Meet the family

Our features the past two months about starting a nanny agency appear to have got readers looking at their own agency practice. Cressida Hoblyn, director of Platinum Nanny Services, is keen to point out that she and her business partner Polly King-Holford make home visits to check out the parents, as well as checking the nanny, before making any placements. 'When setting up our agency we heard horror stories of nannies attending interviews in hotels, wine bars and sometimes a private home when it transpired that the "client" (sometimes male) was clearly not seeking a nanny but some other service,' she says. 'It is also a common occurrence that girls start a job as a mother's help and then are expected to be a cleaner. Or the expectations of the family are unrealistic or exploitative in terms of the hours and the pay being offered.' Cressida thinks the needs, expectations and responsibilities of the family are best discussed over a cup of coffee in their kitchen, and it keeps her from 'sending applicants who will not fit in with the household, which is a waste of time for both the nannies and the client'. When interview time comes, she instructs nannies to observe the same safety rules she does - 'both Polly and myself always ensure that the other has the full details of any home visit the other is carrying out'. Have you had any regrettable experiences anywhere along in the job-hunting process? We'd like to hear about them, in confidence, and may be able to warn other nannies what to watch out for.