Outsourcing the procurement of agency workers: the impact of vendor managed services in English social care

Kim Hoque (), Ian Kirkpatrick, Chris Lonsdale and Alex De Ruyter

Work, Employment & Society, 2011, vol. 25, issue 3, 522-539

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: agency workers; neutral vendors; social care; vendor managed services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:woemps:v:25:y:2011:i:3:p:522-539

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