How To Set Up A Nanny Share

Hi everyone! Laura from Nanny Parent Connection back with this week’s video which has been requested by many of you.

Today, I am going to discuss the nuts and bolts of how to set up a nanny share. Nanny shares can be a fantastic child care option as you will receive a higher degree of personalized care than you might get from a child care center at a more affordable price point than hiring a nanny on your own.

There are two ways to set up a nanny share. Watch the video to learn more and I hope you find it useful!

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A transcript of the video can be found below: 

Hi everyone, Laura from Nanny Parent Connection here.

Today, I’m going to talk to you about how to set up a nanny share. This video has been requested by many of our followers.

Nanny shares can be a fantastic child care option.

You can get a higher degree of personalized care than you might get from a child care center, at a more affordable price point than hiring a nanny on your own.

There are two ways to approach setting up a nanny share:

One way is to find a nanny share family first, and the other way is to find a nanny first and the share family at a later date.

Here are the steps for how to set up a nanny share, whether you’re finding a family first or a share family first, along with the pros and cons for each.

And make sure to stay tuned until the end when I will tell you exactly how to run your nanny search.

I’m going to start out by describing the approach where you will find a share family first.

Step #1: Finding a share family to partner with

This step can require a lot of networking unless you’re just that lucky family who happens to know somebody with a child around the same age.

I recommend casting a wide net with networking and talking to friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors.

Somebody may know someone who is looking to join a share.

I also recommend doing some networking with some parent and child groups, such as your local PEPs groups.

Online communities, such as nannyparentconnection.com or social media, can be other great resources for finding a nanny share family.

It’s important when you’re looking for a share family to find a family who you somewhat align with in parenting style and to make sure that everyone gets along and communicates well.

Step #2: Discuss and agree upon what you’re seeking in a nanny

You should plan some time to get together with the other family to discuss everything about the nanny share arrangement, such as the schedule, pay, compensation, job duties, a little blurb about each family, and what you are seeking in a nanny with attributes, skill sets, and requirements in the job description.

Make sure you include these things near the top: neighborhood and city, ideal start date, compensation, ages of children, and schedule.

Step #3: Finding a nanny

If you’re running your job search yourself, you will want to advertise your position on search platforms, such as nannyparentconnection.com, or in social media communities, such as Nextdoor, Twitter or Facebook.

You will want to share applications and résumés for well-qualified nannies within your group and decide who you would like to invite for a phone interview or a video interview.

Now, there are several different approaches you can take with an interview. If one person is in charge of doing the initial screening, maybe they just do a first meet and greet phone interview with the nanny candidate, and then if that goes really well, perhaps you can plan some more time where everyone can sit down on a video call with the nanny in order to do a more in-depth interview to see if the nanny would be a good fit for each family.

There is no right or wrong way to do the interviews.

Just make sure that before you sit down and do the interview, everybody discusses and agrees upon what the process should be like, what some important questions are to ask that nanny, etc.

Step #4: Finalizing your hire

Once you agree upon the nanny you would like to work with, you will want to formalize the job offer in writing.

The job offer should outline the compensation package and the schedule, including the start date.

You will work together directly with the nanny to finalize the contract once they accept your job offer, and you will want to start setting up payroll as well.

You can find fantastic nanny share contracts here if you need that resource.

And here’s one thing to think about when you are finalizing that contract: make sure you sit down and have an in-depth conversation with your nanny share family and maybe also the nanny as well about what your sick policy is going to look like.

This piece is really important because with all of the moving parts, there are bound to be some illnesses that affect either the nanny or one or both share families.

You will want to discuss and agree upon when the nanny should call out for the day, when one or both families should call out for the day, and also when each party should re-enter back into the share after an illness.

Step #5: Working relationship

Make sure to have a strong onboarding process with your nanny.

I also recommend creating a nanny binder where you can keep all of the important information, such as emergency contact information, information about the house, such as the water main shut-off and the gas shut-off, for example.

Information about schools, schedules, physicians, any allergy information.

This is also a great place to keep information pertaining to the nanny share agreement, such as the contract, etc.

Schedule regular times for communication between all parties on a more frequent basis when the relationship is newer, and then on an ongoing basis as the relationship continues, maybe every two to three months or so.

Having good open communication, maybe even over-communicating a little bit, will ensure that the nanny share relationship runs smoothly between all parties.

Here are the pros of finding a nanny share family first:

You can divide and conquer tasks together.

You can each network to cast a wide net.

You can all weigh in on the nanny candidates.

You can share the cost from the onset, including any cost associated with an agency’s initial search.

Now, here are some of the cons of finding a nanny share family first:

It can be difficult to find the right family to partner with.

You may not be able to find a share family before you need care to begin.

There are more parties to satisfy when it comes to choosing a nanny.

When you find a nanny before your share family, the process stays the same for the most part.

Some families go this route because they need care to begin when they need care, and perhaps they haven’t yet been able to find the right family to partner with.

Advertising that you have an opening in an established nanny share can be really attractive to other families who are looking, because they can join a relationship where trust has already been established and the family already has a sense of the nanny’s work style.

Here are some pros and cons of finding a nanny before finding a share family:

Pros:

You alone get to decide on the best nanny for your family.

You don’t have to be in agreement with the other family on anything at this stage.

Cons:

You make the time and financial investment alone when finding the nanny.

You will likely need to pay your nanny a higher rate at first in order to attract them to the position and retain their skill set for the future nanny share.

And, of course, once the nanny share family joins, then you will be able to split that cost moving forward.

All right, everyone, that’s it for today.

Those are my steps on how to set up a nanny share.

I hope you found this video helpful.

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And if you’re still with us, make sure you don’t miss this video series, “Working with a Nanny from A to Z.”

Thanks, everyone. Bye!