atw: Re: Glorious contracting
- From: Terry D <morgan4four@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 11 May 2006 18:52:06 +1000 (EST)
naomi wrote:
Hence it wouldn't apply to recruitment agencies
> for a couple of reasons: 1. They aren't,
technically, receiving a
> commission - they are being paid for a service and
passing some of the
> money on to a subcontractor. 2. Their 'cut' isn't
specified by the
> person providing the service.
==
Can't say I agree entirely. The money the agent
receives will be the difference between what the
company pays and the contractor receives. If the
company says we'll pay $X, the agent has a big
incentive to put in the least expensive contractor to
maximise their profits.
Obviously, if they put in a cr@p contractor, they may
lose the position and their income. But it also means
that if they can get away with putting in someone
cheaper and less efficient, they get more per hour,
and they probably get it for longer.
I believe IBM have attempted to overcome this somewhat
by paying the contractor a rate negotiated with the
contractor, and paying the agency a flat hourly rate
for as long as the contractor keeps the job. This
means the agency should have a vested interest in
putting up the best person to ensure their person gets
the job. I guess this works better if the company
plays off more than one agency.
I think the main recruitment problem is that a lot of
agencies and employers I've dealt with have no real
understanding of the role and the differences between
writers.
A couple of recent examples: After being recruited 12
months ago as a "highly experienced" writer with
"expert skills" and the "ability to deal with
technical experts"..., my new boss of three months
decided the role to be offered as a permanent position
was as a graduate. In discussions, he said my role was
like a secretary or data entry clerk. Funny, that's
not what the specialists and engineers I work with
think. It was of no consequence to him that I
graduated with my fourth qualification and second
masters degree 8 years ago.
Also, an agent commented that my requested rate was
higher than the 'others'. I said I'd 'pass' on the
role. Then a week later she said the 'others' didn't
have the skills required and I've got an interview
tomorrow. Apparently, my rate is still too high.
And years ago, I got given a task of reformatting,
restructuring and proofing a document. Through
judicious use of macros and search and replace on text
and styles, I completed the job within 5 hours. The
boss told me that the previous person in the role had
done a worse job on a similar task--and it had taken
him four weeks. "Pay rise?" "No budget for it!!"
Cheers,
Terry
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