New nanny agency would like your advice

[Nannynat28]

Hello i am currently in the process of opening a nanny placement agency in Berkshire.

I am a nanny myself and have had plenty of experience of dealing with agencies therefore I have realised a lot of pros and cons from different agencies.
I am aware from my own market research conducted that parents struggle with understanding agency fees for a couple of reasons

1. Because they are based on the nannies net or gross wage
2. Because they can be very high- e.g one agency I've looked at charges 6 weeks of nannies net salary +vat

Based on a nanny earning £9n p/h for a 50h week that would cost the family a whopping £2,700 +Vat agency fee!

So I am planning on doing things a little different- set fees
Please take a look at my fees and if you could give me your opinions that would be greatly appreciated- also if there is any other things you like/dislike about agencies, I'd love to hear.
Many thanks in advance!

Nanny Placement Service

Permanent Position

Up to 20 hours a week = £340
Up to 30 hours a week = £500
Up to 40 hours a week = £660
Up to 50 hours a week = £820
Up to 60 hours a week = £980

Minimum fee of £250

We struggle because there's no transparency. Why would it cost you more to hire a nanny (on my behalf) for 20 hrs than 60 hrs?

As the person paying the bill I want to know what you are using the money for.
This is why more and more estate agencies are offering a flat tariff structure.

Is it more work to place a part time nanny or a full time nanny or no difference?

Flat fee I personally feel is better because I don't think it is more work to place a nanny in one position vs another.

As a nanny I would like to see all jobs advertised with gross annual salary, so comparisons can be made against other jobs.

I feel that the fee should be based on the effort put in and the quality of the result. If I was paying £++++ for a highly experienced, highly paid nanny I would expect to pay more than if I was paying £ for someone inexperienced. The hours would be the same in either case. Also, there is likely to be more competition for certain types of nannies (usually the £+++ ones) and that justifies paying a higher fee for the introduction.

I say this having paid £3.5k from a Central London agency for a nutjob that I fired after her first week. I then recruited for free off the internet.

Thanks very much for your opinions both of you.
I do understand where you are coming from however having one set fee for all types of position wouldn't work financially for a business.
For example say the flat fee was £600 (mid ranged) why would a family wanting a 20h nanny come and pay me £600 when they could potentially go to another agency that may charge say £300?
A tricky one I know but as all other agencies are priced by hours or days I think it would be a hard one to change.
Also finding a nanny for say 50 or 60 hours does require more work by the agency. Those nannies are hard to find meaning a lot more work advertising and interviewing- all time consuming which has to be reflected in fees. (Most nannies wanting 'full time' are generally meaning 30-40)

I hope that all makes sense

From a nannies perspective I also agree about stating salaries clearly. From experience I know it can be a nightmare searching for a job in different places some showing wage by hour or week or month or year! I think I would advertise salary by yearly gross and monthly net.

Any suggestions comments welcome!

on those fees, you're pretty much undercutting local competition anyway. As a local user of agencies, I miss Lollipop who had a great approach and actually gave a toss about finding out about the family and passing that info to the nanny and providing personal information about the nanny to the family - it's an unusual type of recruitment because it is so much about personal fit so things like what the last book the candidate read / their interests / their three best meals they can cook etc are useful to know and helpful for weeding people out pre interview. You'll be doing well if you can avoid the disgraceful waste of everyone's time that some of the other agencies incur by blanket bombing and telling everyone that every role is suitable for them.

Thanks for reply 4plusmum. £3.5k...wow.
We'll my agency would only only place nannies with experience and qualifications and if things didn't work out between a nanny and family within the first 8 weeks I would offer a fair replacement policy?

Is that something you would have been happy with?

30-40 hours is definitely not seen as full time by any nannies I know

Thanks easterholiday! Yes I thought my proposed fees were more reasonable than any other agencies that cover Berkshire.

