TakeCare, an online personality and risk assessments of Nannies, Au Pairs and Babysitters, is our next feature under Next BIG Thing series. TakeCare’s NannyTest helps parents screen potential caregivers by providing a better insight into their personality and traits, as well as an assessment of possible risk factors.

Their online service allows parents, for the first time, to use the same professional assessment tools that have been available to date only to larger corporate and government organizations. They believe parents will embrace the use of such assessments and make them a standard component of the caregiver screening process. With 1.2 million nannies employed in the US only, there is a very large potential market for such a service.

Selecting a caregiver for their kids is a difficult as well as an intimidating task for parents. Choosing the right person to take care of their kids is one of the most important decisions parents make, and parents are always concerned about leaving their kids with someone they don’t really know much about. The problem intensifies because most parents are not experienced in screening and hiring people and lack the expertise to conduct interviews and check references. Furthermore, even corporate recruiters feel that interviews and reference checks aren’t sufficient and this why many businesses (including some 80% of the US Fortune 500 companies and 75% of the UK Times 100 companies) use pre-employment screening tests.

NannyTest has been designed specifically for screening child caregivers by parents. Tests are easy to use, affordable (at $24.95 per test) and available online, anywhere and anytime. NannyTest combines both testing for relevant personal traits and risk assessment, with a strong focus on the later. Relevant personal traits include responsibility, obedience and discipline, self control, emotional stability, coping with pressure, positive attitude and service awareness. Risk assessment covers issues such as violent behavior, drug abuse, drinking problems, truthful reporting, respect to property and more.

TakeCare was founded in February 2010, and service launched two months later. TakeCare’s team includes 3 employees and most of the technical work (software development and web site design) are outsourced. The development was self funded and the company now operates in a bootstrap mode.

The main challenge which they face is market education, creating awareness among parents to the fact that they can and should perform personality and risk assessments as part of their nanny screening process. This isn’t an easy task and they are hoping to convince influential professionals, reporters and bloggers to write and talk about personality assessments and their importance as a screening tool. Anyone interested in TakeCare! should contact Yossi Pinkas at yossi[at]take-care[dot]me

Our best wishes to TakeCare! & the Founder – Yossi Pinkas!