“Poppins in a Pinch” – What to do When Work Won’t Wait

We have all been there. It’s 7pm on a Monday evening, your childcare worker has called you, she’s glowing Kermit the Frog green from food poisoning… and you have a hugely important, completely unmovable meeting tomorrow morning… at 9:00am. You are stuck. Your Mum is back on the prairie enjoying mortgage free retirement, your friends are all booked up from here to eternity, and you took four family sick days due to the world’s most contagious flu last month…What now?

What about an on-call professional nanny? “Who does that?” you ask. What kind of mum just hands her child over to a complete stranger? The answer to that question is….LOTS and LOTS of mums who end up in a painfully merciless childcare pinch. In actuality, Nannies on Call an on call nanny agency says thousands of mum’s (and dad’s) in Vancouver, Calgary and Whistler do just that… thousands of times a year.

Rather than call the teenager (or senior citizen) down the street (who may or may not be qualified or capable) why not call in a professional? You wouldn’t let a 17 year old without any experience have a crack at fixing your car or your teeth, why on earth would you allow someone without experience or carefully checked credentials care for your children?

Servicing hotels, private families, high profile sports and film industry clients, labouring mothers, as well as yoga studios and upper end restaurants, On-Call Agencies such as “Nannies on Call” can provide a safe and secure childcare solution that is surprisingly flexible. If your schedule is sporadic, last minute, or completely unpredictable an on call Nanny Agency can be a life saver. Nannies on Call says they do prefer 48 hours notice but are happy to try and find care for your children even if you need it that same day. (When Johnny has to stay home at the last minute because his school is being de-liced….but you can’t stay with him because your school is having an exam…)

So how to you ensure that everyone’s needs are being met? How do you ensure that your children really are being well looked after and that you are able to calmly focus on getting your work done? Here are some guidelines to help you have an on call nanny agency work for you and your family.

Questions To Ask:
Check your local on call Nanny Agency to find out what screening and interviewing process nannies go through before being hired. Ask what training the agency provides and how long the agency has been in business. Check to make sure the agency has liability insurance and that all of their nannies are bonded. Check to see what requirements the agency asks of each nanny, and how long each interview takes. Do all of the nannies have clear current criminal record checks? Do all of the nannies have their CPR/First Aid certificates up to date? How many reference letters were asked for (personal or professional?) and how many references were actually checked? In the long run go with your gut. It really is a mother’s most reliable information source. Do you trust the person you are speaking with, how does their website look, have any of your friends used an agency? What was their experience like? Ask around. If someone gives you a short or vague answer…ask another question.

Points To Ponder:
So you have decided you will take the leap…into the world of on call nannies, (or at least go with the free fall into the abyss into which you feel have been pushed.) How do you help things go smoothly? How do you help this experience become a truly positive and pleasurable day or evening for your child or children? Tell your kids ahead of time who is coming to watch them. (Reputable nanny agencies should send a bio ahead of the nanny so that you can share the information with your child) My daughter sees on call nanny time as “PLAY time ALL the time”, it is quite simply play heaven. Endless books, hands on help with creating elaborate playdoh worlds, no running errands, no car seat. no “Mummy just needs to check e-mail before we…” She LOVES it. A lot of this comes from the fact that she has a pretty easy going personality (kids are who they are), but most of it is because she has had LOTS of on call nannies and we started that quite early on. We schedule a date night on the first day of every season whether we have somewhere to go or not. We book an on call nanny and don’t have to rely on friends or family, (not having to return a swap actually is quite nice) The date night does us good, and there is no pressure. If she doesn’t love a nanny we can come home with out any problems or stress, (That by the way has never happened.) Having focused one on one play time really suits our daughter and we now have a list of nannies who she is familiar with that we could call on f we ever got in a real pinch. Plus …she is simply used to having nannies which makes going out easier on both us and her.

Take away the time pressure – Give yourself enough time to show the nanny everything, tell her everything she will or may need to know, and to let your child get used to her. 20-45 minutes is usually enough for a first time visit 15-30 minutes for subsequent visits. If you are stressed out about time your child will sense it.

Have a plan – Will the nanny call you after 10 minutes no matter what? Or is no news good news? Will your cell phone be on?… or will you call home in a half hour. Figure out what will work for you and your children and then communicate the plan clearly to your nanny.

Put it in writing – If you feel you need to write everything down ahead of time – DO IT. Special instructions like NO TV, or only 4 bedtime books and then two night lights on, are important. Your children’s routine will offer them comfort and security. It will be easier on them if their routines stay the same.

