Fighting the fees of IT contractor management

A new CMS (Contractor Management Service) launched last week by Melbourne based IT Recruitment firm, VTR Consulting, aims to address one of IT contractors' biggest gripes -- CMS fees.

"Contractors are sick and tired of been overcharged by these companies, they [contractor management firms] are making a good buck out of someone else hard work," said Vincent Teubler, managing director of VTR Consulting.

"On average contractor management firms charge a fee of at least 5 percent of the contractor's hourly rate, some go as far as 7 percent. That's 7 percent taken off the contractor's rate every hour of everyday for the duration of their contract," Teubler said.

"Contractor Management companies try to justify their overblown fees by providing an array of services, (on top of payrolling, Workcover, Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurances), such as lifestyle services, international relocation, networking opportunities and the list goes on and on," Teubler added.

With an all inclusive fee of 3.5 percent, VTR's CMS offers a ''no frills'' option for contractors.

"I like to compare our service to the ones offered by Jet Star and Qantas both will get you to your point of destination, but the question is whether you want to pay extra just to get a meal, which you may or may not enjoy," Teubler said.