City investment bank Morgan Stanley has set up its own web-based recruitment system for temporary labour in a bid to cut down on agency staff.

The aim is to recruit as many temporary workers through direct means as possible, bypassing agencies if the same calibre of temp can be found without incurring a fee.

The firm called on technology experts Skillstream to construct a recruitment workflow system that processes all requests for temps.

Recruitment agency Michael Page manages temporary recruitment

for the bank on behalf of around 30 preferred agency suppliers through the system.

Line managers make requests through the Skillstream system, which are then sent out to these agencies, posted on Morgan Stanley’s direct temporary recruitment site www.tempsonthewharf.com and also advertised internally.

At any one time, Morgan Stanley has around 450 temporary workers staffing its offices.

“If the quality of the candidate you recruit direct is on a par with one you would get from an agency, you can save thousands of pounds in agency mark-up fees,” said Steve Lucas, managing director of Skillstream.