Nannies Join The Ranks of Essential Front-Line Workers
Today’s busy nannies carry the additional burden of keeping themselves and their employer’s families safe from COVID during an unprecedented surge of the virus — they are expected to abide by the most up-to-date CDC guidelines and any additional safety measures asked of them while often interfacing with the public on family errands. Working from home is not an option for our nannies: they have, in essence, joined the ranks of essential front-line workers during a worsening global pandemic.
Even in their own homes and lives and amongst their family members, nannies must remain vigilant. It’s a monumental task. Sometimes this means nannies are no longer able to spend time with even their closest family and friends. What’s more, nannies are often tasked with running errands in public — all the while expected to protect while serving. To put this into a bit of perspective, our front-line nurses and physicians are also expected to protect and save lives while putting their own lives at risk. However, our seasoned medical professionals have completed years of training to handle this burden effectively, and are typically compensated with hazard pay, provided with universal precautions such as PPE (personal protective equipment like gowns, gloves, hazmat suits, face shields, masks, N95 respirators), work within well-established processes for protection as well as regular COVID testing on the job and first access to the vaccine. Nannies are not likely to have these benefits but are held to the same standards of safety and care.
How do top agencies ensure their candidates are COVID-prepared?
In this new world of COVID-19, many of our clients have asked how our screening process has evolved to ensure our candidates are top-caliber caretakers who also demonstrate the integrity, responsibility, and moral character to support the continued health of their employers and charges.
The legendary Stanford Park Nannies 21-Point Screening process now includes an even higher level of scrutiny: we depend on our gut instincts more than ever. We work hard to ensure our candidates are the very best using our existing tools but we are now placing even more importance on the level of trust our candidates have received from their previous employers — and we are also asking a lot of questions about a nanny’s lifestyle and COVID precautions. While it is our job to attempt to quantify the nanny’s ability to handle the burden of protecting the health of their employer’s entire family in every moment of the nanny’s life both inside and outside the homes in which they work, families must also tune in to their own intuition more than ever when choosing a new nanny during a pandemic. As always, good judgment and trustworthiness are top requirements for all nannies, but these qualities even more crucial now.
You may be surprised to learn that only a small fraction of our applicants make it far enough in our vetting process to win an interview with a client family — only the very best of the best make it this far. A potential candidate must first impress us with their childcare experience and then wow us in their screening interview with our team. Only then will they have the opportunity to successfully pass each step in our process with flying colors, including a referral check where we scrutinize every employer for the last 10 years and run a criminal background check. It’s crucial to cross all of the T’s and dot all of the I’s — our quarter-century reputation for excellence demands it. In a previous blog post, Trusting Your Nanny, you can learn more about the Stanford Park Nannies vetting process that ensures each nanny in our pool of candidates has the qualifications and character to become a beloved and reliable caretaker.
Resources for Families & Their Nannies
As we enter 2021 and find ourselves deep within a predicted post-holiday COVID surge, let’s all consider ways to support our nannies so that they can focus on what they do best: the nurturing and care of our precious children. What are some ways your family can help your nanny as they work hard to manage their new role as an essential worker during CODID-19?
With this important question in mind, and to enhance all of our chances of staying safe, happy, and healthy, we would like to share some helpful articles from the household employer experts at GTM on supporting and managing household staff during the pandemic: COVID-19 Resources for Household Employers. These resources include articles such as
- COVID-19 Scenarios and Benefits Available to Your Nanny
- How to Successfully Work from Home with a Nanny
- Creating a Return to Work Plan for Your Nanny
Finding a Qualified Nanny with Stanford Park Nannies During COVID-19
Not only do we place the best nannies with the right families, but we are dedicated to helping everyone feel comfortable and safe during the pandemic when working together. Stanford Park Nannies not only matches nannies with families in the Bay Area, we work with every nanny personally to ensure they are placed with the ideal family according to the family’s needs and the nanny’s skills and experience. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns about how we are working hard to help keep families and nannies safe during this challenging time.
Wishing you all a safe and productive New Year!
