Un Petit Monde

Background: Un Petit Monde is a network of francophone babysitters and tutors started in New York in 2006 and eventually launched in other major cities worldwide, including Barcelona and London. In 2015, I started an initiative to streamline operations and improve communication with both current and prospective members of the network.

Team & Role: As the Operations Manager for the network in New York for nearly three years, I managed day-to-day relationships with both parents and babysitters/tutors myself.

Research Method: User interviews

In addition to my own observations regarding potential improvements to the service, I conducted interviews with both parents and babysitters/tutors to understand their experiences with the network.

Key Findings: Parents especially were confused about the mission of the network. They often thought of it as a formal agency or an impersonal “uber-like” service to order babysitters. They did not know whom to thank. Some of the babysitters did not clearly understand the priority system for being put in touch with families. That often left them discouraged and less likely to respond to postings. Members of the network relocating to other cities were not aware of our international presence.

Initiatives: Through increased social media presence and in-person events such as field days, I created opportunities for families to meet me and the founder of the network in person, putting faces to our service. Following the in-person interviews with babysitters, I started to email recaps of our operations in writing to ensure they fully understood the network’s functioning. I also started to introduce UPM as a network of francophones abroad, rather than solely in NYC to emphasise our global presence.