Bringing in the private section gives existing government employees some competition. Performance is rarely stellar in a monopoly situation where competition is not a bedrock of the corporate culture. Competition becomes a powerful reason why government agencies outsource, he observes. As the Orange County program grew, the California agency did not have to hire any additional county employees. The outsourcing vendor handled the growth, another reason government agencies outsource.
Scalability becomes the outsourcing supplier's challenge.
Maximus is one of the largest government outsourcing companies, with 130 offices and 4,000 people on the payroll nationwide. The company originally focused on the federal government but has spent the last 15 years concentrating on agencies at the state and local level.