How to reference check a nanny

You’ve gone through nanny CVs and profiles, done interviews, and you think you’ve found the perfect nanny. Now, it's time to check the nanny's references! It may feel like a technicality when the nanny has aced the interview and your children seem to love her, but it’s important to do your due diligence. A reference will help you fill any gaps and give you a much better idea of how they work within a family environment.

These 6 recommendations will increase your chances of making it work and give you the reassurance that everything she seems to be on paper and in person is legit!

1. Written references are not enough

Written references may have been the traditional way of checking the credentials of a nanny or any other employee, but there are limitations to what you can get from a written reference. Firstly, there’s no standard format to written references which can make them difficult to compare and draw parallels between them. They don’t typically address all the relevant aspects that might be important to check when you’re hiring a nanny. Plus, no matter how genuine your nanny may seem, written references aren’t always 100% legit! Verbal references will not only give you the opportunity to dig deeper on certain aspects, but you can also standardise your approach to reference checking with a prepared list of questions and this will make it easier for you to compare one with another.

2. Don’t solely rely on agency references

Many agencies claim to check references, but you don’t necessarily know how thorough they’ve been, or how long ago those references were checked. Also, parents are often more honest with other parents.

So although you can certainly use them as a guide to screen nannies in or out, nothing compares to doing a verbal reference check yourself. An agency will have checked that they're suitable to be a nanny, but that doesn’t mean they're the right nanny for you and your family. At myTamarin we check at least two verbal references that must be glowing for each nanny we onboard, but we always encourage our parents to follow up on references themselves.

3. Don’t get influenced by the number of references

Some nannies will provide more references than others, but this shouldn’t be an indication of how good they are. Some nannies are simply more diligent and persistent in collecting references from their previous employers than others. Some nannies have held positions for longer, hence have had fewer jobs in total. And what’s more, as we all know as parents, we sometimes just don’t have the time or energy to write references or fill out review forms.

4. It’s not always possible to get a verbal reference

Sometimes parents don’t include contact information with written references because they simply don’t have the time to be answering the same questions again and again. Think about it, if every prospective client contacted a former employer, that parent could easily be responding to dozens of inquiries each year. So, if the contact information isn’t already included, ask the nanny to check if they’d be happy to give a verbal reference, by all means, but if they say no or just don’t pick up when you call, it doesn’t necessarily mean the reference would have been bad. Parents are busy as you well know!

5. What to look for when checking a nanny reference

Apart from checking the standard contextual information (length of assignment, ages of the children, and position type) we recommend asking parents to describe a nanny’s strengths and what type of positions they would recommend her for based on their own experience. Also ask the parents about their parenting style, preferences, values and beliefs to see if they are similar to yours.

Here are some of the most important topics to discuss when checking a nanny reference:

How was the nurse/nanny in their home? Were they chatty or quiet? Did the family have enough private space and time? What did they do during their time off? Did they eat with the family? Did they cook for themselves? Then, picture this person in your home – would it work?
How many children did they look after, what were their ages? It will give you an indication of how she might fit into your family if she has experience with children of similar ages, looking after multiple children at the same time, or with twins, premature babies, etc.
Did the nanny have any specific requirements? E.g. around working hours, break times, equipment or products, food or accommodation. Does that fit into your family?
Was there anything that bothered them? Anything they would want to be different? Everyone is human, and no one is perfect. Drill down, and when you get to the bottom of it, think about whether you could comfortably live with that.
Would they hire them again? Why yes, why no? In an ideal scenario, you’d find a referee whose parenting style, personality, preferences, values and beliefs are very similar to yours but that’s not always possible.

6. Only conduct reference checks towards the end of the hiring process

Finally, one last point on timing of references. Parents often want to check references before they interview nannies and sometimes before the trial. Why do we advise against this? Mainly because it would become unmanageable for referees. A reference is essentially a gift - you’re taking up someone’s time. And just like the corporate world, it should be reserved for the final one or two candidates on your shortlist.

Check out the other "How to" guides in our series:

How to interpret nanny CVs and profiles

How to interview a nanny

How to trial a nanny

How to onboard a nanny

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Parents sign up here to begin your nanny search.

Nannies sign up here to find your next family. Alternatively, you can send your CV to hello@mytamarin.com and we will be in touch!

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