I noticed that aupairclearinghouse.com just came out with the results of a survey they did on host family satisfaction with their au pair agencies.
The results are Au Pair Care is number one (I tend to agree with that) and Au Pair in America is number three, mostly due to their high program fees.
But, thank goodness, the consumer website not only dropped Cultural Care from the number one spot, but they removed them from the top three picks.
There is more info regarding the results, but this is what I was talking about in April. A third party is finally doing survey research on these au pair agencies (all who have to do surveys according to the state dept. that oversees them).
There is no way Cultural Care could get high satisfaction rates when, at the same time, there were so many insider.com and complaintboard.com and aupairclearinghouse.com registered complaints by host parents.
Check out www.aupairclearinghouse for the list of top au pair agencies and they have great tips, advice, etc., BEFORE you hire an au pair. We did, and we ended up with a great agency and a wonderful au pair who is part of our family.
The au pair agencies mentioned here are supposed to be regulated by the USA government but how rigorous is the monitoring really? I give a few examples that I have observed as a new host father:
1. It is hard to find an unbiased review of these agencies - they just battle between themselves for press attention and pitch their own pros (which may be valid or not).
2. What about the swine flu pandemic? No agency has come out with any kind of statement on the Internet. My own agency didn't send us anything either.
3. They claim that all have great customer satisfaction survey results, but what are the numbers taking the survey? Shouldn't they have a third party rate them and report on them so there is no bias?
4. How can cultural care have so many negative comments on the internet and yet they claim over 90% satisfaction from their host families? And they also state they only take 30% of all au pairs interviewed, claiming their screening is very tight (see http://www.culturalcare.com/hostfamilies/whychooseculturecare/ourvalues/...). The numbers do not add up.
Host families, be careful and do your due diligence. I consider myself just lucky to have found a good au pair - sometimes it is just luck and knowing how to screen out the weeds. But, I do interviews as part of my professional career, so I know how, but for you and the general public, find out how to interview properly, because you should not count on the agencies to do it for you!
Hi Nina. It was tough for us to get our questions answered by several of the au pair agencies. The site you mentioned aupairclearinghouse.com was very helpful to compare costs and to read their ratings of the agencies. We didn't go with Cultural Care but we did match with a great German au pair with Au Pair Care. We are happy and we avoided a lot of mistakes by reading this site first! I highly recommend you do this before you match!
The au pair's driving is pretty good - try to get a german au pair if you need good driving skills!
Hi Edina, I have been researching for au pair agencies for about 4 months - they all basically look the same and there is no depth to their phone interviews or materials they send.
I found your website (www.aupairclearinghouse.com)and it was very helpful! I read your Ten Mistakes to Avoid when Matching
with an Au Pair. This was very helpful. The Top Au Pair Agency Picks for 2009 was extremely helpful and I now zeroed in on one of them: Cultural Care.
Thanks again for this great site for host families looking for an information website on the au pair agenices.
I highly recommend this site to any family considering an au pair.
Nina
Hi - I read your blog on au pairs. It was very informative. I have worked in the au pair industry for over 10 years as a coporate manager. I also have had au pairs for my children when they were young, as I worked full time all my life.
After 10 years, I retired to start my own website: www.aupairclearinghouse.com which is a national consumer information clearinghouse for host parents. We report on all kinds of aspects of the au pair industry and are committed to developing a community where loyal users come together and help support each other and share information. Please feel free to check us out: www.aupairclearinghouse.com. We compare all the Top Industry Leaders across costs; services; customer service; etc.
Edina Stone
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1. It is hard to find an unbiased review of these agencies - they just battle between themselves for press attention and pitch their own pros (which may be valid or not).
2. What about the swine flu pandemic? No agency has come out with any kind of statement on the Internet. My own agency didn't send us anything either.
3. They claim that all have great customer satisfaction survey results, but what are the numbers taking the survey? Shouldn't they have a third party rate them and report on them so there is no bias?
4. How can cultural care have so many negative comments on the internet and yet they claim over 90% satisfaction from their host families? And they also state they only take 30% of all au pairs interviewed, claiming their screening is very tight (see http://www.culturalcare.com/hostfamilies/whychooseculturecare/ourvalues/...). The numbers do not add up. Host families, be careful and do your due diligence. I consider myself just lucky to have found a good au pair - sometimes it is just luck and knowing how to screen out the weeds. But, I do interviews as part of my professional career, so I know how, but for you and the general public, find out how to interview properly, because you should not count on the agencies to do it for you!
with an Au Pair. This was very helpful. The Top Au Pair Agency Picks for 2009 was extremely helpful and I now zeroed in on one of them: Cultural Care. Thanks again for this great site for host families looking for an information website on the au pair agenices. I highly recommend this site to any family considering an au pair. Nina