are very important and should be checked at least once a year.
Print your credit reports as you receive them, do not save on your computer.
Look over them very thoroughly. If you see an item that is puzzling, back track thru your paperwork, thoughts and transactions to make sure this isn't just an item you had forgotten about. If you know that an item isn't yours, dispute the item. It's all online and very easy. They have 30 days to respond. After their investigation is complete they will email their findings and you will be able to ck your report again. If it still remains and you know it isn't yours, dispute it again and again.
Each time you talk with someone, record name/date and time. Keep copies of all originals that you send.
Your credit report and score has everything to do with purchasing a house, a car, renting an apt, getting a credit card, getting good rates on insurance (yes, they do ck it!), etc....
Credit reports can show negative information forever but good news, after 7 years for credit cards and collections, 10 years for bankruptcy, by law you may request for those items to be removed. (for MO, other states the laws are different) Important note: The bureaus do not and will not automatically remove the older items, it has to be requested by the consumer.
Try not to close credit card accounts if they are in good standing. The longer they are reported as a positive acct, the better for your score.
Make your payments on time....not a day or two late. On time or late, credit lending companies WILL and DO report every month. It's kind of like an eternal credit report card...sad but true.
Your credit report always shows more than just your credit worthiness. Your report shows all your reported addresses, alias names, places you have worked, phone numbers, public records, etc....
There's somewhat of a limit of information people can see but if there is anything damaging on it and in the event your employer/new creditor wants a copy, it's best to know yourself beforehand about anything negative, therefore being able to explain or let them know it's being disputed.
Well I could probably go on for hours but I'm sure you want to get started checking your credit report!
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Personal Lessons 101
I will attempt to briefly tell you what my personal experiences have taught me and how I seem to have to learn the lesson over and over again.
About 20 years ago I realized something very important: A good credit report and credit score will get you further in life than a bad one. --Nice blanket statement I know but please follow these lessons that I painfully learned--
First Lesson: When I was 20 I went through a few things that completely disrupted my credit and probably due to ignorant bliss, I didn't care nor understand how it would effect me, until a few years later when I went to purchase my first home at 23.
We had found our "dream" home! A day later, we made an appointment w/a mortgage lender and went into their office to start the process. They ran my credit and then sat across from the table and nicely explained how I was UN-creditWORTHY. I was shocked and angry, angry at myself for turning a blind eye to being credit-WORTHY. Long story short, I paid off all the outstanding debt and was able to purchase my first home.
Second Lesson: Fast forward about 12 years. I was in my 30's and out of the blue I was receiving the dreaded "collection calls." I kept telling them that I don't know what they are talking about, I never had a Visa card from xxxBank. The letters were outrageous too. I'd get one a week. It was like a bad dream. THEN a light bulb went on! Check my credit report!! Sure enough, someone had stolen my identity! They had racked up over $19000 in credit card purchases!
A day or so after I had discovered this, I had a knock at my door, it was a Sheriff serving me papers, I was being SUED for these bogus charges! --We had to close all our bank accounts, credit cards, and take other measures to ensure this person couldn't get to my other information! -- The end of the story is this: I had to hire an attorney (would have been big $$ but I'm buddies w/a few attorneys), I contacted the Attorney General, Jay Nixon (at that time) to help in prosecution of the filing collection co, wrote letter after letter to the credit bureaus stating someone had stolen my identity and after 6 years and a 7inch stack of paperwork, the charges and information was finally dropped off my credit reports.
Did I learn some lessons?................you bet I did! I learned to check my credit report every year, I learned that after 7 years I can ask for items to be removed, I learned to always ask to see my credit report when I purchase a new home or new car, I've also learned that you can be guilty by name association. For that lesson, read Lesson Three.
Third Lesson: Fast forward to present day.....last Thursday.
I hadn't checked my credit report since 2007 because I KNEW I was fine...I had checked it every year, fought off some little things, saw my credit score grow to a beautiful number and had become complacent.
Thursday's work was slow and after another bothersome phone call......a collection co calling for a guy with the same name as my husband and asking if we still lived in Bowling Green, KY?
(nope MO his whole life)
BUT since my husband happened to have the same name as a person who has a huge collection co after him, this credit collection co feels like this HAS TO BE THE GUY THEY ARE AFTER, so they WON'T stop calling. (I'm certain at this point that I will have to go there and bang on their door to make them u n d e r s t a n d....it's NOT MY husband!)
Anyway, I think to myself, I had better check my credit report because it's been a while and while I'm absolutely positive there is nothing wrong with it, free is free and I go and check it online.
WELL YEP, you guessed it! There sat 2 items of collection for medical procedures! I nearly fell off my chair. First I looked at when this began....Aug of 2007! I had just checked it earlier that year....had I checked it in 2008 and not been so "yea, it's all good," I could have had it fixed!
So it has the company listed and the phone number. It's local....I'm thinking good because if they don't listen to reason via the phone, I'll just drive there and camp out until they listen...IT'S NOT ME!
I called and got a very NICE lady. I explained that I don't know what these 2 collection items are and could she please try to shed some light. After a very lengthy time and a bazillion questions later, her manager gets on the phone and says, " It looks like our credit reporting girl is at fault, she only matched you by name and not by social security number, we can't even find you in our system, indeed this isn't your collection." I felt a huge relief at that moment and asked if they would please inform the credit bureaus of this information, well...no they wouldn't, I had to do it myself. Okay, I can do that as I have countless times before. Not even an apology! This had been on there for 2 stinkin' years!
I hung my head, took a deep breath, and proceeded to contact all the bureaus to dispute these again, bogus collections.
I'm happy to report TransUnion responded very quickly and has already removed the two collections! The bureaus are to respond within 30 days....I'm looking forward to being completely exonerated.
