"More than the money" a feature article by William Knight reproduced from Recruiter Magazine published on 18 April 2007.
This article discussed the motivation of contractors who are looking for more than money and the services of a typical recruitment agent. David Smith of 1 Game Agent argues that contractors should hire their own agents since recruitment agencies will always prefer to work for their end clients who pay the bills ahead of individual contractors.
It
is common to think IT contractors are primarily motivated
by money. After all, they often seem more interested in an agent's
percentage than in the details of a project, and many will delay signing
to force those final concessions. But experiments show technical workers
are motivated by personal development, life outside work, achievement,
recognition, the work itself and relationships with peers. Money is only
number nine on the priority list.
Why few of these alternative motivators figure in contract negotiations
is something of a mystery since they affect the happiness of the contactor
and ultimately the longevity of the contract.
Kevin Humphries is a long-term contractor working as a software architect.
He says money is important, but "I like to think I'll only work on
something worthwhile, and something which stretches my skills. In fact,
I have passed up many contracts because I didn't feel they were what I
needed to take me forward."
Humphries is an experienced and well-paid contractor. Placing such a candidate
can mean a significant income for an agency over several years, with numerous
extensions and rate increases. Yet he is astounded by the lack of care
recruiters take with the details. "I had a conversation with one agent
about a particular job. The rate was below the one I was looking for, but
he said 'if you are still out of work in X months, then you'd be better
off if you worked on my assignment in the meantime'. The job was quite
junior relative to my expectations, and that would be more important on
my record than either the money or the short work interval."
Perhaps Humphries experienced a rare, careless agent, but the 'bird in
the hand' argument is typical of agent sales-speak. It probably works well
with less experienced contractors or when contracts are rare, but, however
true in financial terms, it treats contractors poorly and misses key motivations.
Dave
Pye, spokesperson for the Recruitment and Employment Confederation's (REC)
IT & comms sector group, and chief executive officer of Highams,
believes the good agents are already using a toolset that appeals to contractors'
motivations. "I think that the attractiveness of the project, for
the candidate, would be: does it add to their skillset? Is it an interesting
project? Then you come to things like location, and rate and length of
contract," he explains.
Agents must take these things into account, he says, especially when talent
is scarce. "Just saying to the candidate - 'It's a really well
paying job' - isn't enough. They need to understand the organisation
to which they are supplying staff; they need to understand the culture."
Bypassing the middle man
But Pye's observations are not entirely confirmed by jobbing contractors.
Mark Truman is a contract business analyst working in the finance sector.
Truman has been a contractor for most of his career, some 20 years, with
contracts ranging from a few months to years in length. "Very few
agents bother to visit a site or attempt to discover what conditions are
like," he says.
This disinterest prompts Truman to negotiate his own contracts and renewals,
then present the results to his agents. "On a number of sites I've
done my own deals. We come to an agreement and the boss tells the agent
where we are going. I wouldn't say I mostly work this way, but certainly
I found my current job, and then found an agent; big corporates won't take
you on unless you are through an agent." Naturally, he chose an agent
that had previously responded positively to his needs; one of "the
few", he says.
So while Pye's optimism for agent conduct and Truman's experience differ,
they agree in one respect: the current market is changing and contractors
now have greater choice. "Many contractors choose their agency, which
hasn't happened for a long time. There are more jobs, in many respects,
than there are candidates," says Pye.
If agents are not taking notice of contractor motivations at the moment,
the market will force their hand, he believes. "Now, candidates can
have a more intelligent conversation because they know they can choose
where they want to work, within reason. It doesn't just have to be about
the money. If the recruiter understands what motivates the contractor,
then they've got a better chance of getting the contractor to work on that
job."
Ignore traditions
The conflicts between agent and contractor are largely caused by misunderstanding.
Many contractors believe agents work for them while the recruiter's customer
is the end client. So while the contractor expects support and concern
from an agent, the agent's priority is in supporting the client. Simple
really, but contractors persist in believing they are paying for the
agent out of their earnings.
How different might things be if that were the case? Agents' priorities
would include the welfare of the contractor and the progression of the
contractor's career. Contractors teamed with agents, would seek optimum
commercial arrangements and supply the best IT services for their mutual
benefit.
One
agent who believes this can happen is attempting to turn the traditional
model on its head. David Smith, vice chairman of REC's IT and comms sector
group, is the managing director of 1 Game Agent, where game-developers
pay for representation by a 'representation agent'.
"The fundamental difference is that the candidate pays, not the client," explains
Smith. "It doesn't cost the client a penny. There isn't an introduction
fee, but the talent will pay us 10% or whatever the rate is that we negotiate."
This puts the talent at the forefront of the business, he says. "They
may be great creative people but they are not doing all the work they should
be doing because they don't have the business acumen or the contacts in
place."
In this model, the relationship thrives only if the candidate's motivation
and agent's actions are well aligned. "We have to step up a gear or
two, be more available, work with the talent and take phone calls at weekends.
You have to take them out to dinner, meet them regularly and go to conferences
with them. You wouldn't normally do that with your average candidate."
The level of service Smith describes might be rare under current models,
but it can pay dividends as Elaine Findlay, contract test manager, illustrates. "There
are agents that I will stay loyal to if I get the opportunity," she
says. "My current agency - LA International - is joint top of my preferred
agency list and has gone 'that extra mile' to ensure that both me and my
end client are happy with the contract terms. My agent even gave me her
home phone number so I could call her one evening."
Creative people from writers to film directors have always sought representation.
The surprise is why the IT industry has taken a different route, particularly
regarding that yearly turnover, even for programmers, can be £100,0000.
Mike Fergusson would love an agent to take care of the business side of
his 15-year IT freelancing career, but he simply does not trust current
agents to deliver. "Their agenda is not my agenda," he says,
and anyway, "the rules of engagement are so well defined there doesn't
seem to be any point in talking to them at all. The boss asks me directly
what I want to do, and we tell the agent." He wonders about how a
representation agent might work. "It sounds like a much better idea," he
says.
It seems that many seasoned IT contractors arrange their own renewals,
and if large companies did not insist on using agents, they would cut the
agent out completely. This is where Dave Smith thinks there might be inroads
for representation agents in the sector. Where contractors currently find
their own contracts, they might ask "Shall I do it myself or do I
get somebody to help me?" And if that help was essentially free because
the newly-formed partnership could command an increased rate, many contractors
would not hesitate.
But the industry is not ready yet. End clients have established routines
and Smith emphasises the momentum the current recruitment model has gathered. "This
is slow and steady burn. It's going against the established specialists.
It's two different business models vying for what might be standard practice
in the future."