Agency Spotlight: MoniCare

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 Monika Januskyte, owner of MoniCare.

Agency Vitals

• Founded in 2003
• Serves the greater Chicago area and suburbs
• Specializes in long-term placements; staffs all domestic positions, including housekeepers, house managers, private chefs, butlers, personal assistants, and estate managers

How did you get started?

I always enjoyed helping people, and the household employment industry is all about that – making connections between families and job seekers. So I wanted to open a business where I could help families find the help they need, as well as place someone in a job they would enjoy. This job is emotionally rewarding.

What is your biggest challenge?

Finding high quality housekeepers is our biggest challenge at the moment. We find that clients are looking for housekeepers who are skilled to do more than cleaning, as they also need help with cooking, home organization, grocery shopping, and other errands. Nowadays housekeepers are required to be skilled in several fields.

What strategies do you use for recruiting candidates?

We rely heavily on referrals from previously placed candidates and our families.  We are very happy to get referrals from our nannies because great nannies generally have friends who are also great nannies. We keep in constant contact with all candidates whom we have placed before. Children grow up, so some of the previously placed candidates come back as they need a new job. We also use all possible outlets to recruit candidates, including advertising, recruiting from industry specific databases, and social media.

How do you distinguish yourself from online agencies and show your value?

Our expertise and ability to address each client’s need separates us from online agencies. MoniCare has a large database of pre-screened candidates. We have well trained Placement Counselors on staff, ready to answer any client questions. We have made over 1,500 successful placements, which shows we are knowledgeable and skilled to analyze each client’s specific situation and make needed recomendations. We know what works and what does not. Traditional agencies offer pre-screened candidates, whereas online sites do not, so a family needs to do the whole screening by themselves. It can take 60-70 hours to hire on your own. Plus, many of those families make a number of mistakes in their search and hire process. Agencies like ours have the professional staff and expertise to search for matches quickly and efficiently as well as address any client question or challenge. Our clients get the peace of mind we provide by doing the background checks and finding the high-quality candidates they need based on their specific situation.

How do you help your families understand the benefits of paying legally?

We provide our clients with information sheets on household employee taxes, and then direct them to GTM, as they are the experts in this field.  We always recommend our families to contact GTM for a free consultation so they know everything they need to know about paying their employee.

What changes have you seen over the years in the household employment industry?

The level of quality that families are looking for continually increases, as well as their need for more variety in the household positions they are hiring for. I’ve seen more requests in recent years for multifaceted job duties, such as a nanny/household manager or a housekeeper/chef.

What do agencies need to do to stay competitive?

Responsiveness and uncompromised quality are crucial. We have the tools as well as the capacity to share the workload and collaborate on searches to make sure that a family gets their first candidate recommendation within 1-2 business days. Since we interview new candidates every single day, we are ready before a family signs up with our agency, no matter what they are looking for. These are things important to our families.

How has GTM helped your agency and your families?

Our partnership with GTM has been valuable to both our agency staff and our families. GTM’s free consultation on household payroll lets us know our families are in good hands. GTM is quick to answer questions, whether it’s from our agency or a family, about important things like salary negotiation and unique working situations.

What are some fun facts about you or your agency?

We have served some great political and celebrity families­ – having high-status clients like that shows the level of trust families have in our agency. We are also known as an agency that has outstanding IT solutions, which makes the communication with our families and candidates easy and effective. Every MoniCare employee has their own private office, creating a calm atmosphere and letting our staff focus their attention on our families when they call or come in to the office.