Agency Percentage. Does it matter or not?

[monobrow]

I put it to you, that it was the hiring manager wasting money.

By spending time sifting through applications, shortlisting, interviewing, referencing, background checking and all the other lovely stuff that regs say we have to do, he/she was not performing his or her primary function. The cost of this is time, missed opportunity and many other things. Most hiring managers see the agency route as a way to limit this cost, and are prepared to pay an agency to take it away from them. In addition, the agency also takes a degree of risk on, as well as the cost of factoring payments so that contractors are paid regularly and do not suffer from cashflow issues.

Adjust your thinking to us being resource selection outsourcing, and that is probably a better description of what we actually do......

And...outsourced advertising isn't just the stuff you see on job boards. I personally have a CIM marketing qualification, which stands me in good stead in terms of providing complete resourcing advertising solutions.

Don't always assume that everyone comes out of the agency mould that you've clearly been screwed by.....

Just for the record, I agree entirely with everything you have written, but unfortunately, in mine and it appears (lots of other peoples experience), what you have written and what happens are not the same thing.

that is what "we" have a problem with. If "you" (and I mean agencies in general) did everything you are preaching, the world would be a much better place.

lets assume you aren't one of the bad guys, ok, agree. but there are plenty of cowboys out there who don't act with the same principles that you do.

-edit- and seeing as this is meant ot be a contractors board - shouldn't that be the view we are representing here? point me to a agents board that would give a contractor ANY time of day and i'll be impressed

[Lolas Cat]

I put it to you, that it was the hiring manager wasting money.

By spending time sifting through applications, shortlisting, interviewing, referencing, background checking and all the other lovely stuff that regs say we have to do, he/she was not performing his or her primary function. The cost of this is time, missed opportunity and many other things. Most hiring managers see the agency route as a way to limit this cost, and are prepared to pay an agency to take it away from them. In addition, the agency also takes a degree of risk on, as well as the cost of factoring payments so that contractors are paid regularly and do not suffer from cashflow issues.

Adjust your thinking to us being resource selection outsourcing, and that is probably a better description of what we actually do......

And...outsourced advertising isn't just the stuff you see on job boards. I personally have a CIM marketing qualification, which stands me in good stead in terms of providing complete resourcing advertising solutions.

Don't always assume that everyone comes out of the agency mould that you've clearly been screwed by.....

Let's not get down to personal attacks.

Again, you may justify your existence as you wish, but it doesn't change the fact that YOU are dependent on the contractor for earning the money, not the other way around.

Therefore, back to the original subject - YOU are taking a cut of a contractors money, not the other way around.

[Lolas Cat]

Good for you.

Right, and? The fact agents exist only to place contractors doesn't mean it's "your money" any more than the profit a software company makes belongs to the individual developers. The difference between selling something tangible versus intangible is fairly slight.

Bad comparision. The dependency is much more obvious in the agent-contractor case.

[The Agents View]

Bad comparision. The dependency is much more obvious in the agent-contractor case.

Errrr not really - a software company is probably going to be fairly unattractive without any software to sell?

[MarillionFan]

Errrr not really - a software company is probably going to be fairly unattractive without any software to sell?

You'd then have to call it a consultancy.

[Lolas Cat]

Errrr not really - a software company is probably going to be fairly unattractive without any software to sell?

They can have a product to sell even without developers.

As I say, agents are intermediary that contractors can live without.

[The Agents View]

They can have a product to sell even without developers.

As I say, agents are intermediary that contractors can live without.

Good luck with your cashflow on that...... 30 days worked, plus 30 days terms, plus late payment (fairly inevitable with a blue chip at least) = 60+ days with no money in, and alot of money out.....

Live without us maybe - survive with out us, perhaps a bit more complex......

[Ignis Fatuus]

Good luck with your cashflow on that...... 30 days worked, plus 30 days terms, plus late payment (fairly inevitable with a blue chip at least) = 60+ days with no money in, and alot of money out.....

Live without us maybe - survive with out us, perhaps a bit more complex......

I've never seen an agent eliminate all of that. Certainly not the first bit, I've always had to do the work first.

[Lolas Cat]

Good luck with your cashflow on that...... 30 days worked, plus 30 days terms, plus late payment (fairly inevitable with a blue chip at least) = 60+ days with no money in, and alot of money out.....

Live without us maybe - survive with out us, perhaps a bit more complex......

If everybody did their jobs properly ....

[d000hg]

Let's not get down to personal attacks.

Again, you may justify your existence as you wish, but it doesn't change the fact that YOU are dependent on the contractor for earning the money, not the other way around.

Therefore, back to the original subject - YOU are taking a cut of a contractors money, not the other way around.

It's NOT the contractor's money. It's the client's money. If it weren't for the agent telling the client how easily they can provide someone, and promising they can find someone good, the role might not even exist.

Bad comparision. The dependency is much more obvious in the agent-contractor case.

So unless it's obvious it doesn't count?