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Interview with Bell Family Company’s Founder & Owner Lindsay Bell

Q: Why use an agency?

Getting childcare help is an essential part of parenthood, but not all mothers are getting the help that they need. We asked a group of moms as part of a survey that do not currently use an agency, “Why is it so hard to ask for help?” The most common answers were:

  • I want it done a certain way.
  • Mom guilt.
  • Not sure who to ask.
  • I feel that it’s my job to do it.
  • The time it takes to set up an account and review all the resumes, I may as well do it myself.

Let’s unpack these findings…

I want it done a certain way.

Relinquishing control is a tough one. Many of our clients are bad ass (can I say that?) mom bosses and want it done their way. However, once they hear about our meticulous vetting process and organized coordination of sending qualified profiles, moms learn for themselves that we have them covered.

Mom guilt.

#Momguilt. Yesterday we had a brand new mom call us in tears because she didn’t know how to start the process and felt guilty outsourcing. One of our team members held her hand virtually providing support and guidance, and she could feel the mom becoming calm as the call went on. Sometimes you just need to talk it out, and that is what our team is here for. We hear out each situation and provide an individual plan customized to your needs.

Not sure who to ask.

Not sure who to ask? At our agency, you simply send an email or set up a call from our website and we guide you from there. There is no searching for the best person to talk to, or waiting for days or weeks to speak. We set up each mom with a trusted team member as fast as we can!

I feel that it’s my job to do it.

Feeling that it is your job to do all the childcare? It’s not ALL your job. Even if you don’t work, you need a break, too. Moms today carry a much bigger burden than our mothers or our grandmothers. The mental load and mother load didn’t really exist to the magnitude it is today. Think about the day to day logistics that go through your brain; did you get that present for the party this weekend? Did you order all the toiletries that you ran out of? What is for dinner tonight? One of your kids wasn’t feeling well this morning, etc…. All day, every day is a running list of to-dos and logistics. You and your brain need a much needed break. If you don’t outsource, you’ll crash. You have to think about yourself (at least sometimes) and get some help.

The time it takes to set up an account and review all the resumes, I may as well do it myself.

Parents sometimes think that by the time they fill out a profile with us and review resumes, they could have found someone themselves. Bell Family Company will cut the time you spend on the nanny or sitter search process by 90%. For an on-demand sitter booking, moms just need to send an email to us. It takes just 2 minutes, and we get you booked with an amazing, directly referred, fully vetted sitter. For a full time nanny placement, a family simply answers emails from us with what to do and shows up for the interviews/trials.

A little data for you… GTM Payroll Services conducted a survey on the advantages to hiring household staff through an agency. The findings of their household employment survey of families and nannies made it clear that hiring a nanny through an agency, rather than using an online job site, saved time, boosted retention, and reduced the stress and hassles of bringing multiple nannies on board over a short period of time. A family that hires through an agency instead of an online job site like (Facebook, SitterCity, Care.com, etc.) will receive a higher quality nanny, spend less time searching for the right match, and will ultimately find a nanny that they’ll keep longer.

Q: How does interviewing work and picking someone work (e.g., what to ask, in-person visits, training days)?

Families are so busy and distracted, this is where we can be most useful in coordinating all the logistics of meeting a candidate. We help families land on what is important for them to ask, what type of setting to use, how to interview in-person / virtually, and the importance of trialing a nanny. In general, we remind families to ask questions tailored to their needs (Is infant care needed? Is cooking important? Is homework help important? Etc.). We provide guidance on how to ask questions so they are staying within the law, and we always walk families through the steps of trialing a nanny before hiring them!

Q: How do you determine an hourly vs. set schedule and managing payment?

Our agency offers every type of childcare provider under the sun. We know every family is different with various needs. Some families need full time and others need part time. Some families need consistent care and some need month to month care. It’s common for families to need a different schedule every week so they will rotate a few of our sitters (a “sitter rotation”) to cover the shifts, including some on-demand! There are pros and cons to a consistent schedule vs hourly. It all really depends on your needs. What we do is talk through each family’s situation and then guide them on what is best based on our conversation. Some families think they need one thing but really need something entirely different after we talk to them. Hourly sitters are more flexible and cost effective (because you need less hours), but you may not have the same sitter for long term. A set schedule gives you consistent coverage and the same person each day. We are here to help navigate all the possibilities!

Q: How do you recommend putting together a contract?

We provide our services to draft a contract for families/nannies to use or they may use a template we give them if they would like to do it themselves. This is a very flexible part of hiring a nanny and we are here to help. A nanny/family work contract provides a solid guide on what the family and nanny can expect from each other. We use an up-to-date template based on current market trends, laws, rules and regulations. Using this type of agreement is imperative to starting any hire off on the right foot! Some highlights of the template we use include a sample daily schedule, PTO section, when reviews should take place, when check-ins will take place, etc. We make this part very easy for each family and provide as much support as needed.

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