Government’s efficiency plans provide welcome opportunities for recruitment sector and public sector alike

Responding to the ideas contained in the government white paper announced yesterday, the Association of Recruitment Consultancies pointed to the synergy between efficiency of service and the use of specialist resources offered by the recruitment industry.

Adrian Marlowe, chairman of the ARC, explained “the plan appears to be to invite private business to quote for public sector business in order to establish the potential for greater efficiency and productivity as overall costs are driven down. Access to skills, flexibility of workforce, and overhead cost will all become important factors involved in the assessment exercise, as the whole panoply of options becomes available for consideration under these proposals for the first time in decades.”

Referring to evidence that recruitment consultancies are usually at the forefront where businesses are recovering or new markets are emerging, Marlowe continued: “Recruitment consultancies have a key role to play as they offer the potential of both short and longer term facilities for locating staff and skillsets on terms that do not necessarily involve rigid obligation. In the same way that they have proved particularly useful at the end of recessions, whilst efficiencies are being sought under the new proposals, both businesses hoping to take up parts of the public sector mantle and existing providers should look to see how using specialist resourcers able to facilitate a flexible workforce can benefit productivity and cost. There is a vast range of niche consultancies within the recruitment sector providing key expertise able to help find the right people for the jobs that count. Opening up the business, especially to SME providers who historically have been overlooked in considering public sector planning, is helpful and offers a welcome prospect for all.”

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