More for less?

The state of the economy is evident in many ways in the interim job market, but a small, and worrying trend is the concept of ‘more for less’. That is, that recruiters are demanding more skills, more experience, more hours – in fact more of everything, but want it for a less. Having to deal with this nature of hard negotiating at the offset of a recruitment exercise is one thing, but some recruiters are leaving it until the offer stage when they presumably consider themselves to be in a stronger bargaining position. Is this fair we ask ourselves? Is it also fair to ask for a rate reduction part way through a contract or at the stage of a promised extension – when presumably by the nature of the request, one can assume that both interim and recruitment company are performing well?

Is this just savvy procurement or are clients taking advantage and attempting to get their interims ‘on the cheap?’ It is true to say that there is still a level of ignorance around the subject of Interim day rates and this can make it an incredibly emotive subject. One key question is – should the day rate be defined by the market worth of the interim or should it be the value of the work required? Either is relevant, but what definitely doesn’t work is to try to relate a day rate to a permanent salary.

We are, without doubt, seeing genuine flexibility regarding rates from our candidates but also recognition that everyone has their limit. Strong, proven interims will know their worth and will not be frightened of walking away from roles where there is an adverse gap between requirement and reward with no clear justification. On the flip side new interims trying to break into what is becoming an increasingly competitive market will present themselves at lower rates, but won’t have the track record of succeeding in delivering interim assignments.

Whatever the state of the market, the subject of day rates will remain a hot topic and one that we are sure will continue to be debated.