It was a situation that was painfully familiar to many new parents during the Covid-19 pandemic. International borders were closed, confinement nannies from Malaysia were having trouble coming to Singapore to work, and parents-to-be were competing to hire a limited number of nannies. 

Add to the mix the fear surrounding a new infectious disease and stress of caring for a newborn—could things get any worse?

Husband and wife Joel Tan and Shiang Jing were one such couple, whose parenting journey was affected by the chaos of Covid-19. 

“Being a new mum is challenging enough in the best of times. The pandemic just made things more difficult, especially when we had no experience or support. My parents, based in Malaysia, were unable to fly over to help because of travel restrictions,” recalls 35-year-old Shiang Jing who gave birth to her daughter in February 2021.

Like many couples, Shiang Jing and her husband Joel had to rely on confinement agencies in Singapore to help source for a nanny in 2020, and their experience was underwhelming.

This Couple Uses Artificial Intelligence to Find You the Perfect Confinement Nanny
Credit: 123rf

“The service was sub-par maybe because of the huge demand and lack of supply. They put you on the waitlist and you can only wait,” recalls Joel, 32. 

The couple was also unpleasantly surprised by the high surcharges that were quoted for reasons such as viewing of a nanny’s profile, requesting for a recommended nanny or hiring someone during the Lunar New Year period. (Such fees have since come down, according to Joel.)

Shiang Jing and Joel eventually managed to secure a nanny who “did a good job”, but after a very tiring search experience, the enterprising duo were triggered enough to do the unexpected: start their own confinement agency.

“If the [established agencies] weren’t caring for their clients, let us do it for them,” quips Joel. 

There were other more practical factors that led to their decision. Joel, who ran a travel-related media platform and consultancy business needed to find new revenue stream during the pandemic. On the other hand, Shiang Jing, being a Malaysian and having worked in Sabah in the hospitality sector, found ease in sourcing for and recruiting experienced nannies for families in Singapore. 

They started Nannymoon in October 2020 (even before their baby was born) and haven’t looked back since.

A tech-powered way to find a match

Being the new kid on the block meant Shiang Jing and Joel had to do things a little differently.

What instantly stands out is their “intelligent matching system”, an AI-powered algorithm that had its roots in Joel’s engineering final year project back in university.

New Mother Winne with NannyMoon’s Aunty Siew Wen

Working like ChatGBT, the system accepts input such as the preferred age range of the nanny, dishes she should know how to cook, languages spoken, the property type of the client (whether there are stairs), among others. It then generates two to three closest matches.

Feedback given from the client on each nanny is then fed back into the system for learning. This allows the matching algorithm to improve over time, explains Joel. According to the founders, satisfaction rate among almost their 1,000 customers has been at over 94 per cent, not shabby for an agency that’s not even three years old. 

But that’s not all. 

Nannymoon’s customers are automatically inducted into a private community with fellow new mummies and a panel of experts such as TCM physicians, nutritionists and gynaecologists who will dispense advice and support parents on their journey.

“We actively encourage participation of new mothers and these panelists help mothers [mentally adjust to this new phase of life mentally],” says Shiang Jing.

Nanny welfare is also big on the agenda. The team ensure that nannies get at least seven to 10 days in between jobs and provide a dormitory for their stay. They also give them a daily stipend on the days they’re not working and transport allowance, both of which do not seem to be industry norms at the moment, according to Joel and Shiang Jing.

Their pool of over 40 nannies is trained by four core trainers, and everyone has to pass a practical assessment and a theory test before they are ready to be put on the roster. 

While some larger agencies have hundreds of nannies in their database, Shiang Jing and Joel pride themselves on how they have brought innovation to a traditional business and look forward to growth on the horizon. With enquiries from western countries like the US and Australia trickling in, overseas expansion could even be on the cards when the time is right, shares Joel.

On the home front

While there are thrills in growing a company together, being co-bosses and spouses come with a unique set of perils.

“We have seven work-related group chats right now,” Shiang Jing deadpans.  

“SJ is always angry with me about my communications. We sometimes get confused about whether we’re talking about home matters or work,” Joel half-jests.

But there is apparent chemistry and harmony in the way the founders have divided their duties and time. While Joel leads the company in marketing and sales, Shiang Jing manages operations and the back office. 

And with Joel spending the bulk of his hours at work, Shiang Jing leaves early each day so she can pick up their two-year-old daughter from school and prepare her dinner. 

“I’ll ask for ‘permission’ from Joel to go off early,” she says.

“One of the perks of having your own company is being able to leave at 4pm,” he jokes.

“It’s not 4pm, it’s five, okay?” she jibes in return.

What’s on the backburner for now is baby number two, though the couple hope to expand their family. And when the time comes, their experience of nanny-hunting is guaranteed to surpass their earlier experience. Quips Shiang Jing, “We now have first dibs on the better nannies!”