Nanny Agency Jobs How-to / checklist

Prepare for a nanny performance review by bringing a short account of your work, questions about expectations and a few practical goals. You are discussing an existing working relationship: what has gone well, what needs attention and what both sides need to do next. You do not need to turn the meeting into another job interview or prove your value through a long catalogue of unpaid extras.

This guide offers an original preparation sheet and action record. Adapt them to your actual role and the review process your employer uses. Keep examples focused on your work without collecting unnecessary information about the children or household.

Confirm what the meeting will cover

Ask which period the review covers, who will attend and whether there is a form to complete. Request the topics beforehand so you can bring relevant examples. Arrange a time when the conversation can receive proper attention and confirm how childcare will be covered during it.

HomeWork Solutions discusses performance and salary reviews as separate subjects that families may combine. Ask which subjects are on this meeting's agenda. If you want to discuss a changed role or pay, say so in advance; do not assume a performance discussion includes a compensation decision.

An adaptable opening is: “I would like to review what is working, understand any changes you want and agree priorities for the next period. Is there anything specific you would like me to prepare?” This gives the conversation a clear purpose without predicting the feedback.

Build a small evidence sheet

Choose examples that show how you handled agreed responsibilities. A description of a repeatable process is more useful than a claim that you are always helpful. Include something you improved and something you still find difficult. Avoid treating every pleasant comment as a formal assessment.

Use this original worksheet for each selected example:

  • Responsibility: Which part of your agreed job does this demonstrate?
  • Situation: What practical problem or task needed attention?
  • Your action: What did you personally do?
  • Observable result: What changed that you can describe accurately?
  • Evidence available: Is there an existing, appropriate record you can refer to?
  • Next question: What do you need confirmed or improved?

For instance, organizing a consistent place for school materials is a work process you can explain. Claiming that your organization caused every improvement in a child's school experience goes beyond what that example establishes. Keep your contribution clear and your conclusions proportionate.

Separate feedback from unclear expectations

Listen for the particular behavior behind a broad description. If you hear “be more proactive,” ask which decisions you may make independently, which need permission and what a successful example would look like. If you hear “communication needs work,” ask whether the concern is timing, missing information or the channel used.

GTM's performance-review guidance recommends job-focused feedback supported by specific examples. You can use that principle to make both praise and criticism easier to act on.

Try these original questions:

  • Keep: “Which part of my current approach would you like me to continue?”
  • Clarify: “Can we walk through one occasion when the result differed from your expectation?”
  • Authority: “What can I decide myself in that situation?”
  • Support: “What information or resources would help me meet that expectation?”
  • Priority: “If these tasks conflict, which should come first?”

If you disagree with an example, explain the relevant facts calmly. You can acknowledge the family's concern without agreeing to an inaccurate description. Ask to include your explanation in the meeting record.

Turn the conversation into usable goals

Choose a small number of goals with a clear action and a way to check progress. “Be excellent at communication” gives you little direction. “Use the agreed report headings and place questions requiring a parent decision at the top” is something both sides can recognize.

Fictional example: A nanny and family agree that activity planning has become rushed. The nanny proposes a short list of possible activities before the next planning conversation. The parent will identify the available budget and confirm any restrictions. They agree to review whether the list made decisions easier after trying it together.

This goal has contributions from both sides. It does not make the nanny responsible for decisions that remain with the parent. Before accepting a goal, ask whether it fits your duties, available working time and authority. A new responsibility may need a separate discussion about the role rather than being folded silently into a performance target.

Write an action record before details fade

At the end, repeat what you understand the next steps to be. Distinguish decisions from suggestions: a possible course is not an approved booking, and an idea for a new task is not a completed agreement.

Use this original record:

  • Agreed action: What will change?
  • Owner: Who will do it?
  • Dependency: What permission, information or resource comes first?
  • Check-in: When will you discuss the result?
  • Open item: What remains undecided?

Send a concise summary through your agreed work channel and invite corrections. If the employer provides a written review, read it carefully and ask about anything unclear before indicating agreement. Keep your own professional notes limited to the employment discussion, stored appropriately and separate from material you might show future employers.

Sources and next step

The linked sources provide industry guidance; the worksheets, questions and fictional example above are original NAJ planning tools.

Before your meeting, complete three evidence entries and choose one question you most need answered. Aim to leave knowing what to continue, what to change and who owns the next step.