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11-28-2006, 04:58 PM #1Junior Guru
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Web Hosting Company Employees - PR Questions
Say you wanted to hire some staff members for your company.
Not outsource the support (well technically yes) but rather hire a random person to talk on live chat, answer phone calls, setup accounts (you know, standard stuff) during your company hours.
What is the average monthly wage a support rep (live chat + phone), or tech would make at a small to medium sized hosting company?
Also, what is the most preferred way to run a business when you need to trust others to do work for you? Hire manually or outsource support at some of the sites listed throughout the forum?
I think I would personally like to hire people, but it seems like there are a lot more strings attached.
Any words of wisdom from you larger guys?
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11-28-2006, 05:48 PM #2Junior Guru
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As far as I know you got a few things like.
- More expensive
- Contracts
And a few more things I just can't think of right now. And with Outsourced Support you just got to worry about them getting their job done correctly and paying.
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11-28-2006, 06:17 PM #3Billing System Fanatic
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BobCares does a great job with supporting clients. We used them, they're rather inexpensive .
Stephen Preissler
Modern Advisors - A Certified Plesk Billing Reseller
We offer Plesk Billing Licenses, Configuration, Migrations, Consultation & Customization
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11-28-2006, 06:38 PM #4Web Hosting Master
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If you have an office, its a lot better to have the person train with your staff locally, then telecommute from home. This would, of course, require you to hirer within the local market but it'd insure that quality is on par with your company's expectations. As for specific salary, that's incumbant upon a number of factors, including the individual's experiences, past salary, and cost of living.
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11-28-2006, 07:00 PM #5LORD OF THE RINGS
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You can get some good techs @ $1000-$1500 USD/month, but make sure that they are experienced and have good knowledge about the things they are doing, a technical interview would be fine before taking the decison
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11-28-2006, 07:11 PM #6Web Hosting Master
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$1000 - $1500/mo in the US? No way. At least you can't attach the word "good tech" with that salary.
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11-28-2006, 07:31 PM #7Web Hosting Master
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Originally Posted by Yash-JH
and i agree you can cana good tech $1000-$1500 USD/month, but difficult part is to find somebody dependable and trustworthy.
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11-28-2006, 07:36 PM #8WHT Addict
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Originally Posted by GELucas
- Taxes
- Insurance
Speak to your lawyer first.
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11-28-2006, 10:06 PM #9Junior Guru Wannabe
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When I worked in tech support, I was hired at $10/hr. I moved up to $14 or so as the highest level tech. Techs WILL move constantly if they have the chance unless they're paid well and given a cool place to work.
If you're starting out, outsourcing (US or anywhere) is definitely the best option.
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11-28-2006, 11:18 PM #10Web Hosting Master
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Minimum wage is $7.50 in Washington, so if they work 8 hour days, 7 days a week it would cost $1680 a month for the raw salary at minimum wage.
However, if they are full time, you will have to provide them at least a basic benefits package.
I think $2000 would be the bare minimum you could pay a dedicated support worker, and even then the possibility of him or her bailing at a better job is very high.
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11-29-2006, 12:15 AM #11WHT Addict
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Here's the cost for barely scraping by:
Pay him the Federal minimum wage for the maximum time allowed to be considered part-time. Then pay him under the table and don't pay benefit or taxes.
$5.15/hr * 39 hrs/wk + $0 benefits + $0 taxes = $200.85/wk
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11-29-2006, 01:48 AM #12Web Hosting Master
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I don't think you are going to find any responsible, educated people willing to work for minimum wage. Depending on your local market, you will probably be paying anywhere from $12 - $18/hr for competent technical support people (I am not talking about system engineers or tier 3 support). On top of this, you will have to get workers comp insurance and also pay FICA taxes which is 7.65% of their gross wages. Many states also require unemployment taxes, but this varies greatly between states, but it could be another 2-3% on the first $10-$20K you pay someone, per year. At the low end of the spectrum, you are talking about $27-28K/yr all in.
Jay Sudowski // Handy Networks LLC // Co-Founder & CTO
AS30475 - Level(3), HE, Telia, XO and Cogent. Noction optimized network.
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11-29-2006, 03:28 AM #13Web Hosting Master
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The basic figure in management for a full time employee is "wages monthly * 1.30 = total monthly cost".
Now, to not be in a position to worry about benefits you can't have an employee work over 35 hours per week. 36 Hours and above is considered Full-Time.
Essentially you can hire employees, but as stated above they are expensive.
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11-29-2006, 12:16 PM #14Junior Guru
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I agree that outsourcing the support is most likely the best course of action when you are just starting out. Thanks for your input everybody, I have a much better position and view of PR now
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11-29-2006, 05:15 PM #15Web Hosting Master
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PR = Public Relations (Advertising, Marketing, Press Releases, Communication with Customers)
HR = Human Relations (Hiring, Firing, Benefits, Payroll, etc)Jay Sudowski // Handy Networks LLC // Co-Founder & CTO
AS30475 - Level(3), HE, Telia, XO and Cogent. Noction optimized network.
Offering Dedicated Server and Colocation Hosting from our SSAE 16 SOC 2, Type 2 Certified Data Center.
Current specials here. Check them out.
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11-29-2006, 08:32 PM #16Web Hosting Guru
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Originally Posted by Jay Suds
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11-29-2006, 10:43 PM #17Web Hosting Master
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Depends on what state you live in. When I lived in WA I worked 37.5 hours and still was part time. In MT I believe it is the full 40 hours.
Originally Posted by XSI-LarryI am back....
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11-30-2006, 12:48 AM #18Aspiring Evangelist
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Originally Posted by XSI-Larry
I have to step in as I believe this is a bad formula for people to use. The *actual* total cost of a full time employee is more like 2 X their full time wage.
For your employee, think about:
- Phone
- Computer
- Desk
- Power usage
- Square footage this employee will take (this can be pretty expensive)
- Benefits & taxes
- Oh and the time that your employee will waste his time (such as sleeping on the job, surfing, bathroom, cofee run, etc)
- Plans on taking out your employee and paying a couple pichers of beers once a while? cost $$$
This is why I am more leaning torwards the 2 X the employee salary. Afterall, the employee that makes more money tends to receive better hardware and overall better benefits when it comes to perks.Pierre Grandmaison
Offering 24/7 Toll Free Telephone Support
Zenutech Web Hosting
http://www.zenutech.com
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11-30-2006, 01:48 AM #19Web Hosting Master
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VoIP Phone: $250, amortized over 2 yrs ($10.41/mo)
Excellent Computer System: $2000, amortized over 2 yrs ( $83.33/mo)
Desk/Cubical: $1000, amortized over 5 years ($16.67/mo)
Power: Included in your lease
Space: 64 ft @ $2/ft/mo ($128/mo)
Taxes: 7.65% + unemployment taxes $200 - $400/mo
Benefits: Really, at your discretion. As little as $100/mo, as much as $1000/mo.
2X is really quite extreme ...Jay Sudowski // Handy Networks LLC // Co-Founder & CTO
AS30475 - Level(3), HE, Telia, XO and Cogent. Noction optimized network.
Offering Dedicated Server and Colocation Hosting from our SSAE 16 SOC 2, Type 2 Certified Data Center.
Current specials here. Check them out.
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11-30-2006, 01:54 AM #20Web Hosting Master
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I've been in management for both a large and a small corporation. Neither time did costs ever get to 2x the employees wages. If I remember correctly from the small corporation we only had one employee go over 1.3 to 1.35 and that was because he maxed his sick days.
As for variations by state, I believe the "Full-Time" hours is now under Federal Regulation, not state regulation.