e-people enters freelance market with a new pricing model

Better rates for all parties involved
Typically, intermediaries for freelancers charge huge margins for their services, over and above the hourly rate of the self-employed professional, interim manager or freelancer. And margins of 30% aren’t that uncommon. This margin will often be at the expense of the hourly rate of the self-employed professional, interim manager or freelancer. Additionally, part of the margin is often also added to the price charged to the hirer.

A simple calculation shows that a margin of 30% throughout an interim period of 6 months, based on an hourly rate of €80, represents a total amount of almost €25,000. No recruitment and selection agency can ever justify the added value of such a margin.

Optimal response
With its Fair & Square pricing model, e-people replaces the high margins with openness – not only resulting in a better rate for all parties involved, but also enabling the commissioning party to be openly mentioned when the freelance IT, internet and e-commerce assignments are posted. This way of working guarantees that e-people is taken seriously by the better-quality self-employed professionals, interim managers and freelancers in the market, thereby producing an optimal response.

A division of Wageningen University & Research Center, experienced this recently in practice. ‘What a luxury!’ was Wouter’s reaction to the 6 best candidates that e-people selected for him from the more than 50 responses received within 4 days. 3 of the 6 proposed freelancers were interviewed and within a week the temporary position was filled.

Win-win
Responding to the question of whether this means that e-people is a philanthropic institute, , managing partner of e-people, replies: ‘Of course we also get paid for the work we do, but we don’t charge any margins on our people’s rates. Our clients first choose which actions they want us to take out of their hands. Examples include a fixed price for the onsite intake and creating the profile, the job marketing of a vacancy and/or for example conducting interviews, face-to-face or via Skype/Facetime/Hangout. This is a much more honest and clear way of doing business. And that’s what our clients tell us, and our self-employed professionals, interim managers and freelancers who have already started working with the ‘Fair & Square’ model. They make arrangements with each other without us.’

The pricing model is revolutionary in the freelance market, but certainly not new for e-people. The agency has been successfully using this unique concept for several years now and the same principle of only being paid for the recruitment and selection activities executed on behalf of the client applies for filling permanent jobs. No fee is charged in the form of a percentage of the annual salary.