How to Choose a Domestic Staffing Agency You Can Trust

What separates a serious firm from the rest, and the questions worth asking before you sign.

Choosing an agency is the most consequential decision in the whole process, because the agency is what stands between you and a stranger in your home. Most look similar from the outside. The differences that matter are not on the brochure, so here is what to look for, and what to ask.

A serious firm vets to a real standard. Not a glance at a résumé, but genuine screening: criminal records at the national, federal, and county level, motor vehicle history, verification of past employment and education, and direct conversations with references. Ask exactly what their background process includes, and who conducts it. If the answer is vague, that tells you something.

A serious firm stands behind its placements. Look for a meaningful guarantee, and ask whether a replacement search costs extra. A firm confident in its matches will guarantee them for a real length of time without charging you again to fix a mistake.

A serious firm is selective, and recruits to you. The best agencies represent only a small fraction of the people who apply, and they do not simply forward whoever is on a list. They take the time to understand your family, then search for the specific person you need, recruiting beyond their existing network if the right candidate is not already known to them. If an agency is sending you volume rather than fit, it is working as a directory, not as a search.

A serious firm is transparent and discreet. Fees should be explained clearly and in writing, not hidden to force a call. And the people who handle your search should treat everything you tell them, about your home, your family, your circumstances, as confidential, because at this level you will share a great deal.

The questions worth asking before you sign are simple. How do you vet candidates, and what does your background check actually include? What is your placement guarantee, and does a replacement cost extra? How many candidates will I meet, and how do you choose them? Do you recruit specifically to my needs, or send from a list? How do your fees work? And what happens if it does not work out?

The red flags are the mirror image of the above. An agency that pushes volume over fit, hides its fees, cannot describe a real screening process, or offers no guarantee is one to walk away from. The right firm will welcome every one of these questions, because the answers are exactly what it competes on. It is the standard that has defined Nannies + more…® for more than twenty-five years.