News and Updates

Dear nannies and families,

We hope everyone is keeping safe and following the directives from the province of Ontario and Canadian federal government to help combat the spread of COVID19, including good hygiene and social distancing.

Effective at the end of day today, March 17, our day time office staff will be working from home with full access to our phone system, e-mails and computers through remote access.  You will not experience any significant changes to the way our business operates and we will continue to be available through all regular channels.  Regular business hours remain consistent.

Some additional changes are outlined below:

• Candidates for jobs will fill out applications remotely and will be interviewed via phone or video chat.
• New client families are encouraged to continue to contact us by phone, email and our website contact forms as they are all being actively monitored as usual.
• Interviews between nannies/caregivers and families can be conducted via phone and video chat during this time, if requested.

These measures will remain in place until further notice but it is our hope to return to normal operations in-office as soon as possible.

Thank you to everyone for doing what you can to get ahead of this unfortunate situation.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us any time.

Best,

Ian Minton

Business Manager, Senior Consultant

As part of the Execu-Nannies family, we wanted to keep you up to date on what has been happening with regard to the Home Child Care and Home Support Worker pilot programs that went into effect on June 18, 2019.  We continue to receive calls and emails every day inquiring about the availability of live-in nannies and many are surprised when we report on the state of the market.

The nanny market is mostly served by applicants who originated in the Philippines and came to Canada by way of Hong Kong or other countries/regions in the area.  When the government cancelled the previous In-Home Caregiver pilot program suddenly, the flow of new caregivers to Canada came to a halt.  The need for overseas caregivers is undeniable when looking at the demand for qualified nannies and the lack of available labour.

The new program requires a processing time of at least 12 months plus the time your prospective nanny needs to obtain the necessary documents to apply; an approved English test and an education credential certificate.  Exacerbating this issue, the protests in Hong Kong have caused many English tests to be cancelled and the timeline for processing the education assessment has grown longer due to the sudden increased demand.

In addition to cancelling the previous caregiver program early without any feasible option for timely hiring of overseas nannies and caregivers, the government opened an interim pathway for many of the existing members of the caregiver program in Canada to apply for permanent residency up to 1 year earlier than usual.  Not only were Canadian families presented with a new program that would take twice as long, the foreign workers who were already in Canada started dropping out of the live-in nanny market as they received their open permits and permanent residency way ahead of schedule.

The result is the markets around Canada who have high need for live-in nannies, such as suburban and rural locations in all of the provinces, are getting a huge shock when they look for a new nanny 3-6 months in advance like they always have.  When presented with a timeline of 12-16 months, they tell us that they don’t know what they will do in the mean time.

Our recommendation to our Execu-Nannies families is to start an Overseas Job Offer under one of the new pilot programs as soon as they can.  If you expect to need a nanny in the next 12-16 months, starting the process now will ensure you are prepared.  We would be glad to consult with you on your future needs whenever you have time.  The purpose of this post is just to let you know how the landscape has changed and the time you need to prepare for your next hire is much different than before.  Your new nanny may have arrived just 6 months or a year ago but it may be time to start looking to the future now.

Contact us at 416-221-6000 or info@execunannies.com for more information.

On June 15, 2019, the government announced an immediate end to In-Home Caregiver Program pathways (Caring for Children and Caring for Elders) in favour of a new set of pathways called Home Child Care Provider and Home Support Worker.  The expiring programs were closed for new applications as of June 18, 2019.

Execu-Nannies will once again adapt our services to the new program to provide a streamlined and guided approach for our clients.  Ensuring that qualified referrals from both local and overseas markets are properly screened and efficiently processed will remain our highest priority.

One of the main benefits to employers is that a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) is no longer required to validate a job offer to an overseas foreign worker.  However, employers who already have an approved LMIA or submitted an LMIA application prior to June 18, 2019 will be able to use them to file a work permit application for an overseas caregiver under the expiring programs.

For caregivers overseas looking to come to Canada, a pre-assessment for permanent residency (PR) in Canada will be required in order to receive a work permit.  This means that they will be approved in principle for PR and it will be finalized once they finish their 2 year work term in Canada.  The initial processing for a work permit/PR pre-assessment will be up to 12 months.  Once completing 2 years in Canada, a processing time of 6 months will be required.  In short, this means a it will take up to 12 months for a caregiver to arrive in Canada after you finalize a job offer to them.

Caregivers coming to Canada will now also have the option to bring a spouse and their children upon arriving to Canada.  Their spouse can qualify for an open permit and children can qualify for a study permit.

As opposed to the previous program, employers will not be responsible for paying airfare to Canada for the caregiver but they will still have to provide health care insurance until the caregiver is eligible for provincial health care coverage.

One major point to note is that the work permit under the new pathways will not be issued to a specific employer.  A caregiver will have the ability to switch employers without having to get a new LMIA.  Though the exact processing details have not been outlined completely, a caregiver would simply need a new job offer from another employer and they would quickly be able to switch jobs.  This measure was put in place to combat potential abusive employment situations where the caregivers stay in jobs in fear of having to waste months or longer while waiting for a new LMIA which sometimes is never even applied for if the job is not found through a reputable agency who prioritizes this.

Employers who were in the process of preparing a LMIA application for an overseas worker should not proceed.  For those preparing an application for a local worker under the expired program, you should continue as planned as local applicants who are in need of sponsorship renewal will still need the LMIA.

If you have any questions about the new process or would like to discuss how Execu-Nannies can facilitate a placement for you under one of the new pathways, please call 416-221-6000.

