Bob job agencies

[bobspud]

Not just the bobs that are ripping the crap out if the margins. I was talking to a colleague today and the current client won a big BPO deal by ripping out all the IT costs from the bid they understandably won and then went to the it guys and asked how they could deliver for 7k

[stek]

The calls I got were for a very, very specific ability to use BT's ancient mainframe's customer service/engineering system in anger.

So specific that I went in with that in mind, and as I knew the PM he confirmed to me that the rates the outsourced co were offering was destroying any chance of getting the people with the skills he needed.

WHS

I've often thought the Modus Operandi was this;

1. BobOutsourcer engages BobAgency or more as I suspect, sets up BobAgency - Avance seem to me to be Wipro's toy..

2. Bid for ClientCo at super low costs saying they have the staff, know-how etc already on board.

3. BobAgent goes out to market at low rate.

4. BobOutsourcer doesn't get the gig cos ClientCo realises they don't actually have the staff because the rates are too low to attract anyone with any ability and ClientCo knows this and gets edgy

5. You never hear from BobAgent again until another BobOutsourcer tender springs up.

I quizzed a BobAgent re: a gig at Lloyds and the extremely low rate and 'That's what the Client is paying, I'm afraid..' - The client being Wipro, not Lloyds.

[bless 'em all]

If you are being bombarded by these calls then you might want to review your CV and/or skillset to something which pays a higher rate

The calls I got were for a very, very specific ability to use BT's ancient mainframe's customer service/engineering system in anger.

So specific that I went in with that in mind, and as I knew the PM he confirmed to me that the rates the outsourced co were offering was destroying any chance of getting the people with the skills he needed.

[darmstadt]

I've only ever been contacted by one and she was very insistent that I go for the project even though I wasn't qualified for it at all. Eventually we got around to rates I told her what I would be looking for and she nearly tulip herself when I pointed out that my sum was actually a daily rate and not a weekly one

[Spacecadet]

Put simply - there are instances when they actually need people who know what they're doing, rather than getting bob from their own co to sprinkle some b.s. on his c.v and rock up from Birmingham airport on Monday.

Trouble is they don't realise they have to pay for it. And in one instance insisted the rate was vat incl.

Some companies want contractors for perm money and given the state of some of the contractors on the market they will eventually find someone local willing to do it for that money out of desperation if nothing else.
The problem is they have to call a lot of contractors to find those who are out of work and willing to take contracts at £30-40k pro rata hence some of these tasks are out sourced to Indian call centers where the costs are lower

If you are being bombarded by these calls then you might want to review your CV and/or skillset to something which pays a higher rate

[bless 'em all]

That's what I thought at first. But the ones that have approached me have seemed genuinely disappointed when I refuse their low rates. Had they had other motives they would just have accepted my refusal to deal.

There seem to be a number of them from the Slough/Uxbridge area.

Put simply - there are instances when they actually need people who know what they're doing, rather than getting bob from their own co to sprinkle some b.s. on his c.v and rock up from Birmingham airport on Monday.

Trouble is they don't realise they have to pay for it. And in one instance insisted the rate was vat incl.

[Dactylion]

I would hate to fal victim to using stereotypes but:

When they are just going through the motions to prove they can't get anyone (thus allowing them to import a Bob for a Bob) the rate is about 1/3 of tulip.

When they really need someone and are offering decent rates, as soon as you have interviewed successfully they get a senior Bob on the phone to you saying how they are looking to expand their offering in "field x" and would really like you to come on board as a BobCo permie.
I suspect that if you were foolish enough to go down this route the permie role would cease to exist at about the same time as the contract would have been finished
ie You end up doing the contract for a tulip rate/permie salary

As you may be able to infer I have some experience of BobCo Agencies :-( - I did turn down the permie offer and just saw it out as a contract :-) amazingly the permie offers stopped about 1/2 way through and were never mentioned as the contract wore down.

[original PM]

maybe they are realsing they cannot get the quality of staff they need or clients are insisting on a least 1 person on the team with a good grasp of english - but they have already negotiated the low bob rates and so are starting to realise they have shot themselves in the foot?

[KentPhilip]

It is so they can turn around and get their ICTs in when we refuse to deal with them for a role.

That's what I thought at first. But the ones that have approached me have seemed genuinely disappointed when I refuse their low rates. Had they had other motives they would just have accepted my refusal to deal.

There seem to be a number of them from the Slough/Uxbridge area.

[TTT]

Most likely this is a future of the British IT industry: bob job agencies from Mumbai placing bob consultants from Kolkata for a gig in Manchester

[SueEllen]

It is so they can turn around and get their ICTs in when we refuse to deal with them for a role.

Though I've tried to play along with a couple and they all strangely go silent when you make it clear you are interested in the role.

[CoolCat]

Am I the only one getting bombarded with lots of calls from different bob job agencies?

Is this their next business? wiping out British job agencies the way they already have large sections of the IT workforce?

Are we really printing uncapped ICT work visas for bobs?

Are the old school friends from Eton running this country really this stupid?

Answers please?