Nanny Agencies – Traditional vs. Online

• All searches assisted by agency staff.
• Job postings managed by agency staff.
• Agency staff assist in job description and work agreement development, may provide interview questions and other necessary paperwork.
• Agency will assist in scheduling interviews.
• Agency will generally offer a select few qualified candidates, helping employers to immediately target the best candidates.

• Search on your own.
• Do the selection process yourself for your preferred candidates.
• Post jobs yourself.
• Develop job description and work agreement yourself (some sites offer templates or articles to help).
• Perform background checks on your own (unless included).

Note: There can be even more effort involved on your part, and therefore the process can take longer.

• Depending on the agency’s current pool of candidates, this could be fast, or you may need to wait for a list of qualified candidates.

• Can help you find a large number of prospective candidates in a matter of minutes, which may lead to your selection of candidates for interview.

• Because you are engaging a consultant with staff, you will be paying a higher fee.

• Membership to online sites tends to be less expensive, however there can be “additional fees” in add-on services.

• Pre-screened applicants.
• Phone and face-to-face interviews conducted before family interviews
• Reference and employment checks verified.
• Full background checks provided.

• You may have to conduct all pre-screening and interviews.
• You conduct your own reference/employment checks.
• You conduct background checks (unless included).

• Assistance and guidance with job offer.
• Job description development.
• Compensation package.
• Experience based on agency selected.

• No personal guidance.
• You are responsible for job offer.
• Limited resources for employment policies.
• Limited guidance on fair hiring/compensation.

• Agency provides compliance education and materials.
• Referrals for detailed advice and free consultations.

• You decipher compliance requirements.
• Some sites do refer to a tax and payroll service, such as GTM.com.
• Some sites do post articles on tax and payroll issues.

• Ongoing support after placement.
• Managerial advice and job coaching.
• Temporary babysitting services.
• Emergency backup care for unexpected absence of primary caregiver.

• No managerial or personalized support after hire.

• Usually an agency will guarantee a placement by providing a replacement or an extended membership so you can use its services again for free.

• Limited or no guarantee.