Recruitment agencies greed causes grief

[DodgyAgent]

Sorry but from where I sit the model is wrong because it prevents my business being recognised for what it is; to do so it would have to stand up against an established £27bn industry that has deliberately hidden what I do for a living from the people I would like to sell it to.

We can argue till the cows come home about how and why we got to where we are, but at base it is pure capitalism at work and the logical outcome of a progression from what was a close professional relationship to a commodity service driven by bean counters and shareholders. Rarely do agencies care who I am, only what skills I can deliver, which is why there is no continuity of service, and no trust, between contractor and agency.

I think that's a shame, and an understandable one, and I don't have to like it.

And FWIW I - and many others I know - could easily compete with and out-perform the offshore crowd on cost and quality, but only if the people who use offshore resources know we're here. WIPRO and AMS didn't get big by telling the truth.

It is not a matter of right or wrong is it? It is a matter of failure of you and your business to get its message across to the market. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the agency/contractor market.. come on Malvolio a wise logical thinker like you should know this. If you are relying on agencies to understand and sell your business then you are very naive, furthermore you are failing to control your business if you are relying on people who have no understanding or interest or incentive in selling your services.

Run it by me if you would like some advice on how to sell your business.

[northernladuk]

Is this a good time to start a discussion about real businesses and work seekers looking for gigs via an agent pretending to be businesses..

Or should I

[malvolio]

It is not a matter of right or wrong is it? It is a matter of failure of you and your business to get its message across to the market. This has nothing whatsoever to do with the agency/contractor market.. come on Malvolio a wise logical thinker like you should know this. If you are relying on agencies to understand and sell your business then you are very naive, furthermore you are failing to control your business if you are relying on people who have no understanding or interest or incentive in selling your services.

Run it by me if you would like some advice on how to sell your business.

Now don't personalise it. I've been earning good money for many years, and in recent years no more than 20% of my work has come from me applying to agency adverts. I'm actively working on getting that down to zero.

But that's me talking to people who know me (or know of me). That's a lot different to cold-calling my potential client base and asking them if they have some expensive flaws in their delivery operations that I could fix for them. I wouldn't get past the second line of climenoles. Plus my work is mainly hidden: after all if you have to return to a service improvement programme, you've done it wrong.

What I'm saying is that if that high level client wanted my skills, how would he find me? Google "Service Improvement Speciallist" (and find me on around page 20*) or give his tame agency a call to send one over?

That doesn't make me any less of a business, it just means my market is the intermediate agency rather than the client. The problem then is twofold: your interface is generally pretty rubbish and run by your cheapest available resource since you don't need to spend money to improve it in a market full of candidates, and you don't bother to remember me or follow up what I achieved for your client so I have zero market presence regardless of how well I perform...




* and several pages behind our Cojak...

[DodgyAgent]

Now don't personalise it. I've been earning good money for many years, and in recent years no more than 20% of my work has come from me applying to agency adverts. I'm actively working on getting that down to zero.

But that's me talking to people who know me (or know of me). That's a lot different to cold-calling my potential client base and asking them if they have some expensive flaws in their delivery operations that I could fix for them. I wouldn't get past the second line of climenoles. Plus my work is mainly hidden: after all if you have to return to a service improvement programme, you've done it wrong.

What I'm saying is that if that high level client wanted my skills, how would he find me? Google "Service Improvement Speciallist" (and find me on around page 20*) or give his tame agency a call to send one over?

That doesn't make me any less of a business, it just means my market is the intermediate agency rather than the client. The problem then is twofold: your interface is generally pretty rubbish and run by your cheapest available resource since you don't need to spend money to improve it in a market full of candidates, and you don't bother to remember me or follow up what I achieved for your client so I have zero market presence regardless of how well I perform...




* and several pages behind our Cojak...

Malvolio I do not mean to personalise this but I am afraid the problem is entirely of your own making. The inability of your business to find its way to the market is nothing to do with the existing agency/client/contractor model it is to do with either an inability to get it to the market or the market simply has no requirement for the service.

You should identify your clients and identify the stakeholders in those clients that would benefit from what you do (and these need to be benefits that ultimately relate to making financial gains). you then need to contact these people and get meetings with them in order to have an opportunity for you to show how your services can be of benefit.

If you sit and wait for clients to find you then whatever you do do not hold your breath.

[malvolio]

Malvolio I do not mean to personalise this but I am afraid the problem is entirely of your own making. The inability of your business to find its way to the market is nothing to do with the existing agency/client/contractor model it is to do with either an inability to get it to the market or the market simply has no requirement for the service.

You should identify your clients and identify the stakeholders in those clients that would benefit from what you do (and these need to be benefits that ultimately relate to making financial gains). you then need to contact these people and get meetings with them in order to have an opportunity for you to show how your services can be of benefit.

If you sit and wait for clients to find you then whatever you do do not hold your breath.

Yes, I know that. I don't need to do it, enough people are coming to me to keep me working now and I'm looking to wind down fairly soon anyway. But I accept you have to market actively or not at all.

[DodgyAgent]

Yes, I know that. I don't need to do it, enough people are coming to me to keep me working now and I'm looking to wind down fairly soon anyway. But I accept you have to market actively or not at all.

Good luck with it if you decide to give it a go!

[Szalyvah]

And so ends lesson 1 on how to make yourself look like an idiot on a public forum. Lesson 2 will no doubt start very shortly.

'1 post is to say yer a proper bug*er.. but funny.

Now mods, can I ride without stabilisers?