ABSTRACT
In the UK not only has the notion of ‘flexibility’ never really come to fruition, but the psychological contract has also been dismantled for employees. We want to tap into particularly high-skilled people who view with cynicism the psychological contract. We can give them learning and development opportunities. In any case, today there is not such a divide between temps and permanent staff – it is more a continuum. The key issue is whether you want to follow or shape the market [as an agency]. The problem for HR is that UK employers so often want to get rid of risks. Many risks are simply not off-loadable. So you have to have robust management systems for dealing with the people involved. Some call this co-sourcing, but it can only be successful if HR recognizes and deals with the risks that are inevitably there.