I agree totally with what you've said. I've had experiences with agencies not providing enough information to both parties and being sent for interviews that are terrible matches. Eg I like to feel part of the family and although I am happy to do light housework my priority is of course childcare....I've been sent for an interview which (I found out when I got there) was a housekeeper role mainly and was expected to just act as a member of house staff. Needless to say both me and parent where confused as to why I had been sent for an interview.

I know that for a placement to work it needs to be a great match, and if I don't believe it's a great match I wouldn't put them forward for the role. Hence replacement policy

I'm hopefully that my experience will make me a great match maker

Hi OP
Sorry if I came across as abrupt - I'm not saying that a tiered fee structure is unjustifiable and not desirable, I'm just saying that for most people it is unfathomable and without any transparency, it can feel like you are being ripped off. Especially with horror stories like 4plusmum. I know someone who has recently been burned for a £1k fee for a 1 day per week nanny who was ill/suddenly on 4 out of the 5 weeks in a row she was supposed to work. Stories like that make me want to head to Gumtree etc pretty quickly.
A simple webpage describing how your fees are compiled would be a marketing differentiator I think.
I would also offer different levels of fees, and offer to hold a percentage in escrow for successful placements over 6 months. If the placement doesn't work out it can be refunded or used towards the next placement fee.

Thanks oscarwilde no worries I'm grateful for any opinions be it negative or positive. It's important for me to understand parents views and have insite so that I can produce an agency that works

Does anyone have any views they could share on the registering process?
Obviously once a parent has filled a contact form or emailed I would call to discuss the role but....
Who prefers face to face registering or
Registering over the phone.

I can see pros for both as I know it can be hard for parents to free up time for me to come over and discuss which is also likely to delay process a little but I also see the benefits of face to face- more personal and enables me to get a feel for the family and what sort of person they require.

Maybe offer both? What do you think..?

offer both, depending on nature of the role. If they're after full time / permanent, then suggest face to face. To me, it suggests you give a damn about who you place and that you'll make an effort to find a fit (might not be the case of coruse!) Full details of household routine - so for eg when I've said that I have v sociable kids who like a lot of playdates, don't send me the really cripplingly shy ladies who would rather DIE than have a bunch of nannies hanging around the house to talk to.
Ensure that you have access to EXCELLENT sample contracts which cover a variety of full / part time / nanny share situations. Make sure you're fully aware of what's in it in terms of standard sick pay provisions etc.
Feel free to PM me...

You need to know your employment law stuff. That's really the only thing that makes an agency worthwhile - the pre and post placement expertise. Your weeding candidates on a family's behalf is only marginally more productive than them doing it. It's also the thing many agencies, usually those run by nannies, fall down on.

Offering both will maximise your potential client uptake. Insisting on face to face looks pushy and like you know better but if you have time to offer it then why not?

You could charge a registration/consultation fee though because by going in depth with the family you will basically hand them your expertise for them to use.

The £3.5k nanny was Chiltern trained and had great references but really was crazy. On her first day when I was home to do her her induction, I came home from dropping the DC at nursery to find her lolling on the sofa and she had the cheek to tell me she was watching a great film and invite me to join her. On day 2 my cleaner called to tell me that the nanny was lying on the sofa claiming to be ill and had asked the cleaner to look after the girls. I rushed home to check everything was ok and the nanny had made a miraculous recovery. On day 3 I came home and found that the DC had been put to bed early (although they were running riot in their bedroom) and the nanny had obviously spent a while dolling herself up to go out for the evening in working hours. Finding a used pregnancy test lying around was the final straw for me and I get rid the next day.

Back to the subject of the thread, surely the different fees depending on the hours worked is addressed by the traditional approach of a multiple of weekly salary. Someone working 20 hours will presumably be earning half of what someone working 40 hours gets paid, so the fee will be half.

I don't think it is confusing to pay a multiple of salary. 6-8 weeks of net salary seems the norm in London. If you based in on gross salary you would just apply a lower multiple. As long as you are clear on what the calculation is and if the fee is at a level that people are prepared to pay it should be fine.

Cripes 4 - did you report her to the college?