Professionalism, structure are important when employing Nanny

Professionalism has been identified as the key ingredient to consider when employing a Nanny. This was made known by Amara Agbim, founder, The Nanny Academy, at the institute’s 10th anniversary celebration in Lagos. According to Agbim, most trained Nannies understand the value of contracts and the need to respect them. “They understand that forming secure attachment is a critical part of child development and work in partnership with parents to help children thrive. To achieve this level of professionalism, deep training which penetrates to achieve a mindset shift is preferred over sandwich training packages,” she explained. Also, Agbim identified some challenges facing the growth and development of this essential social service industry. She said it is wrong for employers to think that individuals take to the profession due to lack of gainful employment or any other work to do. “Children aren’t always easy to handle so we should do away with thinking that it is an unfortunate truth that most nannies work in childcare because they couldn’t find a “real” job. It is not true that they take to the role because they’re looking for something simple and don’t strive for anything more out of laziness,” she said. In addition, experts believe employer malpractices can discourage professionalism. According to Chichi Okiche, a recruitment manager with Robert Half, the ideal candidate to hire is one with a right combination of education and experience. The right education in itself equips the candidate with the right social skills and interpersonal skills to succeed on the job. Hiring untrained hands and some ‘experience’ is just a malpractice.