Be creative – Some on call nannies can pick kids up from school for you (using transit if they are on the school’s release list), they can help kids get to and from activities, they can even help pack a lunch in the morning or supervise a prescheduled playdate with a friend . Some nannies welcome open ended bookings, (I might be back at 5pm, or 2 am…I work in film….I’ll call you when I can) Make sure you communicate your needs clearly to the agency so that they can find the right nanny for you. If you are open to figuring out new solutions…new solutions will come.

Think outside the box – If your child is used to going to Auntie Mimi’s house and playing with cousin Jimmy…perhaps you can go in on an on call nanny night with Auntie Mimi. The two families split the cost (making it VERY affordable and your child has the comfort of a regular playdate. Note: there usually is a minimal extra fee if the situation is a nanny share like the one I just described.

Be Sensitive – Talk to your kids before AND after the booking. Ask what the nanny was like, what did they do? Ask the nanny too. Some nannies will be a perfect fit and others may not, but all will be qualified, and SAFE. In the future you can speak to a booking agent at the agency and request the same nanny… or one with a similar childcare style (or not) depending on how the experience went for you and your child.

In a perfect world we would all be home as much as we liked, and we would all have jobs that were completely flexible, all of the time. Childcare would always be a choice and never a necessity. Unfortunately this is not the world the majority of us live in. Priorities collide, schedules change and we all do the best we can to be the best parents that we can be and still pay the bills. Sometimes finding last minute childcare is just one of 55 items on an ever growing to do list…and it is a stressful and serious item that you can’t just check off willy nilly. Using an On-Call childcare agency is an option that are is out there. It may or may not be the right option for you….
Isn’t it better that you educate yourself in advance about how it all works, so that in the event of an emergency… it really is an option?…just in case it ever becomes the only option.

Leanne Hume is first and foremost a mother who has been a on call nanny, a placement nanny, a teacher and now is in charge of Nanny Recruiting for Nannies on Call in Vancouver.
leanne@nanniesoncall.com

In business since 2001 Nannies on Call provides flexible, quality options to families looking for superior childcare. Nannies on Call offers Full Time, Regular Part Time, Short Term, and On Call service all over the entire lower mainland in Whistler and now in Calgary.
www.nanniesoncall.com

Book Review – The Tipping Point – How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point - Book Review

Book Review by Sarah Fowles, Communications Director, Connect Moms

I recently read The Tipping Point – How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell. I had read it a while ago but wanted to read it with the filter of how can small things or small changes assist moms in the workforce and what would those small things be to ‘tip’ organizations into creating innovative and progressive work environments. The overarching message of The Tipping Point is that small things can make a huge difference. Whether it is in relation to epidemics, social causes or the marketing of a product it is often small changes or factors that can ‘tip’ something into the mainstream.

The book discusses in detail that in order for something to find it’s ‘tipping point’ there are a variety of styles of human interaction required. There are the Connectors, the Mavens and the Salesmen. The Connectors are the people that know a lot of other people and can spread the message as they know the ‘right’ kind of people, the Mavens are the people who are the experts in a certain area, they are not persuasive but they are able to educate and advocate and in turn spread the message and then there are the Salesmen. These are the people who have the personalities that attract people and they are engaging and persuasive.

I loved the story of the nurse, Georgia Sadler, who wanted to increase awareness of diabetes and breast cancer in the black community in San Diego. The context of how she was trying to deliver her message was not working. She needed to find a new way of getting the message out. She needed someone who was a little bit of all three of the personalities traits mentioned above: Connector, Maven and Salesmen. She “needed a new stickier way of presenting the information” and she did not have a lot of money to get her message out there. So she moved the campaign from meetings after church to beauty salons. She realized that the relationship between the stylist and the client was very special; a long term relationship. So she trained the stylists to transfer the message about breast cancer and diabetes in a compelling way that fit the environment it was being received in and it worked. Attitudes were changed and more women went for mammograms and diabetes testing.

So I began to contemplate what all this means to the issue of women feeling engaged in the workforce, so if they have children, they feel empowered to be able to go back to work. What are the factors that will tip workplace cultures to allow for innovative changes that recognize the needs of employees in all phases of their lives? What is the context that this message needs to be receive in order for it to stick?

If we look at the issues of working mothers and enabling new moms to feel able to come back to work perhaps we need to focus on the smaller issues of why new mothers feel disengaged from the workforce. Just as Gladwell discusses the removal of a small thing like graffiti in the New York subways tipped the presence of crime, can we focus on what seem to be small items that will end up making a big difference for working moms? And can we engage the Connectors, the Mavens and the Salesmen to ‘tip’ these changes into the mainstream?

