Agency margin

[Green Mango]

My agency only gets 5%. The client really clamps down on agency rates.

[psychocandy]

How do you all find this out?

Surely, this is a business transaction between the client and the agency and, as such, not something you really need to know?

As long as what you get is fine, then who cares?

[norrahe]

How do you all find this out?

Surely, this is a business transaction between the client and the agency and, as such, not something you really need to know?

As long as what you get is fine, then who cares?

I asked HR due to the fatc we thought the agency might have been skimming a cut off the top (he'd got caught out with another contractor at clientco), just turns out he was hiking his rate this time.

[The Agents View]

What little you know, despite your "Agents View" moniker. I work within one of the largest City institutions and manage our contract recruitment function. We work exclusively on markup.

If I had a pound for every time I spotted misinformation coming out of your mouth I'd have accumulated a fair amount by now. Please stop making generalisations - there will be some poorly informed contractor out here that actually thinks you're an accurate representation of the prevailing "view"

Oh good. An internal recruiter.

Just because YOU don't work on margin, doesn't mean that the recruiters you use don't.

Please don't try and belittle someone who provides a view into the agency world - you are, after all, not doing this job.

[Zippy]

How do you all find this out?

Surely, this is a business transaction between the client and the agency and, as such, not something you really need to know?

As long as what you get is fine, then who cares?

I've found out by
- the client telling me what they are paying and asking if I was happy with what I was getting
- the agent and client telling me (independantly) what the agent's margin is (they both agreed)
- reading the agents invoice (upside down at least twice!) when it had been left on the clients desk

It does matter what the agent is charging. If you are selling yourself as a £400 p/d contractor and the client is paying for a £650 p/d contractor, you may have a problem when you fail to live up to 'expectations'.
I should say this hasn't happened to me but I have worked with people who this has affected.

[Wanderer]

How do you all find this out?

Ask the client! They will often tell you anyway to make sure that the agent isn't ripping both parties off.

Surely, this is a business transaction between the client and the agency and, as such, not something you really need to know? As long as what you get is fine, then who cares?

Agents love people like you.

I'm a business man so I make a point of finding out what the client is paying, preferably at the interview or before I sign the contract. It means that I have a lot more negotiating power.

[DodgyAgent]

What little you know, despite your "Agents View" moniker. I work within one of the largest City institutions and manage our contract recruitment function. We work exclusively on markup.

If I had a pound for every time I spotted misinformation coming out of your mouth I'd have accumulated a fair amount by now. Please stop making generalisations - there will be some poorly informed contractor out here that actually thinks you're an accurate representation of the prevailing "view"

Let us get this right. You work for a "city institution" because you cannot hack it in the agency world. You like your monopoly and you enjoy the power over the agencies that supply to your "city institution" - better known as a Casino-. No business calculates profits (net or gross) on mark ups. Just wander round your analysts and traders and ask them if they value companies on mark ups. Or would that involve you getting some understanding of business?

[sim418]

My last agency for a while were getting a margin of -4% for about 5 months, they had given me a rate increase in error and I certainly wasn't going to point it out to them in a hurry. They didn't ask for it back either which was nice of them!

[vjmac108]

Am not a recruiter. Im the CAO for Equity Technology at a European IB. You probably deal with the internal recruitment teams of whom I'm a client of.

My issue isn't with you - you actually know what you're talking about - its the other idiot.

Let us get this right. You work for a "city institution" because you cannot hack it in the agency world. You like your monopoly and you enjoy the power over the agencies that supply to your "city institution" - better known as a Casino-. No business calculates profits (net or gross) on mark ups. Just wander round your analysts and traders and ask them if they value companies on mark ups. Or would that involve you getting some understanding of business?

[MarillionFan]

Present agency is on 8%. It was 10% but I nicked a few extra quid on the last renewal.

For me 8-15% is the range. Less than 8, the agency must have a lot of contractors on site, more than 15% agency is trying it on. More than 20%