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Asking for a raise
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I have been working as a nanny for 6 year old twins (almost 7 now) for almost a year. When I took the job, I was desperate and $12/hr sounded a lot better than the 0 I had been making for the past 7 months. Now, after doing some research, I realize I'm being screwed. Looking online showed that the going rate for non live-in nannies is about $15-18/hr where I live. Add to that the fact that they've got me doing housekeeping (usually about $20/hr as far as I can see online) as well after the kids have gone to sleep, I feel I deserve more. There are a couple problems. First, I've never asked for a raise before and don't know how to do it effectively. Second, the standards of clean the mom wants are so high I don't feel I can ever reach them. Every time I successfully integrate another little detail I would never have thought of, she adds 2 more. How do I justify asking for a raise when I can't meet her ever changing standards? I can't even fold sheets properly for this woman.
Things are better on the nanny side, aka the job I actually thought I was being hired to do. I get along with the kids and we have fun. I take them out on bikes, go to parks and festivals, and generally keep them entertained. They can be difficult at times, as young children will be, but we've gotten pretty close over the past year. I would hate to leave them as they've had many nannies come and go over the years and I can tell they sometimes feel like no one cares enough to stick around, but I can't live on what I'm making. I know that the parents could easily afford to pay me more so how do I ask them in a way the has the best odds of success?
Things are better on the nanny side, aka the job I actually thought I was being hired to do. I get along with the kids and we have fun. I take them out on bikes, go to parks and festivals, and generally keep them entertained. They can be difficult at times, as young children will be, but we've gotten pretty close over the past year. I would hate to leave them as they've had many nannies come and go over the years and I can tell they sometimes feel like no one cares enough to stick around, but I can't live on what I'm making. I know that the parents could easily afford to pay me more so how do I ask them in a way the has the best odds of success?
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The typical "how to ask for a raise" advice you can find through Google applies, but from what you describe you might want to start looking for another job in the meantime.
Seems like the Mom thinks that when the kids are asleep you should be working for your hourly rate somehow. That's her not understanding why a nanny would typically make x per hour--the fact that down time is factored in. Take away that down time and your hourly should go up.
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For that matter, if cleaning the house is not in your original job description, you just shouldn't do it, or clearly state it costs extra. You're a nanny, not an indentured servant.
I would ask for the raise, but don't be surprised when the people in question act absolutely aghast that you would ask for more money, and then proceed to list off a laundry list five miles long of everything you've "done wrong", and how really they are doing you a favor by even letting you stay employed. Hopefully I'm wrong, and they're nice people who will pay you what you deserve...but don't bet on it.
Definitely leverage your relationship with their children as well. You can say something like, "your kids have really warmed up to me this past year, It seems they are flourishing with a consistent nanny around. "
Edit: warmed up, not warned up, gosh.
However you are correct, nannies tend to make slightly better wages
we also talk about other random shit and clown upon each other
Even better if you actually have that job offer since they'd probably fire you on the spot anyway.
After you present your well reasoned argument that you have been working for them for a year and have added x,y and z to your work load and you would like a raise, they may still say no. Then what will you do? Suck it up for the sake of the kids and hope it all works out for the next several years? probably not.
I don't know anything about being a nanny, does that rate you sighted include any kind of certifications? Could you go and get one of those jobs in the very near future? If the answer is no, then be careful about rocking the boat until you are sure what plan B is.
Also, does that rate for those other jobs include taxes and stuff? Is your current employer withholding for you, or are you expected to be responsible for that as a contractor? make sure you are comparing apples to apples when you look at these other positions.
Rich people are stingy with their money, @GnomeTank is pretty much on the money here from my experience. They're going to act shocked, then act defensive, then act angry.
Don't take it personally either, but start looking elsewhere before you drop the bomb if you need the money. You're a nanny, not a maid.
Keep in mind, though, typically nannies do do child related housework. Making beds, cleaning room, etc. But, $12/hr is babysitter money.
If they insist on raising their children via short term business goal method of giving the job to the lowest bidder, then I would take the time to walk their kids around the neighborhood meeting the neighbors and their children. While the kids mingle and interact, you can ask the neighbors how much they would pay for your services. If the price is right and there is an opening, just take the new job. If the price is right but not an opening, take your new knowledge to your current employer and demand a commensurate rate. When they balk at this, and they will because how could they value their children's care more than their bottom line??? then you bring up the fact that their neighbors are out spending them and have secure child care in place.
I'd say if they don't want to even negotiate then why continue to struggle with them? Take your services elsewhere, there is always demand for quality child care.
If this scenario is untenable then you still have the leverage that you've established a relationship with their children and when you find a better job, it will be their kids who suffer the most. I mean, if it bothers you so much to leave them as I imagine it might, you have the prospect of forging a new relationship with a new family in the future, while their kids have the unknown, possibly awful nanny of the future to worry about.
Basically, eff business people and their lack of sensibilities.
... Genius!
In negotiation theory they call this your Best Alternative To a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA). Right now, your BATNA is "Continue to accept substandard pay, or become unemployed while you look for another job." Their BATNA is "Continue to underpay the nanny, or hire a new nanny."
Your BATNA right now is not great. But theirs isn't that great either! Depending on your location, it might cost them quite a bit of money and time to hire a new nanny (and housekeeper) - especially if they've developed a reputation for chewing help up and spitting them back out again. So you can change the power dynamic simply by guaranteeing that you'll have as short a stint of unemployment as possible, if it comes to that. If there's a real threat that you'll quit if you don't get a raise, their BATNA gets a lot worse.
So once you have a few potential leads lined up, go to your employers and tell them that you think you deserve a raise for your good work over the past year. Remind them of your consistency and reliability over the past year, and give them examples of how you do a better (or at least equal) job as other nannies in your area who get paid more. Don't compare yourself to your employers' unrealistically high standards; compare yourself to the standards of the nanny market in your area. Then tell them that you want to keep working for them and their kids if possible, but that the current financial arrangement doesn't work for you and you want to find a new arrangement that works for all parties. Don't tell your employers that you have other job leads unless you feel you have to-- keep that information close to the chest and use it to boost your confidence.
In short, make an argument showing them how giving you a large pay bump makes more financial sense than trying their luck again on the local nanny/housekeeper market. If the mother insists that she's paying you what she thinks you're worth, then show her how wrong she is and quit for a better job.
As for the housekeeping, you need to establish clear boundaries. You might consider offering your employers two rates -- one for nanny services and one for housekeeping -- and then keeping track of your hours in each category. You might also look up what a "Nanny Housekeeper" makes in your area, as that is what sounds like the closest analogue to your actual position.
If asking for references from the family doesn't seem kosher, I guess maybe just ask in the interview why their last nanny left? If they talk shit on their previous nanny, they probably aren't going to be worth working for.
Its seems to me you were inexperienced when you first took the job, and it should be appropriate to ask for a raise a full year later. Considering all the advice above you might want to consider asking for a raise on your one year of full employment to the lower end of the normal salary range for a nanny. And I agree with trying to draw a line between housekeeping and being a nanny.
In either case a full year of working as a nanny will make a great reference if you are forced into job hunting again.
What you ask for depends on how valuable you think you are. If you think you are an "average" nanny, then ask for the average salary. If you think you are above average--and it sounds like you are, given that you have put up with a very demanding employer for a year and seem to put in the extra mile--then ask for an above average salary.
This really comes down to confidence. If you can convince yourself that you're worth as much as or more than the average nanny in your area, then you can probably convince them of the same.