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Each month we highlight one of our agency partners, and get to know a little more about them and their insights into the household employment industry. This month we spoke with Emily Miller, owner of Charlotte’s Best Nanny.
Agency Vitals
- Founded in 2012
- Serves Charlotte, NC and the surrounding areas, along with the Asheville, NC area
- Specializes in long-term placements
How did you get started?
I am a Charlotte native and spent a lot of time babysitting as soon as I was old enough. I worked in the nanny industry since 2004 as a part-time nanny in college, then as a full-time nanny and house manager after that. After getting my business degree, I noticed that Charlotte needed a good agency, so I decided to open this one. I worked part-time at another job for a while until devoting myself to the agency full time.
What is your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge is balancing everything; we do our best to ensure we serve our families and nannies as best we can, while juggling life outside of work. We are very busy so sometimes it’s a struggle.
What strategies do you use for recruiting candidates?
Word of mouth has worked best for us. We have a network of nannies in town that help spread the word about our agency and get other candidates to come in. We also recruit directly on college campuses and job fairs.
How do you advertise/market your agency? / How do you find new families?
We try to market intentionally to companies and organizations where we can be exposed to the right audience; we place ads with community organizations and in country club magazines, along with using Google ads.
How do you distinguish yourself from online job sites? / How do you show your value?
We provide customized placements and make the entire process easy for families, unlike doing it online. But background checks account for the biggest difference between agencies like ours and online sites. We’ve had nannies come to us that had clear background checks from Care.com, but after going through our screening process, red flags arose. Agencies have more thorough methods of screening so we can filter out the candidates who do not meet our standards.
How do you help families understand paying their employee legally?
We provide them with payroll and tax information from GTM, and we advise them on the reasons to pay legally. We recommend our families speak with their accountant and/or a payroll service like GTM.
How do you help nannies/employees understand the benefits of being paid legally?
99% of our nannies prefer to be paid legally, but some nannies don’t realize the benefits. We explain the benefits of doing so like having a valid work history when they apply for a mortgage or unemployment insurance, or if they need to collect disability pay if they’re injured on the job.
How has GTM helped your agency and your families?
GTM has made it very easy to recommend their payroll service to our families. Their staff is always helpful and explains the whole process to our families. We especially like the co-branded web page that GTM has created for us; we send our families an email with the link, and everything they need to know is explained on that web page.
What are some fun facts about you or your agency?
As a Charlotte native, I know this area very well. We are a small family business – my husband helps with our marketing and interviewing. I am also very good at sewing; I even had a crafting business for a while, but it wasn’t very lucrative.
