Reply to: How much do agents take?

[Whorty]

And that's because the agent's customer is not the contractor, but the client - a fact many seem to ignore/forget. The agent might not add any value to the contractor, but the client is paying them for a service.

May depend on agent, but the guys I use do add value to me. They find suitable roles and don't waste my time with roles they know I wouldn't be interested in or have the skills for. They build up a relationship with the clients, understand their business, such that they know what roles will be coming up in the future; they know their contractor base, and when their projects will be closing and the contractor is due to roll off. So they can match supply with demand.

Now, I get not all agencies do this ... but some of the specialists ones do and they deserve all margins they take for keeping the chain slick and as efficient as it can be.

For the record, I probably wouldn't add a bodyshop like hays into the above scenario

[Whorty]

Not the same thing at all.

It is possible to market your own home and do all of the legal work yourself but many large firms simply will not engage contractors on an individual basis.

You can easily set your ltd up as a recruitment agency ... or have 2 ltd's, one for the recruitment of your skills, and one to deliver your skills. If it's easy money, and all profit, should be a doddle and you'd be quids in

[Paralytic]

Not the same thing at all.

It is possible to market your own home and do all of the legal work yourself but many large firms simply will not engage contractors on an individual basis.

And that's because the agent's customer is not the contractor, but the client - a fact many seem to ignore/forget. The agent might not add any value to the contractor, but the client is paying them for a service.

[TheDude]

Re estate agents .... if they are not adding any value, then why not just advertise your property on craigslist?

Same with contract roles ... if the agent is adding you no value, then why don't you cold call hundreds of companies, build up a network, keep it all on your CRM, understand each client's business and their project/programme road maps, and get your own contracts direct?

Not the same thing at all.

It is possible to market your own home and do all of the legal work yourself but many large firms simply will not engage contractors on an individual basis.

[Whorty]

Agents take zero risk. It’s not like they will be stuck with a warehouse of asparagus spears.

they prostiute out the contractor to a bidder. And the margins are insane for the work done

I also have the same gripe about estate agents and Foxtons. They advertise your property. Any problems with tenants and they put you in touch with a lawyer who will bill £300 an hour to help

zero skin in the game. Pure cash machine

Re estate agents .... if they are not adding any value, then why not just advertise your property on craigslist?

Same with contract roles ... if the agent is adding you no value, then why don't you cold call hundreds of companies, build up a network, keep it all on your CRM, understand each client's business and their project/programme road maps, and get your own contracts direct?

I use one agent almost exclusively these days. They know what clients are looking for my skills when. They understand the market rate for my role and they have been open with me on their margins, so much so that when I've extended a few times they have shared their margin with me to keep me on site and keep the client sweet ... not always, depends on the client and their margin.

But yes, as an individual contractor we can see how much 'we' are 'paying' the agent for a couple of calls, but what we don't see is all the work they have to carry out to get to that one call. All the cold calls that go nowhere. All the client shmoosing (how many of us have been hiring managers and been taken out for lunch by an agent ). It's a hard business, and if it wasn't, we'd all be doing it!

[Lance]

Are holidays for good performance a BIK?

#askingforafriend

Not if you're an MP and you declare them.

[ladymuck]

for all you know, the "best performing staff" might be the owner and his wife/squeeze/PA. And it was just a wheeze to get a holiday paid for by the business.

Are holidays for good performance a BIK?

#askingforafriend

[Lance]

One agency that contacts me on a weekly basis made a LinkedIn post where it had taken it's best performing staff from it's US branches for a Jolly to the Bahamas

I am all for rewarding staff but if I was a client I would definitely be renegotiating my fees.

for all you know, the "best performing staff" might be the owner and his wife/squeeze/PA. And it was just a wheeze to get a holiday paid for by the business.

[northernladuk]

I think that's a bit unfair. Most businesses exist to make a profit and if they spend some of that profit rewarding their staff, so that the staff feel valued and want to work hard, then that's going to ultimately increase profit. It might have taken them 10 years of hard graft to get to that point, or they might have made it in six months - what should matter to the customer is how good the service is, not whether the company is spending money on things that you don't approve of.

Totally. I think TheDude doesn't fully understand how key motivation is in some roles. Doing mind numbing jobs like telesales or call centres they put a lot of money in to keeping the staff motivated. In the case of agents/sales it's to get them to perform better and in call centres just to stop them leaving in droves.

And anyway, rewarding top sales people with lavish gifts has been pretty normal since sales began hasn't it? Remember, that's all agents really are, glorified sales.

[eek]

One agency that contacts me on a weekly basis made a LinkedIn post where it had taken it's best performing staff from it's US branches for a Jolly to the Bahamas

I am all for rewarding staff but if I was a client I would definitely be renegotiating my fees.

What have how they reward their US staff got to do with you getting a contract in the UK?

[ladymuck]

One agency that contacts me on a weekly basis made a LinkedIn post where it had taken it's best performing staff from it's US branches for a Jolly to the Bahamas

I am all for rewarding staff but if I was a client I would definitely be renegotiating my fees.

I think that's a bit unfair. Most businesses exist to make a profit and if they spend some of that profit rewarding their staff, so that the staff feel valued and want to work hard, then that's going to ultimately increase profit. It might have taken them 10 years of hard graft to get to that point, or they might have made it in six months - what should matter to the customer is how good the service is, not whether the company is spending money on things that you don't approve of.

[TheDude]

One agency that contacts me on a weekly basis made a LinkedIn post where it had taken it's best performing staff from it's US branches for a Jolly to the Bahamas

I am all for rewarding staff but if I was a client I would definitely be renegotiating my fees.

[ContractorHardman]

I know my last agent made 20% on my day rate. He was a really good agent. Honest and didn't throw the toys out the pram when I got a better offer.

[PerfectStorm]

Worrying about what the other guy gets is for permies.

The way I see it - if I wouldn't have heard about the role (or gotten in) without them, then they get what they get.

[Lance]

NowPermOutsideUK is special and thinks estate agents are the same as recruitment agents because the word agent is used.

f***!!! Don't let him watch James Bond.