Employer satisfaction should be every nanny’s concern as this is an integral part to the employer/employee relationship.  There are many things that a nanny or caregiver can do to ensure their employer sees they are trying their best.  This leads to job satisfaction as a result of positive encouragement, performance bonuses, raises and general happiness in the household.

Are you doing these things?

• Being creative with the children (NO TV), researching craft ideas, getting them to play groups for new stimulation.  Are you using using positive reinforcement systems (ie. –  Stickers for rewards) – please don not use candy bars as rewards too!!!   A fancy hair tie, a new little dollar store toy and a baking session are some ideas of great rewards.   Communicate what you are doing to your employer!  Sell yourself!
• Are you socializing the children with others?  Making friends and treating others with r espect, learning how to deal with bullies and other strong personalities and helping others is all in your role of a nanny.
• Are you keeping the children squeaky clean including their clothes, giving regular baths (never leave children alone!), ensuring they are brushing and flossing their teeth and that their clothes are always presentable (ie clean coats, hats, etc).  There is nothing worse than a grubby looking child.
• Are you communicating effectively with your employer,being on the same team and all pulling in the same direction?  Adversarial relationships lead to job stress and ultimately termination.  Do you “have their back” acting as a parental extension?
• Are you doing everything you can to keeping the house clean and organized?  Even if there is a cleaner coming to the house, are you maintaining the children’s rooms, the kitchen, the high traffic areas well?   Are you using attention to detail, which shows your employer you are being observant and that you care.   Employers over the years have said “my nanny left a coat in the same place for two weeks” – everything has a place?      Children will also learn from your tidiness.   If you are the one cleaning, make sure are moving things and not cleaning around things.
• Are you behaving like a professional and portraying the correct image?
• Are you using positive language language – no slang.
• Are you being interactive at the park (not with the nannies!!!), encouraging play with the children?  Remember that neighbours are always watching!
• Are you avoiding conversations centred around gossip?
• Are you portraying and encouraging good manners? – please and thank you goes a long way.
• Are you loving your work and does your employer think she has the best nanny on the planet?  Endear yourself to your family – promote your efforts – let your employer see you are professional and one of the best!
• Are you asking your employers if they are happy with your work?   It is amazing how many nannies never ask and unfortunately sometimes find out that their employer was concerned about something. Not all employers will tell you.  Don’t leave yourself vulnerable!    Employers also love to hear that you think they are the best employers ever too!

It’s a tough decision in some cases.   How long has it been?  Has there been enough time for the learning curve to nurture the understanding?  Has there been adequate discussion, goal setting and time for improvement?  Are the expectations reasonable?  Is there enough time to accomplish all that is being expected?    Is the missing performance due to attitude or skillset?   These are all important considerations before jumping to a new nanny.

1. Search must start within the two month warranty time. The reason for termination is unconditional, however, efforts should be made to remedy the situation.  Execunannies has monitored thousands of placements  over a 30 year span.
2. There must be a firm and clear decision to replace the candidate, not a “maybe we will see if there is someone better” approach.  It is not fair to new candidates who have an expectation of a job opportunity.
3. There should be a meeting backed up with a written letter in place to the nanny to bring the issue or issues to her attention so as to allow her clearly understand and have the time to improve and/or change her approach and/or performance.  Many issues can easily be corrected where there is understanding and communcation.  We can provide performance appraisal templates and assistance in formulating a letter. Documentation is a must.

Remember that there are always issues with each candidate.  It’s a process of learning, growing and building two way trust.  A successful nanny/employer relationship needs clear teamwork, lots of communication and goal setting for it to work.  Employers may think they are correcting one problem with one nanny and then have a host of new problems with someone else.  Looking back, they discover they had the better suited candidate originally.

We’re always here to consult on orientation issues with your new nanny so please contact us if you have any questions at all.

On July 21, 2018, Execu-Nannies is celebrating our 30th year of business with an outdoor BBQ, music and networking for the nanny community that we have served for three decades.

The party will take place in the courtyard at our building at The George Jackson House – 2950 Keele Street, between Sheppard and Wilson.

We’re inviting all of our nannies, past and present, family, and friends to come celebrate this occasion with us. You are the reason we have succeeded in this industry and we would love to give our thanks.

To view the event and mark your attendance, please click here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1704345649657108/

Here at Execu-Nannies, we’re absolutely thrilled every time we place a nanny with an incredible family so it’s always great to hear positive feedback on not just the candidate but also our process.  Thanks to Steve and family for this wonderful testimonial!

Dear Sharon,

I want to thank you for everything you’ve done as well as Ian, Rita, Anna and the rest of your team to help place Maribel with our family.  She is definitely a perfect fit.

I chose Execu-nannies over other agencies because it was obvious from our first conversation that you completely understood the evolving rules and processes of the caregiver program in Canada.  

Execu-nannies understood my needs and provided me with an abundance of profiles with detailed questionnaires including photographs and reference letters. They setup and co-ordinated Skype interviews with our selections including a second round of interviews.  After making our selection, we completed their Job Profile to ensure there is no misunderstanding on the expectations from both the employer and the employee. 

Ian had walked us through the entire process from job advertisements to the LMIA and contracts. Ian and the Execu-nannies team made this process very simple and painless for us as they took care of all the paperwork and co-ordination required by the caregiver program.  It was obvious through this process that Execu-nannies has a thorough understanding of the rules and regulations of the caregiver program in Canada. 

Execu-nannies was always there for us during the entire process to ensure we had a positive experience. 

Thank you Sharon, Ian, Rita and Anna (and the rest of your team).

Steve D’Sa

Woodbridge, ON