Searching for a live out nanny? Make sure you get the very best for your family.
Live out nannies are more expensive than live in nannies but they offer you the privacy that you desire in your home. If you aren’t clear on the right type of nanny for your family, see our guide on finding the perfect nanny for your family.
Live out nannies normally work 8-12h per day, depending on your needs. They will do all nursery duties but no cleaning/ housework (unless related to the children). If you need someone to do housekeeping as well, it’s best to be upfront from the start about your expectations for a nanny/housekeeper.
So what are the most important questions to ask a live out nanny and why should you ask them?
- Why are you interested in this role? You should normally ask this question to start with, just to try and read the nanny in front of you and make sure she is doing this because she enjoys working with children and not because she wants to earn some ‘easy’ cash.
- How far do you live from us and how will you get to our house? This question gives you insight to their thought process around planning and travel. They will be transporting your children so you want to make sure they are organised and plan well ahead. Also, you don’t want to be left waiting for your nanny to arrive in the mornings. Because she will not be living with you in the same house, she needs to take into consideration travel time, how long it will take her to travel from her house to yours, traffic, train/ tube disruptions, bus strikes etc.
- How flexible is your schedule, if we occasionally need you to arrive early or stay late? Find out if your nanny willing to put your children first. It will be a big stress reliever for you to know your nanny can be flexible in case you need a little extra help or have a change in schedule.
- Are you willing to do occasional overnight stays/ proxy parenting with the children? Same thing, because she is not a live in nanny, you will have to check and see if she is happy to stay overnight and look after the kids.
- Ask your nanny about her protocol for health and safety in the house – This will let you gage how experienced and professional your nanny candidate is. Health and safety is a very important issue to be discussed as the nanny is not used to your home. From day one she needs to be introduced to all the rooms in the house and be presented her with potential dangers like windows, stairs etc and also fire alarms/ home alarms, all the codes and passwords that are needed to activate/ deactivate alarms etc.
- Discuss how you both feel about running own personal errands or having friends during work time (that are not playdates with other mums/ nannies) – This is something you just want to get out in the air so everyone is clear on the expectations. Nannies should not be running personal errands or visiting friends while on the job unless you explicitly agree it’s okay.
- During the hours my children are in nursery/school, what do you consider your role and responsibilities to be? – A great live out nanny will take care of your children’s rooms, laundry, planning, etc. while the children are out. See what your candidates thoughts are on this.
- Are you willing to travel with us as a family during our holidays? – Most nannies are open to traveling with families, but it’s best to be clear from the start.
- Do you have your own children? If yes, how will you be able to come to work if they are sick/ off school? – Identify some potential conflicts to make sure you don’t have any unexpected days where your nanny is unavailable.
- If our roles were reversed, what would you look for in hiring a nanny? – If your candidate highlights your most important attributes, you’ll know you’ve found a good match.
So, apart from the general and well known questions, these are the most important and specific 10 questions to ask a live out nanny during an interview. Don’t stop here! Get specific with your needs and schedule to make sure your nanny is a perfect fit.
About Polo & Tweed
Polo and Tweed is an elite domestic staff recruitment agency. We believe in working very hard for our clients to make them and their children happy, so if you are in need for a live out nanny, please do not hesitate to contact us. We have thousands of fully background screened, top nannies (and other domestic staff) waiting to be placed in your area, we’d love to hear from you.