Most companies hiring a Workday consultant through an agency see one number: the bill rate, the hourly price you pay. The consultant's own rate and the agency's share are folded into it, and the invoice rarely separates them.
Ask the agency what the consultant is paid. Most won't say, because the gap is their margin. It is often the biggest number on your invoice, and nobody explains it.
That makes two things hard. You cannot tell whether a high bill rate buys a more experienced consultant or a wider margin. And you cannot compare two agencies quoting for the same person.
The examples below use the median rate across vetted Workday consultants on Turbin: $92 an hour, as set by the consultants themselves. The markup range is what we see when clients share their agency invoices and the consultant tells us what they were paid.
What does the same consultant cost through each route?
The same $92-an-hour consultant bills $129–$184 through a staffing agency, $110 through Turbin, and $92 if you hire them directly. On Turbin and when hired directly, the consultant receives their full rate. What changes between the routes is what sits on top of the rate, and whether you can see it. Through an agency, the markup sits between what you pay and what the person doing the work receives.
| Route | Bill rate | On top of the rate | Shown on the invoice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staffing agency Agency engages and pays the consultant | $129–$184 | 40–100% markup | Rarely |
| Turbin Turbin engages and pays the consultant | $110 | Flat 20% | Yes, as its own line |
| Hire directly You engage and pay the consultant | $92 | Nothing | Not applicable |
USD per hour for a consultant who sets $92, the median across vetted profiles on Turbin.
Hiring directly is the cheapest route on paper. It is the right one when you already know a consultant you trust and can contract them yourself. But the finding, the checking, the contract and the payments then move to you. You carry the risk that tax rules class your contractor as an employee. You find the replacement if the work does not go well. And your finance team gains one more vendor to set up and pay.
What the markup actually buys
The markup is not pure profit; some of it pays for real work. The question is whether that work is worth a 40% to 100% markup when the alternative does the same for 20%.
Finding and screening the consultant is the first part. Most agencies start only after you ask. They reach out to people cold, screen them, then check references. That is why an agency hire typically takes 3–6 weeks. On Turbin the screening happened once, when the consultant joined, before any client asked. So the median is 48 hours from request to hire.
The screen itself differs too. An agency recruiter is usually not a Workday practitioner. They often match on titles and keywords, such as "Workday consultant," rather than the module and the work. Turbin matches by module. To join, a consultant needs 3 verified references, a review of their Workday project history, and checked certifications where they hold them. About 9% of the people who apply to join are admitted.
Contracts and pay are the second part. An agency hires the consultant, pays them and handles the paperwork for their setup. Turbin does this too. It holds the contract and pays the consultant, whatever their setup: W-2 employee, 1099 self-employed, corp-to-corp through their own company, or a Canadian or UK version. You sign one master services agreement (MSA), the main contract, and get one invoice.
Cash flow and replacements make up the rest. An agency pays the consultant on its own schedule, waits for you to pay, and prices that wait into the markup. On Turbin, weekly timesheets approved by your lead roll into one monthly invoice on Net-30 terms.
If the first week's work is not good enough to bill, Turbin replaces the consultant within 72 hours at no charge. With an agency, check the contract for what a replacement costs and how long it takes.
Last, look at what each side earns from. An agency earns more when the bill rate is higher and the contract runs longer. Turbin's fee is a flat 20% of the consultant's own rate, with no minimum term.
What does the markup cost over an engagement?
On a typical engagement, the agency route costs $7k to $29k more than Turbin for the same consultant. Across engagements run through Turbin so far, the median is 15 hours a week for about 6 months, roughly 390 hours. For a $92 consultant, the agency bill rate is $19 to $74 an hour above Turbin's. Multiply that by the hours, and the gap adds up.
In totals, that engagement costs about $43k on Turbin. Through an agency it costs $50k to $72k. At the top of the range, 50% of each invoice goes to the agency, not to the person doing the work.
The gap grows with the hours. Take half-time support after go-live (the day your new Workday setup goes into use): 20 hours a week for six months, about 520 hours. That costs $10k to $38k more through an agency.
A full-time seat on a Workday rollout for twelve months, about 2,078 hours, costs $39k to $154k more. It is the same person doing the same work. The extra buys no more hours and no better work.
These figures compare bill rates only, and they are on the low side. Engagements still running count only the hours worked so far, so the typical engagement runs at least that long. And an agency that raises its rate on renewal widens the gap with every extension.
What should you ask an agency before signing?
Ask six questions, whichever routes you are comparing. Start with the consultant's rate, the markup as a percentage, and whether it changes over time. Then ask who checked the consultant's Workday work, what a replacement costs, and what ending early costs. An agency that will not answer the first has told you the size of the second.
- What is the consultant's rate? Not the bill rate: the amount the consultant invoices or is paid. If the answer is "we don't disclose that," you have your answer about the markup.
- What is the markup, as a percentage? Ask for one flat figure you can check against the invoice. Turbin's is 20% and shows as its own line.
- Is it the same every month? Some contracts raise the rate after a trial period or on renewal. Ask for the schedule in writing.
- Who checked the consultant's Workday work, and how? Ask whether the screener has done Workday work themselves, and which references were called. A match on job titles is not a check of the work.
- What does a replacement cost, in time and in money? On Turbin the answer is 72 hours and nothing.
- What does ending early cost? Ask about minimum terms and exit fees. On Turbin there is no minimum, and 30 days' notice ends an engagement.
For what the consultant's own rate should be, by module and experience, see what a Workday consultant costs. You may be comparing against a support retainer instead: application management services (AMS), paid as a fixed monthly fee. If so, the AMS retainer guide shows where that bill rate goes.
Questions we get asked.
Often, yes. Agencies typically add 40–100% to the consultant's rate. That is the range we see when clients share their agency invoices and the consultant tells us what they were paid. On a $92 consultant, that is a $129–$184 bill rate. Some agencies charge less, and some charge more for urgent roles. The point is that you cannot know which without seeing the split.
They receive their full rate, the one on their profile. You pay Turbin's fee on top of it, and it is never taken out of the consultant's pay. Whether that is more than an agency would pay them depends on the agency. The consultant usually cannot see the agency's bill rate to compare. On Turbin there is no sliding scale and nothing hidden from either side.
It covers matching, and the admission review every consultant passed before you met them. It covers holding the contract and paying the consultant, whatever their setup. It covers weekly timesheets approved by your lead, rolled into one monthly invoice on Net-30 terms. And it covers a free replacement within 72 hours if the first week's work is not good enough to bill.