So what are these smaller items? Well let’s look at the issues a mom faces when she has to navigate the path back into the workforce.

Number 1 – Childcare
Both parents are not working outside the home if childcare is not in place. For many Canadians living in urban centres the wait list for daycares can be up to 2 years. So when an employee let’s a company know that they are expecting, how about a policy that ensures there is an open conversation about childcare and if daycare is an option they are made aware of all the daycare facilities in their area and what there wait lists are. I would argue that most first time parents are not aware of the long wait lists that plaque this important sector.

Number 2 – Gradual Re-entry
Daycares do it, the school system does it, how about in the workplace. When a human being, whether 3 or 33, changes there pattern of activity so extremely there is obviously going to be an adjustment period. When a mom has spent the last year with her baby, attending mom & tots groups, learning to cope with her new existence as a parent, the thought of changing this routine and putting on a suit to head into the office is a daunting endeavor.

Would offering a two week gradual re-entry period be so difficult to implement into the corporate culture? Would this small change be a factor in ‘tipping’ the ratio of women who come back to work after starting a family?

Number 3 – Flexible Work Arrangements
While a flexible work arrangement can look and feel different in every organization the benefits of offering flexible work arrangements far out way the negatives. An important realization for companies is that an employee may not always be in need of a flexible work schedule but for certain key phases of their career a flexible schedule could make the difference of staying in a position or not. This is truly a missed opportunity. The loyalty that a fixed period flexible schedule creates is largely overlooked in North America. Placing an increased emphasis on results rather than face time can greatly facilitate the implementation of flexible work schedules.

These benefits are far more recognized in Europe. Many European countries realize the importance of looking at their employees from a holistic perspective. Human beings are not just about work. Mohammed Yunus, founder of the socially innovative Grameen Bank discusses in his book, Creating a World Without Poverty, how people are not just one dimensional as the existing form of capitalism expects. Rather we are multi-dimensional, fantastically multi-dimensional. I think it is time to see just exactly what the benefits and innovation in the workplace would be from building and reflecting on this multi-dimensional reality.

Workplace Success Principles Create Success At Home

by Tina Rayner, CEO of Rise To Shine Coaching
www.tinarayner.com

Are you a working, “M.O.M.=More Of Me” (than ever before?)

Working moms want to succeed in the workplace AND to succeed as a mom, yet they often find themselves feeling at conflict as working means they have less time and energy to be their idea of a GOOD mom. I suggest working moms end the conflict by not only embracing both worlds as valuable parts of them, but also in utilizing proven success principles at work to create success at home.

The first principle is that successful companies and Moms know that their success comes from duplicating and leveraging systems-not from duplicating and leveraging people. It can be as simple as creating a, “How We…” system (my friends Ray Williams and Stephanie Frank from the Success IQ University teach this system) for every repetitive action at the office and at home. Simply create signs that say for example, “How We Make Coffee” or, “How We Prepare For Dinner” and put the itemized steps/directions down and then post them appropriately in the office, or around the home. Develop systems for every thing you find yourself repeating daily/weekly/monthly as you become aware of something you are doing or saying repeatedly. Then document them. Then teach others in the household or office the system.

The second principle is that successful companies know that no matter what their business is, their product is people. Thus, smart companies know that the more they invest in the development and satisfaction of their people, the more they decrease sick days taken, hiring/firing and the more they increase efficiency, creativity and thus increase the bottom line. The same is true at home. Working moms have a HERstory of putting themselves LAST on the ‘list.’ Moms can most easily invest in themselves by scheduling 30 minimum minutes of daily protected personal time wherein except for an emergency, NO ONE has access to Mom. Schedule this in (otherwise it will never get done) and make it daily. Then, make sure everyone in the house knows when mom’s time is. For small children, you can bring down the clock and tell them that when the big hand gets on the (whatever), that they can come get you. This time can be used for meditation, exercise, reading, or whatever moms know will feed and rejuvenate their mind/body/soul.

The last principle successful companies know is that they must ask, “What are we doing right?” instead of, “What are we doing wrong?” and then to capitalize on and continue to develop and celebrate their strengths instead of worrying about their weaknesses (which can easily be taken care of with joint ventures, or finding some way to delegate them.) The same principle must be applied at home. Moms are traditionally and erroneously expected by society and by moms themselves to be able to, “do it all” well and to be so hard on themselves when they can’t. This obviously causes stress and attracts more of not doing things well. As whatever we focus on expands, moms create more of what they want in life by taking time daily to ask, “What am I doing right?” or, “What am I grateful for?” and to list those and thus capitalize on those strengths and most importantly, to celebrate them. This will absolutely lead to more to celebrate at home and at the office.

