The pandemic has created a uniquely challenging environment for domestic workers across the globe. As more people stayed home, the demand for these workers quickly changed. Nanas & Amas, an employment agency based in Peru that helps families find trusted domestic workers, including nannies, nurses, and housekeepers, experienced this firsthand.
“In Peru, quarantine started with the lockdown. Nobody should leave their home, much less their neighborhood. So our customers were discouraged from hiring domestic workers because they were not going to be able to go to their homes to work until lockdown finishes,” shares Claudia Esparza, the CEO and Founder of Nanas & Amas.
Amid shutdowns, Nanas & Amas continues receiving job requests and customer service requests through their intranet system, the NanaSys, with the intention of resuming normal operations soon. The cloud software, run through Amazon Web Services, allows the Nanas & Amas team to work from anywhere with an internet connection.
“The NanaSys contains our database (customers, domestic workers, requirements, agreements, etc) and our business’ core processes,” Esparza explains. “Our team is working from home: our psychologists evaluating applicants, and our management team attending phone calls, and programming internet interviews with domestic workers and customers.”
Nanas & Amas is also using this time to stay connected to their 255K followers on social media.
“One of our main communication platforms is social media: Facebook and Instagram. Our marketing tools are on the internet too: Mailchimp, SurveyMonkey and WhatsApp. We have kept using them as if we were at our offices,” she shares.
Although restrictions are impacting demand, Esparza is confident about the future of the business. Domestic workers and customers continue to inquire about Nanas & Amas services. “It makes us realize that as soon as we restart, our business is going to thrive, which keeps us motivated.”
The team is also awaiting the launch of their new service, the Student Domestic Worker (SDW) project, which was put on hold because of COVID-19. The project will give thousands of domestic workers in Peru, and beyond, access to educational opportunities, while assuring employers that they’ll gain a happy and committed employee for at least the duration of their education.
“To know this is going to happen keeps me in a great mood,” Esparza expresses. Nanas & Amas hopes that this campaign will encourage more domestic workers to demand their right to education.