My goal here is to throw more light on the issues mentioned here. I’ve been on both sides of the aisle both as a Technology consultant and on the Management side of IT Staffing Business for last 10 years. And I’ll not be promoting the companies that I’m associated with. And at the same time I’ll not respond to personal attacks but will definitely debate on points in a very civil manner.
Today I’m taking two issues:
1. Employment Agreements: About why companies insist on signing an employment agreement. And I’ve seen point of view from Engineers side. I think this is a more a problem of trust. Most of the Indian IT Services companies (small, medium and big) who do only Time and Material contracts, they have built up business models which are resource driven. And they like to make sure that the resources that they provide to there Clients (Vendors and End Clients) will finish the Task Order that company signs on. As we have seen some of the Engineers leave there Projects (and Staffing Company) without proper notice and transfer of Knowledge to the Team.
a. Most of the well run IT Staffing companies build there resource attrition/Retention/New Recruiting model. So there is no need to work with the same set of Engineers. Models I know are built with 2/3 attrition in 18 months. What this means is every 18 months the company will replace 2/3 of the resource portfolio. Other Engineers stay longer because they want to get there Green Card done by the same company. But others leave either for permanent jobs or for other reasons. Some companies can retain higher number of consultants if they provide Training in the right Technologies and Project Management skills so they move up on the value chain of An IT project. This increases there Market rates. Since most of the IT Staffing companies have devised Compensation models where 70% of the billing is allotted for base Salaries, Benefits and Bonuses.
b. Exiting is a delicate art. I know you can exit anytime if you have a real Family emergency. Everybody understands it including your Colleagues at your Project and your own Staffing company but in this age of Technology it will help if for some reason you can not come back and join the project to help your Colleagues at your Client site by offering them your email address and any help that you can provide in transferring the knowledge. Staffing companies will have 12 to 18 months Contracts with Engineers. After you finish your term you can give 15 days (or one month) notice to your Client and Staffing company. And Companies suffer most when no notice is given. Clients are extremely frustrated and most of time the damage to Company/Client relationship is irreparable.
So I’d not say in any statement that if a company is asking to sign a contract is not a good Company. Because on the contrary you will find lot of good companies will not accept new Engineers in there companies without Employment agreements in place. And I know some Companies are not using the Employment agreement for there actual intent which in my mind is to have a planned business model and Consistency with Clients. Some unscrupulous companies use this contracts where exiting is very difficult even after you finish the project. So a good question to ask will be clarity on exit scenarios from your prospective employers.
One think to remember is that these companies need new Engineers every year and for them best avenue is Referrals (or repeat business in Company’s language). So Companies have there best interest to Treat there employees good.
2. Money being collected in Advance for H1B1’s
It’s illegal to have Employees pay for H1B1 fees. But Good Run Companies also collect money for a different reason and than they are refunded. They ask money in advance so Engineers will join the company after H1B1 is approved. Company’s feel that if Engineers put there own money that they are not shopping around and company is not at risk by putting money upfront.
But these companies reimburse these fees from the 70/30 compensation (Most used plan) model. The way it work is 70% of the billing is allocated to compute Base Salary ( which is usually lower than 70% of the billing and is slightly higher than LCA wage) and the difference between base Salary and 70% of billing is used to pay for Company Sponsored benefits like Insurance, Relocation, H1B1 Fees etc. .and whatever is left is paid back as bonus. And some companies hold some money from this difference and pay base salary during bench time and vacation time in USA.
So again I’ll not rule out a company to join if they are asking advance money to process there H1B1 papers.
Final thought for the day
I believe some very unscrupulous Business owners are mudding the waters for others by indulging in illegal activities by selling Pre-Approved labors to highest bidders.
Today I’m taking two issues:
1. Employment Agreements: About why companies insist on signing an employment agreement. And I’ve seen point of view from Engineers side. I think this is a more a problem of trust. Most of the Indian IT Services companies (small, medium and big) who do only Time and Material contracts, they have built up business models which are resource driven. And they like to make sure that the resources that they provide to there Clients (Vendors and End Clients) will finish the Task Order that company signs on. As we have seen some of the Engineers leave there Projects (and Staffing Company) without proper notice and transfer of Knowledge to the Team.
a. Most of the well run IT Staffing companies build there resource attrition/Retention/New Recruiting model. So there is no need to work with the same set of Engineers. Models I know are built with 2/3 attrition in 18 months. What this means is every 18 months the company will replace 2/3 of the resource portfolio. Other Engineers stay longer because they want to get there Green Card done by the same company. But others leave either for permanent jobs or for other reasons. Some companies can retain higher number of consultants if they provide Training in the right Technologies and Project Management skills so they move up on the value chain of An IT project. This increases there Market rates. Since most of the IT Staffing companies have devised Compensation models where 70% of the billing is allotted for base Salaries, Benefits and Bonuses.
b. Exiting is a delicate art. I know you can exit anytime if you have a real Family emergency. Everybody understands it including your Colleagues at your Project and your own Staffing company but in this age of Technology it will help if for some reason you can not come back and join the project to help your Colleagues at your Client site by offering them your email address and any help that you can provide in transferring the knowledge. Staffing companies will have 12 to 18 months Contracts with Engineers. After you finish your term you can give 15 days (or one month) notice to your Client and Staffing company. And Companies suffer most when no notice is given. Clients are extremely frustrated and most of time the damage to Company/Client relationship is irreparable.
So I’d not say in any statement that if a company is asking to sign a contract is not a good Company. Because on the contrary you will find lot of good companies will not accept new Engineers in there companies without Employment agreements in place. And I know some Companies are not using the Employment agreement for there actual intent which in my mind is to have a planned business model and Consistency with Clients. Some unscrupulous companies use this contracts where exiting is very difficult even after you finish the project. So a good question to ask will be clarity on exit scenarios from your prospective employers.
One think to remember is that these companies need new Engineers every year and for them best avenue is Referrals (or repeat business in Company’s language). So Companies have there best interest to Treat there employees good.
2. Money being collected in Advance for H1B1’s
It’s illegal to have Employees pay for H1B1 fees. But Good Run Companies also collect money for a different reason and than they are refunded. They ask money in advance so Engineers will join the company after H1B1 is approved. Company’s feel that if Engineers put there own money that they are not shopping around and company is not at risk by putting money upfront.
But these companies reimburse these fees from the 70/30 compensation (Most used plan) model. The way it work is 70% of the billing is allocated to compute Base Salary ( which is usually lower than 70% of the billing and is slightly higher than LCA wage) and the difference between base Salary and 70% of billing is used to pay for Company Sponsored benefits like Insurance, Relocation, H1B1 Fees etc. .and whatever is left is paid back as bonus. And some companies hold some money from this difference and pay base salary during bench time and vacation time in USA.
So again I’ll not rule out a company to join if they are asking advance money to process there H1B1 papers.
Final thought for the day
I believe some very unscrupulous Business owners are mudding the waters for others by indulging in illegal activities by selling Pre-Approved labors to highest bidders.