Alternative to traditional HR commission model

Alternative to traditional HR commission model in contracting

A newly-formed group of independent public relations and communications professionals, the Contract Communicators Network (CCN), is offering a ‘No Commission on hourly rate’ alternative to the niche communications contracting market.

CCN Co-ordinator, Mark Hanson, says rather than the add-on of a commission to the hourly rate as is the case with HR consultancies, clients hiring a CCN contractor will pay an initial one-off engagement fee and then only the contractor’s hourly rate.

He says over the course of a three-month contract the additional cost to the client of the HR consultancy’s commission added to the contractor’s hourly rate can be thousands of dollars.

“As an example, with a 20 per cent commission on an hourly rate of $80, the client ends up paying $640 a week in commission, on top of the contractor’s hourly rate. Over the course of a three month contract, that’s $7680,” says Mr Hanson.

“That money could either be saved from the client’s communications budget, or be used for PR and Comms activities and initiatives that the client wants to pursue, but may not because of a lack of budget.”

In the CCN model, the only cost in addition to the contractor’s hourly rate is a one-off engagement fee of $600. Mr Hanson notes that using the 20 per cent commission example above, the CCN engagement fee would be covered in the first week of the consultancy hourly add-on commission.

“Every week thereafter there’s a $640 saving for the client. In addition to providing experienced and proven PR and communications professionals, we think there’s also the added value of a good budgetary case for our ‘no commission’ model. “

Mr Hanson notes that even the new on-line contracting resource model from a major HR consultancy which adds a uniform $8.50 to each hour would exceed the CCN engagement fee after just two weeks.

With CCN, the client agrees the hourly rate with the contractor and engages them in a normal contract for services commercial arrangement with all the usual legal and contractual responsibilities and commitments that entails.

Mr Hanson says the network has just been established is focusing on having only more experienced practitioners who have a sound PR/Communications background and who have been in the profession for at least a decade and contracting for several years. BREAKING NEWS FROM CCN New ‘No Commission’ model for Communications contractors “The specialist contracting PR & Communications field is a very small one. We know each other and our experience and capabilities and CCN contractors have essentially been reference checked by their peers,” says Mr Hanson.

He says most members of CCN have all worked in contract communications and public relations roles on the recommendation of PR & HR recruitment agencies – a highlyvalued, independent judgment on their abilities and professionalism.

The CCN website www.ccn.net.nz has further detail and background on the network.

ENDS

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