From...

June 30, 1999
Web posted at: 2:30 p.m. EDT (1830 GMT)

by Barb Cole-Gomolski

(IDG) -- The popular Internet auction is about to merge with the Web-based recruiting industry. Early next month, Monster.com, one of the largest Internet job boards, will launch a service so contractors and other free agents can auction their services via the Web.

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The service, Monster Talent Market 1.0, could help companies quickly locate information technology specialists, which Maynard, Mass.-based Monster.com said account for about 25% of the 350,000 contractors who use the site.

To use the service, contractors will pay a small fee -- possibly as little as $5 per month -- and companies will pay a percentage of the contract to Monster.com. Details were still sketchy last week, but the company said the service would cost companies significantly less than a typical recruiter's fee.

Terri Kemmerer, manager of IT human resources at Cargill Inc. in Minneapolis, said the move illustrates the shifting balance of power in employment. "We've had this mentality that we are the puppet masters [in control of workers], but it's really flipping around," she said.

Shop around

Auctions will let contractors see what they're worth and seek the best deals. Kemmerer said she might use the service to staff a short-term project but will probably continue using third-party agencies to get long-term contractors.

Though Monster.com bills the service as an auction, the auction aspect extends only through the bidding process. Once a contractor acknowledges interest in an assignment, the two parties would probably check each other out in more traditional ways, including running reference checks.

Also, the highest bidder doesn't necessarily win. Contractors will choose their assignments, and they could pick a low bidder if, for instance, the company is located near their home.

Nevertheless, companies would bid without knowing whether a person's credentials were legitimate and without checking his references, which some analysts said seemed risky.

Consultants said they also have mixed feelings about the service. Some said it would be an easy way to market their services to a much broader audience. But others, such as Chris Wise, president of Wise Business Solutions Inc., an IT contracting firm in Milford, Mich., said they have a hard time picturing themselves on the auction block.

"Our service is based heavily on relationships," Wise said. He said another concern is that the auction model might give clients the notion that his services are a commodity.