Something new for contractors...

[youngguy]

They are salesmen. They seek out work and find it for us... They then take a commission from our fee to pay their costs....

We could employ salesmen ourselves but that would be a bit expensive its cheaper for it to be outsourced and scaled up a bit....

Are you being sarcastic

[eek]

Are you being sarcastic

Nope, I'm doing the latter at the moment, trust me even trying to do it on the cheap, its expensive and time consuming...

[LondonManc]

Agents have their place. Some clients, you simply cannot go directly to.

They're also a nice risk mitigator; why go on 90 day payment terms directly when you can have far less money at risk through an agency. Good agents are worth every penny.

I've been thinking more about this idea - shouldn't this be pitched at clients rather than contractors? Asking us is like asking taxi drivers which taxi firm is the best; that is, you should be asking the paying customer, not the catalyst.

[jonnyboy]

Another problem I see with this idea is a possible shrinking market (i.e, number of agencies). At the moment there are maybe a dozen BIG BOYS and a few dozen smaller agencies. Once the IR35 changes start to come in (first public then private sector) I imagine a few of the smaller ones will die.

[stek]

They are salesmen. They seek out work and find it for us... They then take a commission from our fee to pay their costs....

We could employ salesmen ourselves but that would be a bit expensive its cheaper for it to be outsourced and scaled up a bit....

Yes, a cog.

You get the gig, get paid, finish the gig. Agent all over you at first, then never hear from them after unless you hand notice in.

I never said they weren't essential, but best buddies no way.

[youngguy]

Nope, I'm doing the latter at the moment, trust me even trying to do it on the cheap, its expensive and time consuming...

That's not been my experience.

Client puts together JD, sends to agent. Agent pastes to jobserve. Does a keyword match, quick phone call, Agee's interview time, pays invoices every month.

Don't get me wrong, i am not saying they dont play a role. I see them as being beneficial to the client and they do guarantee quick payment for us. I just have not personally seen any value add above that....which is what makes the OPs original Q so tricky to answer.

[youngguy]

Another problem I see with this idea is a possible shrinking market (i.e, number of agencies). At the moment there are maybe a dozen BIG BOYS and a few dozen smaller agencies. Once the IR35 changes start to come in (first public then private sector) I imagine a few of the smaller ones will die.

I'd welcome this. I've not had great experiences with the smaller agencies. At least the bigger ones can absorb payments delays etc from the client

[CompulsiveArsonist]

On the subject of Rated People, a family friend paid £6k to a builder (he assumed it was a proper company) for some work and the builder vanished.
Rated People could not help, as they don't really do any checks they don't actually verify who the person is. Rated People is ultimately a lead generation site, they sell the leads on to tradesmen who may or may not be cowboys, he assumed that because the builder was on Rated People he was trustworthy.

The thing with agencies is that they are a necessary evil, if they have a role advertised which I am interested in then I am prepared to overlook a bad reputation.

Generally once you have been contracting for some time you have a gut feeling about whether an agency is legit. If there is a role advertised with Hays and I don't secure it and I leave a review "HAYS IZ DA WURST BAD AGENCY" how does that benefit or help anyone really? 90% of people may well have a positive experience but they will not post on the website. The 10% of complaints could be first time contractors that don't understand how to play the game.

Good experience with an agency is when there is a role advertised, agent understands the role and what the client is looking for, you get submitted and get an interview, agent gives you advice about the types of questions asked, you secure the role and you never really have to talk to the agent again. The chances are in a year or two when you are looking again that agent isn't with the same agency or even in that industry any more.

[eek]

That's not been my experience.

Client puts together JD, sends to agent. Agent pastes to jobserve. Does a keyword match, quick phone call, Agee's interview time, pays invoices every month.

Don't get me wrong, i am not saying they dont play a role. I see them as being beneficial to the client and they do guarantee quick payment for us. I just have not personally seen any value add above that....which is what makes the OPs original Q so tricky to answer.

And what work occurred for that agent to receive the job description from the end client.

[northernladuk]

That's not been my experience.

Client puts together JD, sends to agent. Agent pastes to jobserve. Does a keyword match, quick phone call, Agee's interview time, pays invoices every month.

Don't get me wrong, i am not saying they dont play a role. I see them as being beneficial to the client and they do guarantee quick payment for us. I just have not personally seen any value add above that....which is what makes the OPs original Q so tricky to answer.

I do find this rather naïve view from someone who appears to be leading the charge in the PS discussion rather disturbing....