TY - JOUR
T1 - Outsourcing the procurement of agency workers
T2 - The impact of vendor managed services in English social care
AU - Hoque, Kim
AU - Kirkpatrick, Ian
AU - Lonsdale, Chris
AU - de Ruyter, Alex
PY - 2011/9/1
Y1 - 2011/9/1
N2 - In recent years marked changes have occurred in the way employers recruit and select agency workers, with this activity increasingly being outsourced to third party organizations providing 'vendor managed services' (VMS). Drawing on data from a study of English social services, this article explores the consequences of this outsourcing. The findings reveal that although VMS has delivered cost savings, it has also resulted in less effective placement matching, rising line manager workloads and concerns about service quality. In the conclusion the wider implications of VMS for the future development of partnerships between employers and employment agencies are discussed.
AB - In recent years marked changes have occurred in the way employers recruit and select agency workers, with this activity increasingly being outsourced to third party organizations providing 'vendor managed services' (VMS). Drawing on data from a study of English social services, this article explores the consequences of this outsourcing. The findings reveal that although VMS has delivered cost savings, it has also resulted in less effective placement matching, rising line manager workloads and concerns about service quality. In the conclusion the wider implications of VMS for the future development of partnerships between employers and employment agencies are discussed.
KW - agency workers
KW - neutral vendors
KW - social care
KW - vendor managed services
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=80052443092&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/0950017011407971
DO - 10.1177/0950017011407971
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:80052443092
SN - 0950-0170
VL - 25
SP - 522
EP - 539
JO - Work, Employment and Society
JF - Work, Employment and Society
IS - 3
ER -