Leaked emails reveal job-site 'client direct' battle with agencies
Two leaked e-mails obtained by UKTECH have shown that competitors of Jobserve are moving fast to highlight industry fears that online job sites are shedding their agency allegiances to go 'Client Direct'. One of the leaked e-mails states that 'the battle-lines are drawn'.
Jobserve, the country's largest online jobs site as well as competing jobs company Jobsite, have both recently made the decision to let clients 'go direct'. In response, in a leaked e-mail to UKTECH ComputerStaff.net has claimed it has been approached by several agencies requesting they set up an 'Agency only' jobs site, similar to the ATSCo site but 'without any of its restrictions'.
ComputerStaff.net now proposes to upgrade its website detailing that:
- "We undertake to run the site as an AGENCY only jobs site;
- We will not allow non-agencies to advertise on this site EVER;
- We will advertise the site widely within the IT industry;
- We will charge £2 per job and fix the price for the next 24 months."
Result - A site that is value for money, performs, is for agencies only and is accountable."
In a separate incident a leaked letter obtained by UKTECH to ATSCo from ITJobs4 reads as follows:
"The readership on Jobserve is generated by the volume of agency jobs, yet Jobserve will have the very same jobs from the clients themselves. As with Jobsite it is likely that 'client jobs' will appear on the searches first and on e-mails at the top of the list - this has to be done to justify the considerable price difference between client jobs and agency jobs.
A move which will be more worrying is the rumour that Jobsite and Jobserve may well create shortlisting centres for clients to underpin the quality of the responses from their job boards.
We, as a company dedicated to the Agency Industry, think that the Agency community must act quickly and decisively in order to arrest these initiatives which threaten the very basis of the Agency Business.
To date, since January 7 2001 we have over 15,000 jobs posted and over 30,000 members of which some 3,900 are looking for positions today. Our growth in e-mail subscriptions is unprecedented as the structured niche Job Board with its 'two clicks to find the right job' appeals to the IT community.
We propose to promote vigorously against the Jobserve initiative to go directly to clients. We believe we can demonstrate to the agencies:
- How it will damage their business in the short and long term;
- How their placing adverts develops a readership which will be redirected to clients as Jobserve seek the client's support;
- How their candidates will, more often than not, have already posted their application and CV with the client, thereby wasting their time and tarnishing their image etc, etc...
To do this we feel we need some support and credibility from ATSCo and their members.
The ATSCo Job Board is fine - but we feel that ATSCo has affiliations with a non-dedicated board which is commercially sensitive to the agencies at large, is structured to the niche attributes of the IT industry and most importantly is seen by the IT professionals as not controlled by the larger agencies. UKTECH has already cast negativity over ATSCo's Job Board by suggesting IT Contractors should avoid it, as ATSCo did no favours to them in IR35 negotiations.
We will offer the ATSCo members a commercial deal for five years of 90p per job, which will allow for ALL Job Boards in the ITJobs4 family. Note our process ensures a single job posting, puts the job on all relevant Job Boards, e.g. a job for Web Developer with C++ and Java in Manchester would automatically go on the Job Boards www.ITJobs4WebDevelopers, http://www.ITJobs4Cplusplus, www.ITJobs4Java and www.ITJobs4Manchester. The total cost would be 90p for all postings.
If we can get ATSCo members backing we can then start the major attack on the new Jobserve practice of going to clients with non-ATSCo agencies (142 already use ITJobs4) and through serious argument dissuade them from supporting what will surely turn out to be a major competitor.
We believe that action is now urgently required as a strategic shift is happening and that effective action is required.
The ATSCo injunction, even if successful, will only force Jobserve to accept members' jobs which, surely, must be counter-productive.
The battle lines are drawn and we as an organisation are firmly behind the agencies.
We would be interested in an ATSCo committee view as soon as possible as time is of the essence.
Ps. If you have not seen the latest Jobserve announcement let me know and I will copy it to you."
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Richard Powell