Whether you hired your nanny or other in-home employee through Town + Country or on your own, you’ve undoubtedly invested a good deal of time and effort to make the right hire. Now it’s time to nail down the best approach to ensure you retain your nanny.
Communication and appreciation are “musts” in all facets of a domestic staffed household. If you are currently a domestic employer, annual reviews, bonus structures, raises, benefits, small perks and kind words of appreciation keep your staff happy and your household running smoothly. Take it upon yourself to acknowledge that you are involved in a service industry and communicating needs can be difficult. It’s important to be respectful of your employee’s time, efforts and energy. This will ultimately enhance your employees performance and longevity with your family.
Here are some specific strategies to help you manage & retain your nanny:
- Check in periodically. Sometimes called “stay interviews” in the corporate world, it’s wise to talk to your in-home employee to see how they are doing, how the job is going, and what recommendations they have for improvement.
- Clearly communicate your expectations. It’s important to note that it takes time to adjust to one another’s work styles. Make sure you’ve communicated your expectations and consistently ask for feedback from your employee on how those expectations will be met.
- Keep compensation competitive. Ensure that your compensation meets your employees needs in terms of the hourly wage, vacation time, sick time, even health benefits (or a stipend). We’ve never heard of a compensation system that hasn’t continuously evolved over time. If an employee finds out they are being grossly underpaid, it can be difficult to retain your employee.
- Don’t forget year-end rewards. In a later post, we’ll describe some of the common ways families recognize & reward their employees’ for a job well done. Holidays and yearly anniversaries are the perfect time to show your appreciation and foster good will and loyalty for the coming year.
Prevent yourself from entering the tiresome hiring process too soon and implement the incentives that allow you to retain your nanny.