Straight answers on hiring, paying, and keeping exceptional household professionals, drawn from twenty-five years of executive search for private homes.
Why hiring the right person for your home has more in common with recruiting a chief executive than with finding a babys...
Start HereThe distinction the industry rarely names, and the reason the very best childcare costs what it does.
Start HereAfter twenty-five years of placements, the homes where great help stays for years all share one quiet habit. Here is wha...
Most placements are filled. Few are built to last. Here is how to tell which kind of firm you are dealing with.
Finding the Right FirmRunning a great estate is executive work. Finding the person to do it calls for an executive search, not a staffing list.
Finding the Right FirmAt the top of the field, you are not hiring a sitter. You are recruiting a professional, and the search should reflect t...
Finding the Right FirmA great home runs as a system. Staffing one is about building a team, not filling a series of unrelated roles.
Finding the Right FirmTwo of the most specialized roles in private service, and what it takes to fill them with the right person.
Finding the Right FirmWhen the need is skilled, in-home nursing, the standard for both credentials and discretion rises sharply.
Finding the Right FirmCaring for an aging parent or spouse is a matter of trust before anything else. The right firm understands that first.
Finding the Right FirmA second language in the home is a rare and valuable thing. Finding it well takes a firm that recruits for it specifically.
Finding the Right FirmEvery agency claims to vet. Here is how to tell which ones actually do, and to the depth that matters.
Finding the Right FirmTenure is not luck. It is the product of how a placement is made, and who makes it.
Finding the Right FirmA year-long guarantee is rare, and it tells you something a brochure cannot.
Finding the Right FirmThe honest answer: not by posting a job. By conducting a search.
Finding the Right FirmFor first-time parents, the right help in the early weeks changes everything. Here is how to find it.
Finding the Right FirmTwo of the most common household roles, and the standard that should sit behind both.
Finding the Right FirmFrom companionship to skilled nursing, one trusted source for the full spectrum of in-home care.
A clear answer, with real ranges, and an honest account of what actually sets the number.
Costs & CompensationThe ranges, the reasons behind them, and why the best families think in terms of value rather than rate.
Costs & CompensationWhy travel roles sit at the upper end of nanny pay, and what families are really paying for.
Costs & CompensationHow newborn specialists are paid, why the structure differs from a nanny, and what shapes the rate.
Costs & CompensationExecutive-level pay for an executive-level role, and what separates a manager's compensation from the rest of a household.
Costs & CompensationHow private chefs are paid, why the day rate is the norm, and what shapes it.
Costs & CompensationWhere housekeeping and household-staff pay sits, and what moves it within the range.
Costs & CompensationWhy a governess sits at the educated, upper end of childcare pay, and what families are paying for.
Costs & CompensationThe wage is the beginning of the number, not the end. What the all-in cost actually includes.
Costs & CompensationThe factors behind the range, so you can read a rate and know what it reflects.
Costs & CompensationThe honest answer to the question we are asked most about cost and location.
Costs & CompensationThe package that makes a role competitive, and why benefits are part of keeping great help.
Costs & CompensationThe arrangement changes the structure of compensation, not just the hours.
Costs & CompensationThe parts of a role that sit outside a normal week, and how they are fairly compensated.
What separates a serious firm from the rest, and the questions worth asking before you sign.
Choosing & Working With an AgencyAn honest look at both paths, what each asks of you, and when one clearly beats the other.
Choosing & Working With an AgencyThe questions that separate a serious firm from a mediocre one, and protect you before you commit.
Choosing & Working With an AgencyThe differences are not always visible up front, but they determine everything about your experience.
Choosing & Working With an AgencyWhat you are actually paying for, how the fee is calculated, and what should be included.
Choosing & Working With an AgencyA guarantee is a promise about confidence. Here is how to read one.
Choosing & Working With an AgencyThe warning signs that separate a firm worth trusting from one to walk away from.
Choosing & Working With an AgencyA good placement is the beginning of the relationship, not the end of it.
Choosing & Working With an AgencyA short list of the right people beats a long list of available ones, every time.
Choosing & Working With an AgencyUsually two to four weeks. Sometimes the same day. A quarter-century of experience is what makes that possible.
Choosing & Working With an AgencyOur guarantee, how it works, and why the real safeguard comes long before it.
The standard we hold, the steps behind it, and why nothing less belongs in your home.
Vetting & SafetyFrom first résumé to final reference, what a rigorous screening actually looks like, step by step.
Vetting & SafetyThe difference between a real screening and a cursory one, laid out plainly.
Vetting & SafetyThree different criminal searches, three different things they catch, and why you need all of them.
