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 Amelia Fairley and Rachel Smith, owners of Your Nanny Boutique.
Agency Vitals
- Founded in 2016
- Serves central and northern New Jersey
- Specializes in all household staffing services plus occasional babysitters.
How did your agency get started?
Amelia and Rachel, both with extensive nanny experience, felt there was a need for a specific type of agency in the area – one that advocated not just for the needs of families, but for the caregivers as well. Both Amelia and Rachel had worked for different agencies as nannies, so they felt they understood what families were looking for when hiring a nanny, along with what nannies were looking for when searching for a job. Amelia received her business degree from Rutgers University shortly before partnering with Rachel, who has a law degree from Seton Hall, to open Your Nanny Boutique.
What is your biggest challenge?
Our biggest challenge has become managing our workload so that the quality of our services doesn’t suffer. Some might say it’s a good problem to have, but we are growing very quickly, and it can seem like there isn’t enough time in the day to have meaningful interactions with all of the families that come our way. Time management is tough, but we’ve hired additional people to help. We pride ourselves on tirelessly working to ensure each family and nanny we work with is happy!
What strategies do you use for recruiting candidates?
Our biggest recruiting tool is referrals from both families and the nanny community. We believe personal connections are critical so we rely on leads originating from word of mouth before exploring other avenues. We do post on job boards and social media as well, as we want to saturate the market with our presence.
How do you advertise/market your agency? / How do you find new families?
Word of mouth and referrals are also our best source for finding new families. Luckily we’ve been so busy from organic referrals that we haven’t needed to do much paid advertising. We also utilize online “mom” groups – blogs and Facebook groups are good ways to get our name out there.
How do you distinguish yourself from online agencies and show your value?
We find that many of our nannies have had unfavorable experiences when they worked through online sites or other agencies. We wholeheartedly believe that the nanny profession should be treated as a legitimate career and therefore we treat our nannies professionally and respectfully, something that online sites lack. We have found that nannies seek out Your Nanny Boutique because we have such a positive reputation among the nanny community. Our nannies are loyal to us and when families see that, they realize that this type of relationship doesn’t happen with the online job boards.
How do you help your families and nannies understand legal pay?
We make it a point to bring up this topic in the early stages of the process with both our families and our nannies. We make sure both parties are aware of the vast benefits that come with legal pay, and we clearly outline each party’s responsibilities. It is understood that we will only help facilitate legitimate employment relationships.
What changes have you seen over the years in the household employment industry?
The number one change we’ve witnessed over the past few years is the significant shift in how nannies are perceived by families and the community as a whole; they’re not just hired help, or working a side job, they are legitimate employees. Nannying is a career, and we believe the perception has changed due to the strengthening of the nanny community. Nannies are now empowered to ask for benefits like PTO, raises, and bonuses, which in turn legitimizes the profession.
How has GTM helped your agency and your families?
We never hesitate to send our families to GTM for a consultation. Lots of families need help with payroll and taxes and we just can’t provide all the answers. GTM is the expert and any time our agency or our families need help, we reach out to GTM and we always get great feedback in return. The online resources are very helpful and convenient, and the customer service has been amazing.
What are some fun facts about you or your agency?
Our nanny community is the best. At Thanksgiving we get together to serve food to the homeless, we’ve partnered with My Nanny Circle for many events, and we got nannies together to attend the Nanny Ball in New York City in 2017! We have also attended Nannypalooza and many expos in the area to meet nannies and families alike!
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