It is time for working moms to eradicate the conflict so many feel by using workplace success principles to also create success at home. Then, they can go from being a, “M.O.M.=More Of Me” to being a, “M.O.M.=More Of Magic.”

Tina Rayner is CEO of Rise To Shine Coaching (www.tinarayner.com). She is an entrepreneur, illuminating speaker, and Total Wealth ? coach who resides in North Vancouver, BC, Canada. She comes from a background of over 10 years of coaching experience both nationally and internationally and is a certified trainer with Peak Potentials. She serves as a leader and trainer for a, ‘dynamic global success network’ of business owners and has been featured as a success story in the, Home Business Connection magazine. Through Tina’s, “IN-light-en-ments”, people are able to attract and create what Tina calls, “Total Wealth” or abundance in every aspect of their lives as they learn to let go of the approval they seek to Rise To Shine. If you have connected with Tina’s message and would like to connect with Tina directly for coaching and/or a keynote speech, visit www.tinarayner.com, or call her toll-free 24 X 7 at 888-248-7025. You deserve to Rise To Shine!

Fresh Starts in the Workplace

FreshStarts In The Workplace

By Michelle Vandepol; Author of Mother Mexico.

Whether it’s opening a home based business, moving to telecommuting, or getting a new responsibility at work, starting fresh has the added kick to make our day to day lives truly better. Tackling even a small shift in the usual, whether it is workplace or self motivated, gives us the tools to do it again when necessary. On an immediate note, it breathes new life into the workday.

Having a new goal is motivating. Getting ourselves out of the same old, same old rut is potentially the impetus that leads to bigger change. Thinking outside the box also lets us have more of having it all. There may be a way to have your cake and eat it too that is sitting right under your nose. For example, starting and finishing work earlier may allow you to get away without after school care for the kids or give you time to ease into a self employment option at night.

Expanding your job description gives you more job stability. Even if you don’t think your workplace will downsize, it still is a good idea to learn new tasks. It enables you to apply for a wider variety of promotions and to have a larger group of co-workers to trade work favors with.

Fresh starts give us a little extra when we are in danger of burning out. Too much work isn’t usually the cause of burnout. It’s the draining emotional stuff that comes with it. Trying something new will give you confidence. If you have flexibility in how you organize your work day, try tweaking your schedule a bit to put your least favorite task first, before your morning coffee even cools down. You will probably be surprised how much more productive you are all day because of it. (You can chalk that up to getting rid of the procrastination burden delaying unlikable tasks results in.)

Sometimes new ventures take more time at first so take stock of your priorities. You will be more easily able to tell what is going to have to be cut out or postponed in this time period. It won’t be busier forever. Pace yourself and stay non-stressed by separating internal and external pressures. And then separate essential from non-essential. A list might be helpful here.

For example, internal pressures are those you put on yourself. Your production drive, your fear of job insecurity or failure, and wanting to hit the next sales level, are all good examples. Analyze them to see which is fact and which is fiction.

External pressures are your work deadlines, looming bills that could use extra commissions to cover, co-workers who pressure you to take on their responsibilities or get together with them socially and the like. Non essential ones are the latter, unless you get the sense that by doing the extra job you will be recognized by management and then you can determine if you have the time and resources to do that.

Among the non-essentials to cut if you haven’t already done so — save social stuff for your family and friends. Very little is accomplished by hitting happy hour or lunches out with your co-workers. Lunch with clients is arguable career investment time, but near to nothing is gained from hanging with the gang. Be pleasant, do your job, and get out of Dodge a bit after 5.

If your office is the one trying something new and it’s not going well, bite back irritation. When the workplace is busy and it seems like you have enough on your plate, it can be tough to muster up energy to try new stuff but your attitude now will pay back in dividends later. Do your best to streamline your responsibilities and if management’s ideas are truly not working, they will figure it out in time and you will have saved emotional energy by not overly concerning yourself about it.

Keep your notepad handy. Today could be the day something new will pop up and make your workday a little more interesting.

Mom Cafe

At momcafé, we are connecting and inspiring like-minded Moms by providing an interesting and supportive forum in which Moms can learn from each other and share ideas. This is achieved through regular meetings, quarterly seminars and access to online resources. Momcafé is designed to support the dialogue between women who are striving to balance their lives. For more information visit, www.momcafe.net.