The beginning of a new year is the perfect time for setting goals, cleaning out your closet, or taking up a new hobby. A priority to put at the top of your list is to conduct a year-end review with your nanny. We advise that families do this on a regular basis, informally at your monthly one-on-ones and more formally once or twice a year.
The review is an opportunity for both parties to be open and honest, keeping the communication open. Conducting a review allows you the forum to discuss obstacles, challenges, concerns, and to celebrate accomplishments and milestones, or to address any upcoming changes. I enjoy having “one on ones” with my nanny each month. We will either meet in a quiet place away from the kids at home or go grab a cup of coffee at the café down the street. In this meeting, we can discuss each child and what is going on in each of their lives: school, activities, goals, concerns, etc.
Even if you do have reviews consistently, the year end review is a bit more formal and I would even encourage you to put your thoughts down in writing so that your nanny has a written “performance plan” to work from and understands clearly any areas you would like her to work on, in addition to areas in which you feel she is excelling and adding value to your family. Some examples of important items to discuss annually are:
- Have the job duties changed over the year?
- Are you adding items to her job description?
- Did you have a new child?
- Will you be changing her salary/hourly pay?
Click here to use the Mom’s Best Friend evaluation form as a guide for your review.