Beginning today, OnForce, a web based IT service platform. will now require service technicians (or “Pros” as they are now called) to carry liablity insurance, Errors and Omissions insurance, and Worker’s Compensation to accept and complete work orders on their platform.
Pros who have their own insurance will be required to submit a Certificate of Insurance to the company in order to perform work. Those who do not have insurance will be charged a percentage based fee for each type of insurance needed, totaling up to 4.7% of the total amount of the work order, including parts and taxes. This 4.7% increase is added to the 10% fee the company already takes off the top of the total work order payment due to the Pros for services performed for an Onforce client or “Buyer”.
OnForce initially claimed the new insurance policy was necessary to please its Buyers, and was instituted at the Buyers’ request. However, after further clarification the company admitted no Buyers specifically pressed the company for such a requirement and the new policy was enacted to entice more Buyers to join OnForce and use the service.
The new policy was not received well by OnForce techs and many voiced their objections online in the OnForce forums and Facebook group, questioning both the integrity and the legality of the new policy and fees. Some techs who were outraged by the new fees are refusing to accept the new terms and said they planned to stop accepting work orders altogether. A few Pros threatened to close their OnForce accounts permanently and move to other platforms, such as Work Market.
Discussions and objections about the new policy have sinced moved off the OnForce platform altogether and spilled into other venues, such as The Force Field Forums, publicly viewable tech blogs and at least one web site for consumer complaints. There are currently more than a half dozen very active discussions taking place now in the private member areas of The Force Field Forums discussing the new policy fees from both Pro and Buyer sides of the issue.
The dissention in the forums, blog comments and Facebook posts reflect an increased level of frustration among service technicians with the OnForce service platform. A growing number of Pros are beginning to feel disenfranchised and believe OnForce is treating them more like employees than independent contractors. Indeed, OnForce management has since clarified its relationship with Pros by no longer referring to them as Independent Contractors, but as sub-contractors, which changes the entire game for many techs.
Although it is still too early to tell whether or not the company’s new strategy will work in their favor and bring them new business, it is clear that more than a few Pros do not consider the new contract, fees and relationship with OnForce as beneficial or profitable for them or their businesses in the short and the long term.
If you’re an OnForce Pro, will you accept the new contract? How do you think the new policy and sub-contractor relationship will affect the way you do business through OnForce?