Will Acquisitions of Agencies Improve Nanny Web Sites?

Nanny Web Sites Purchase Nanny Placement Agencies

When Be the Best Nanny Newsletter asked nannies in 2007 how they found their nanny jobs the majority of jobs were found with the help of nanny placement agencies and only 20-percent of the caregivers found their jobs on nanny web sites. Things started to shift with less nanny job seekers using nanny placements in 2010, but dramatically changed with most caregivers using nanny web sites to find nanny jobs by 2012.

With so many job seekers finding nanny jobs on nanny web sites I have wondered if nanny placement agencies could compete.

But, recently nanny web site owners have purchased nanny placement agencies. With the agency acquisitions, perhaps the differences between nanny placement agencies and nanny web sites may start to become more blurred. Could the new acquisitions improve both the web sites and placement agencies? Below, I try to find out.

How Nannies Found Jobs in 2007

42% Nanny Placement Agency

20% Nanny Web Sites

15% Word-Of-Mouth

15% Classified Ads in Printed Publications

How Nannies Found Jobs in 2010

38% Nanny Web Site

29% Word-Of-Mouth

19% Nanny Placement Agency

14% Craigslist

How Nannies Found Jobs in 2012

79% Nanny Web Site

10% Word-Of-Mouth

9% Nanny Placement Agency

2% Craigslist

In December, 2012 Longhorn Leads, (owner of eNannySource.com, Nannypro.com, and
GoNannies.com), acquired Morningside Nannies, a brick and mortar nanny placement agency in Houston, Texas. And just last week, nanny web site giant Care.com announced they have purchased the Brookline, Massachusetts based nanny placement agency Parents in a Pinch.

I had to ask how the new acquisitions will change the nanny businesses and the experience for nanny candidates and parents.

Ken Myers, Founder and CEO of Longhorn Leads admits he’s looking forward to being more involved hands-on in helping parents find the right childcare solution for their family since purchasing Morningside Nannies. He says, “By acquiring an award-winning agency, we can offer parents the choice of using a full-service agency, an online recruiting site, or something in between.”

Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Founder and CEO of Care.com told me the union provides parents another avenue to find care. She explains, “For nannies, the acquisition means more potential job opportunities as we will now offer back-up care services to Care.com’s existing corporate clients.”

Mr. Myers explains that, “The online sites will fundamentally remain the do-it-yourself model where families take on a much greater share of the work involved with hiring an online caregiver.”

And while Mrs. Marcelo agrees there won’t be a difference to the user experience she told me there will be some great benefits to the online users. She says, “In-home back-up care through Parents in a Pinch will be available to Care.com members later this year, and immediately available through our employer offering. Likewise, Care.com expects to begin offering its full suite of corporate care services to corporate clients of Parents in a Pinch this month.”

The CEO of Care.com explains that Parents in a Pinch currently works with more than 60 corporate clients and directly with several thousand families. Care.com has an extensive corporate clientele as well, on top of our multi-million membership of individual families. As one company, they will now be able to cross-sell Care.com’s services to Parents in a Pinch corporate clients and offer back-up care via Parents in a Pinch to our corporate clients and consumer membership.

When I asked if parents and nanny candidates will see a difference in the way Morningside Nannies will operate Mr. Myers answers, “They will definitely notice a new and improved web site with tons of great content and resources to support Houston area families and businesses.”

“They will also see an increased level of commitment to customer service and the infusion of technologies that will support them better as we help them fulfill their family care needs,” says Mr. Myers.

He continues, “With Morningside Nannies and our portfolio of nanny related businesses we are able to offer parents the most comprehensive offerings.”

When asked if we will notice a difference in the way Parents in a Pinch is managed Mrs. Marcello assures me, “Absolutely not. Parents in a Pinch will continue to be managed by co-founders Barbara Siegel and Davida Manon and will continue to provide the high-quality reliable service they are known for.”

Despite owning nanny web sites and a nanny placement agency already Longhorn Leads still plans to grow all aspects all aspects of the nanny business in 2013, says Mr. Myers. And Mrs. Marcello also confirms, “We are always evaluating and are open to opportunities that we feel could expand the breadth and scope of our services.”