Contractors will need to negotiate hard to ensure that agencies don't eat up more of their fees than is reasonable. This is the message from ContractorCalculator’s CEO, Dave Chaplin, in response to recruitment industry calls for agencies to ensure they take a bigger slice of the available margin when dealing with contractors and other workers.
At a recent event for senior recruiters, David Spencer-Percival is reported by onrec to have said: “Everyone slashed margins during the recession... But now the industry has got to start pushing margins back up or we’ll get stuck on recessionary margins in a growing economy.” His words are likely to be heeded, as Spencer-Percival is an influential man in the recruitment sector. A founding director of Huntress, he is now CEO of Spencer Ogden, an oil and gas recruitment firm he launched with Sir Peter Ogden, founder of Computacenter.
Contractors should train themselves to enter into contract negotiations prepared with all the skills they need to fight their corner over margins.
Dave Chaplin, ContractorCalculator
Spencer-Percival’s call for higher margins was echoed by Tristan Ramus, managing director of Hamilton Bradshaw Human Capital, which was founded by entrepreneur James Caan. Ramus urged delegates at the event, titled “Success in Tougher Times: Going for Growth”, to ensure agency recruiters receive the training needed to hold margins.
“Knowing that agencies will be focused on taking a greater slice of the available margin is valuable intelligence for contractors across all sectors,” says Chaplin. “