Checking nannies references...

[NannyTreeChelsea]

I was just posting in a different thread and the conversation turned to checking nannies references. Does anyone have any tips or questions that they think are good to ask the referees? I thought it might be helpful for parents who are vetting a potential nanny themselves rather than using an agency...

I find that gathering as much information as possible is not always easy. It can be hard to get the referee to open up! As a rough guide... i never ask a closed question (one that can be answered with Yes/No) and always read between the lines of their answers to establish what my next question will be. Some generic questions that I might ask (and read between the lines of) are...

1. What would you say the nannies weaknesses are?
2. If the nanny could improve one thing what would it be?
3. What didn't you like about the nanny?
4. Would you re-employ the nanny? (If yes, why? If no, why?)
5. How would you describe the nannies communication style?
6. How would you describe the nannies approach to childcare?
7. How would you describe the nannies approach to discipline?
8. What do your children say about the nanny?
9. What issues or concerns have you had whilst they were employed by you?

10. Etc...

I would also ask questions about their start and end date, the children's ages, the duties, etc (i can then check their answers against the nannies CV).

Any other ideas?

Can you think of anything which may impair nanny's ability to carry out contracted duties?

What was nanny like to live with?

What advice would you a subsequent employer to ensure the relationship goes smoothly?

Why did the nanny leave?

What was the nanny's timekeeping and reliability like?

I would also ask what the nanny's strengths are, rather than just focusing on her weaknesses.

What advice would you a subsequent employer to ensure the relationship goes smoothly?

This is a good question to help bring out strengths and weaknesses too...

I ask things like:

Which parts of her job does she seem most enthusiastic about?

Is there anything you ask her to do she seems to find difficult/anything you regularly find yourself having to ask her to do again/differently?

If you like something done a particular way, is the nanny happy to do that (even if SHE might do it a bit differently) or do you find yourlsef going along with 'her way' cause it's easier? Can you give an example of this?

If she has an issue with something, how does she tend to approach you about it/or how do you realise there is a problem?!

My children tend to like everyone, thankfully, but I would aks what the referees children are like and how she went about getting to know them/building a relationship with them. Did it happen straight off the bat or did it take time? etc

One thing I would be very wary of is if the referee doesn't bother to find out what YOUR job would entail - it might be quite different from what the nanny was doing for the referee. So, I would go through what the nanny did for them (this is a good idea anyway) and consider, as the referee is answering a particular question, whether it would apply to your circumstances in the same sort of way.

LadyH it is very illuminating

I'd like to add - how many days sick did the nanny have - especially if you're considering paying sick pay.
Ensuring you have a landline contact makes it easier to check the person who has been named as the refereree actually is the same person.
Also asking the finish date they put on the P45 (if they've already finished is another good check).

We had a few issues with our nanny, one ppotentially quite serious. She got another job but I was advised that I was not allowed to give a bad reference. I'm not sure how true this is and as it happens her new boss never contacted me.
However, I think I would have been quite vague despite having serious misgivings. I would now ask all referees directly if there was any cause for concern with the nanny or any warnings given whilst employed.

You can give a bad reference as long as it is fair, factual and accurate and the issues were raised at the time.

So if nanny is persistently late, for example, but you never say anything you couldn't mention it but if you raised it repeatedly and she still didn't arrive on time then you can say she was late and it didn't improve.

You can't just focus on bad points either.

Another thing I've learnt is to quickly remind the referee that the reference is confidential so they should feel free to give their honest opinion.

Please don't forget to ask about their health. As I mentioned on another thread which I see has been resurrected.

For this round of au pair recruiting I am going to be as specific as: Have you been treated in the hospital for any conditions in the past couple of years?

To see what shakes out.

For the references, as opposed to the nanny/au pair, ask about sickness history AND HOW LONG they have ever taken off in one go, what were the circumstances, and was it a one off.