Vetting & SafetyA résumé tells you what someone did. References tell you who they are.
Vetting & SafetyTrust, but confirm. How a serious agency makes sure a résumé is true.
Vetting & SafetyA reasonable question with a practical answer, and how testing fits into responsible hiring.
Vetting & SafetyA chance to see fit in practice, done in a way that is fair to everyone.
Vetting & SafetySafety in private hiring is built from many layers, not a single precaution.
Three words people use interchangeably for three very different kinds of help.
Deciding & Getting StartedTwo roles that solve two different problems, and why growing families often end up needing both.
Deciding & Getting StartedMost families wait longer than they should. Here is how to know when ad hoc has stopped working.
Deciding & Getting StartedThe same professional, two very different rhythms of household life. How to decide which fits yours.
Deciding & Getting StartedA realistic look at the day, and where a nanny's job ends and a housekeeper's begins.
Deciding & Getting StartedSooner than most families think, and the more specific the role, the truer that is.
Deciding & Getting StartedWhen one pair of hands is no longer enough, and how to build a small team that works.
Deciding & Getting StartedThe clearer you are before a search begins, the better the person you will find.
A plain explanation of how the money works when you hire through an agency, so there are no surprises.
Working With Us: Common QuestionsBy the time you sit down with someone, the work of vetting and matching is already done. Here is what you will have in h...
Working With Us: Common QuestionsA natural question, with an answer that explains how we actually work, and why it serves you better.
Working With Us: Common QuestionsWhat "commitment" means in a placement, what is expected of each side, and why the aim is years, not a contract clause.
Working With Us: Common QuestionsA fair worry, and an easy one to answer: no. The person we place with you is yours.
Working With Us: Common QuestionsDiscretion protects you, the client, every bit as much as it governs the professionals we place.
Working With Us: Common QuestionsThe qualifications, experience, and practical skills behind the professionals we represent, and how we match them to wha...
One is a profession. The other is occasional help. Knowing the difference changes how you hire.
Roles ExplainedThe two terms are often used interchangeably. The distinction still matters when you hire.
Roles ExplainedWhat the role covers, how it differs from a household manager, and what it costs.
Roles ExplainedA professional who keeps a child's world steady no matter where in the world the family is.
Roles ExplainedRestaurant-level cooking, made personal: meals built around how a particular family actually lives and eats.
Roles ExplainedA senior childcare role for families whose needs have outgrown a single nanny.
Roles ExplainedAround-the-clock care, made sustainable by rotating professionals.
Roles ExplainedWhere childcare meets education. A role focused on how a child learns, speaks, and grows.
Roles ExplainedExpert help for one of the hardest parts of early parenthood: getting everyone some sleep.
Roles ExplainedProfessional support for one of life's most significant passages, before, during, and after birth.
Roles ExplainedTwo senior roles that overlap, differ mainly in scale, and are often confused. How to tell which your home needs.
Roles ExplainedThe professional who keeps a residence sound, secure, and ready, whether or not anyone is there.
Roles ExplainedThe image is Edwardian. The modern reality is a polished, versatile manager of a household's service and standards.
Roles ExplainedTwo support roles that sound alike but serve different masters. Knowing which you need prevents a mismatch.
Roles ExplainedTwo professionals, often married, who together run a home, and the particular advantages of hiring as a pair.
Roles ExplainedExperienced, specialized care for children whose needs go beyond the ordinary, and the families who rely on it.
What it actually takes to bring a nanny along, and how to structure it so it works for everyone.
Travel, Seasonal & Multiple HomesThe season is short and everyone is hiring at once. How to staff it well, and early.
Travel, Seasonal & Multiple HomesA home you are not always in still needs running, and that is its own staffing challenge.
Travel, Seasonal & Multiple HomesCrossing borders with your help adds a layer most families do not anticipate. Here is what to plan for.
Travel, Seasonal & Multiple HomesThe scheduling system behind around-the-clock care, and why it keeps both children and caregivers thriving.
Travel, Seasonal & Multiple HomesA single intense summer, a flood of demand, and a short window to get it right.
Travel, Seasonal & Multiple HomesA ski-season household has its own rhythm. Here is how to staff for the mountains.
Travel, Seasonal & Multiple HomesSeveral homes mean several households to run. The art is in the coordination.
The first days shape the years. Clarity at the start is the kindest and smartest thing you can offer.
Managing & Keeping Great HelpTenure is not luck or generosity. It is a set of habits, and they can be learned.
Managing & Keeping Great HelpRaises are part of keeping a great professional. Handled well, they cost less than turnover and buy years of loyalty.
