Every parent who works outside of the home has been there before: you wake up one morning to discover your child is too sick for school or daycare, and just like that, you’re in a last-minute rush to get someone to watch your kid. Many parents find themselves unable to secure their regular sitters, due to short notice and other commitments, leaving them with no other choice but to stay home and either telecommute, or miss a day entirely.
Liz Oertle, Nanno CEO and Founder, hopes to make all of that a thing of the past with Nanno, the caregiver app that promises to connect parents with safe and affordable childcare in minutes.
Created By a Busy Parent for Busy Parents
No matter how much notice you have when looking for childcare, it can be hard to find someone with whom you feel comfortable and confident in leaving your children. That’s why Oertle, a former lawyer, says she focused on those things when creating the Nanno app.
Every caregiver contracted through the service must first go through a multifaceted background screening — which includes both criminal searches and a psychometric screening that indicates the likelihood that prospective caregivers would engage in criminal activity — before being allowed to join the Nanno roster.
“I knew when we created the product it couldn’t be a fly by night app,” Oertle tells Parentology. “It had to balance both safety and convenience.”
Oertle says that many of the caregivers sourced by the app are professionals by trade — like nurses, educators, or early education majors — looking to use their skills to earn a little extra money on the side.
Nanno Puts Safety First
In order for caregivers to be considered for placement, Nanno requires they pass an extensive background check, which the company maintains and rescreens annually. Although the screening is only re-run once a year, Oertle says they haven’t had any new findings pop-up for any of their caregivers, something she believes is due in no small part to the rigorous personality profiling they conduct.
Nanno doesn’t just protect children from potentially harmful caregivers, it also protects caregivers from potentially harmful clients. Before a parent can book a caregiver they need to pass a short background check of their own, something Oertle says looks for a history of domestic violence and assault, among other offenses. “Nanno is committed to protecting all members of our community.”
Nanno Can Be Used Regularly, Too
Nanno isn’t just a quick-fix for parents in a bind, the app can connect parents and caregivers with ongoing services, as well. The process to find a caregiver is relatively short. Oertle says the average time it takes from downloading the app to getting on the phone with a sitter is about 15 minutes. Rural or remote areas may have a slightly longer lag time due to a smaller pool of qualified caregivers.
If a request goes longer than 15 minutes without a response from a prospective caregiver, one of the Nanno staff will reach out to the parents to see what can be tweaked or changed to find an available caregiver in their area.
What’s to Come
Oertle notes while the company’s policies and procedures are among the industry’s highest right now, they aren’t resting on their laurels. “We’re always looking for ways to improve the app,” she says. Later this month Nanno expects to do a limited roll-out of a new feature they’re calling “superpowers,” which allows caregivers to note areas in which they excel — like the arts, sports, or language — so parents can fine-tune their requests to find the perfect match for their children while they’re away.
Nanno App Review — Sources
Liz Oertle, Nanno CEO and Founder