Agency Margins v Your fees

[tim123]

Re: I did

10% non-payment of debt is quite typical .....

Then you are crap at choosing your clients. Most companies would have a fit if their written off debt got to 2%. Almost no company could survive bad debts of 10% it is an astronomical figure to use.

tim

[MarillionFan]

Re: I did

"An agency will be paying out around £1600 per week to a contractor with a client who might take 3-6 months to pay up"

Stop trying to make it so melodramatic!!!

THe majority of clients work on 30 days.

[expat]

payment

I had an agency once who paid 45 days (plus a bit of chasing). They told me the client paid 90 days but eventually I found out that the client paid 30 days! Not much cashflow problem there for the agency.

[MarillionFan]

Re: payment

Good point, and actually Oaksoft, every contract I have ever had was paid at the month, while the timesheet I filled in every week was sent to the client on 30 days.

So its more like two weeks you're waiting for.

You've definitely picked up the wiley wordy ways of the rec. con.

Good on yeh, scum.

[noveltySlippers]

.

Interesting points as always oaksoft, its always nice to hear the point of view from the other side of the fence. But the reality you describe is certainly not one im familar with. I have contracted both via agencies and direct with clients. When Ive gone direct it certainly didn't take hundreds of phone calls. I know a reasonable number of potential clients using the technology I am proficient with, and it usually takes a couple of emails to the right people (and by this I mean avoiding HR, who are a waste of space). I have also contracted direct with a client who I was once working with via an agency. When I went direct with this client they let me know the amount the agency charged for me in the past, and were happy to pay the same direct to me since they had budgeted for this amount. In this instance I was paid more promptly and regularly and WITH NO MISTAKES! directly by the client than I was when I used an agency. If an agency is as hard and risky to run as you make out then why would you do it. I think you are exaggerating the problems a little! As a contractor im certainly not impressed by agencies, and neither are any of my clients with whom Ive discussed agencies with. If I were hiring for my own company Id do it myself.

[oaksoft]

Re: .

"If I were hiring for my own company Id do it myself. "

I don't blame you for not realising that the DIY approach will cost you much more than using an agency would because in that respect you are with 99.99% of all clients.

Just a quick question - whilst you are spending weeks of effort sifting through hundreds of CV's and thousands of pounds advertising for new employees or contractors, exactly who is doing the actual work you should have been doing during that period?

Just a thought to mull over

My guess is that you will either:-

1)be working 70 hours a week just to ensure your work gets done as well as the CV parsing and interviewing thus disturbing your home life for no reasonable gain
OR
2)the work will be "fitted in as and when you can do it" thus risking your timescales
OR
3)the interviewing and CV parsing will be put on hold thus lengthening the recruitment process and risking losing the one or two good CV's you already have in your possession but languishing somewhere down in a 4 inch pile of paper.

You can choose either of those 3 but I don't envy you.
Best of luck either way because chances are that your competitor will be smarter that that.

[noveltySlippers]

.

I said if I were hiring for MY OWN company id do it myself, and I would. Id ignore option 1, but either option 2 or 3 would be preferable to spending an additional 5k+ and dealing with an unnecessary middleman with the misinformation and mistakes that brings. If I were hiring for a company in which I worked however, I would probably use an agency, since its not my money and would save me an afternoons sifting. I notice that once again you exaggerate the problems... there are unlikely to be hundreds of cvs to sift manually after id binned the irrelevant ones with a keyword search, and advertising would not have to cost anyway near 'thousands of pounds'. My personal belief is that the only reason you guys get any business at all is because it often isn't the recruiters money, so to have an easy life the recruiter just gets an agency to do it. Don't be under any illusion that you are adding any value to this process.. and stop trying to make it sound hard!

[Cojak]

Re: .

Sod 'being competitive' - in my experience it means that the agency is after a bigger margin - particularly if they haven't dropped you the first time you mentioned your rate.

I do have a rate range, but I don't tell the agency that. I decide on the rate depending on the length of contract; whether they want to use my courseware if it's a training role; if it's a managerial role or an analyst's role etc.

I quote £xxx per day or £xx per hour, again depending on above.

And it's non-negotiable. If they don't like it they can get someone else - but they never do...

My rates are not exhorbitant and they get good value for their money.

This attitude has prevented me from feeling bitter and twisted about a job.

PS - I'm not interested in the agency margin, only *my* margin.

[oaksoft]

Cojak

Cojak,

Your attitude may not reflect the majority around here but at least it is sensible and you sleep well .

[oaksoft]

NoveltySlippers

Try not to make it sound hard?

You have clearly not done any recruitment.
Shame you feel so qualified to comment on it with such passion and so little knowledge but that is your choice.

You also obviously can't do straight sums and comparisons if you truly believe you can recruit using the DIY approach for less than £5k. Again this comes from lack of experience. I don't blame you as most don't actually appreciate the figures involved but as I said I'm surprised at such passion on a subject you clearly have no grasp of.

Such is life.:\