Managing & Keeping Great HelpThe home is an unusual workplace, and feedback there requires particular care. Done well, it strengthens a placement rat...
Managing & Keeping Great HelpBefore you conclude it cannot be saved, a clear-eyed look at whether it can, and how to act either way.
Managing & Keeping Great HelpEndings matter as much as beginnings. A respectful, proper parting protects everyone, including your reputation as an em...
Managing & Keeping Great HelpThere is no single rule, but there are sound principles. How thoughtful families approach severance.
Managing & Keeping Great HelpThe bridge between hiring and a placement that lasts. A good first few weeks set the tone for years.
The weeks before a birth are the time to get your support in place, not after.
Newborn & FamilyMost families keep one for a defined stretch of the early months. How to think about the right length for yours.
Newborn & FamilyThe same expertise, two very different purposes. Which kind of newborn help your family needs depends on what you are tr...
Newborn & FamilyTwo or more babies at once is not simply double the work. Here is what the staffing actually requires.
Newborn & FamilyNot just care for the baby, but care for the family finding its way around the baby.
Building a full estate team is a project in itself. Here is how it is done well, in the right order.
Estate & Household ManagementThe document that lets a home run consistently no matter who is on duty, if it is built to be used rather than admired.
Estate & Household ManagementNeither too few nor too many. How to right-size the team to the home and the life.
Estate & Household ManagementWhen people work inside your private life, discretion is not a perk. It is the foundation of the whole arrangement.
Estate & Household ManagementA confidentiality agreement formalizes what discretion already requires. How to use one well, and what it can and cannot...
Turning a love of working with children into a profession that can span a lifetime and earn a real living.
For Professionals & CandidatesThe bar is high, and it is specific. Knowing what selective firms actually want helps a professional meet it.
For Professionals & CandidatesFor a household professional, the résumé opens the door. Here is how to make yours work.
For Professionals & CandidatesFor candidates: a clear, honest picture of how working with a serious agency actually goes, from application to placement.
For Professionals & CandidatesCompensation in private service rewards specific things. Here is how a professional builds toward the top of the field.
How the "nanny tax" works, what you owe, and why paying properly protects your family as much as your nanny.
Hiring, Legal & TaxThe legal essentials of household employment, in plain terms, and where to get them handled right.
Hiring, Legal & TaxGetting this wrong is one of the most common and costly mistakes a household employer makes.
Hiring, Legal & TaxA clear written agreement is the single best protection for a placement, on both sides.
Hiring, Legal & TaxBeyond childcare, every household role benefits from the same clarity in writing.
Hiring, Legal & TaxOften yes, frequently required, and worth having even when it is not.
Hiring, Legal & TaxThe coverage that protects your family and your staff, and the gaps you may not know you have.
Hiring, Legal & TaxTwo of the terms families most often get wrong, and how to set them up fairly from the start.
Hiring, Legal & TaxThe questions that move past rehearsed answers and show you who someone really is.
Hiring, Legal & TaxThe clearer the description, the better the candidates, and the search.
Hiring, Legal & TaxA trial works only when it is fair to both sides. Here is how to structure one.
The real options, what each one asks of you, and how to find someone you can actually trust.
How to Find a Nanny by CityWhat is different about hiring here, and how to find someone you can hand the keys, and the car, to.
How to Find a Nanny by CityA market with its own language and its own rules, where the details that trip families up are rarely the obvious ones.
How to Find a Nanny by CityA market where the first question is often not how many hours, but how many languages.
How to Find a Nanny by CityHiring in a city where so many families are starting from scratch, across a very large metroplex.
The deepest and most competitive market in the country, with its own rules.
Staffing by MarketWhy a placement here is so often a placement across two homes.
Staffing by MarketA market where the first question is often which languages a candidate speaks.
Staffing by MarketA seasonal market where the best staff travel to the home, and the home needs managing all year.
Staffing by MarketA market that runs on one season, and the staffing that follows it.
Staffing by MarketA finance capital of large estates, run year-round and tied closely to New York.
Staffing by MarketA market defined by arrival: new wealth, new homes, and households built from the ground up.
Staffing by MarketA market built on privacy, large estates, and homes that must be cared for whether or not the family is there.
Staffing by MarketA market shaped by public life, the diplomatic world, and an exceptional premium on discretion.
Staffing by MarketThe world's deepest tradition of private service, in a moment of unusual movement.
Staffing by MarketAn international market with its own rules, and an honest picture of the present moment.
Staffing by MarketA traditional culture, a modern ambition, and a distinctive idea of what a great household professional brings.
Staffing by MarketA private, formal market driven largely by international families.
Staffing by MarketA market built on discretion, multilingual households, and a premium on quality.