Storstädning som konkurrens - Kommunala hemtjänsten efter införandet av kundval

Sammanfattning: This study treats the municipal home care and customer choice. The customer choice model means that elderly people with home help services may be granted the opportunity to choose provider and therefore can choose between private and municipal providers. The purpose of this study is to investigate managers’ perceptions of how competition has affected the municipal home care activities, staff and users, depending on how municipalities have chosen to base the customer choice system. The study is been based on qualitative interviews with executive of six Swedish municipalities, that practiced customer choice system for a long time and thus had time to operate in a competitive market. The study answers the following questions: Do elderly recipients of municipal home care get status in the customer choice system? What is the relationship between municipal staff and customers in a customer choice system? What impact has the introduction of customer choice led to the municipal home care business? Our study shows that the municipal home care service has developed business thinking, which is a major change. The competition between municipal and private providers has contributed to more pressure on the municipal staff. All municipalities have been reducing their staff groups as required in order to reduce costs and achieve greater efficiency. Now the staff has become more flexible, work faster and more efficient. There are large demands on the municipal home care staff to do “that little bit extra” to stay on the market. Our study shows that staff is changing their attitude and their way of thinking in order to meet the customer right. We found in our study that the municipal staff felt that they needed to make free services beyond those granted in aid to secure their place on the market. The relationship between staff and customers has changed since the introduction of customer choice. Our survey shows that elderly have become customers and use their right to turn provider when there is a threat of the discontent.