This scheme provides participating firms with an additional instrument for managing cyclical and seasonal variations in demand. It provides workers with employment security and guarantees the same wages as those of core staff in the member companies. A feasibility study to be conducted prior to implementation or during the start-up phase is recommended. The scheme provides companies with skilled and continuously trained workers who are benefiting from different work experiences and high adaptability. In contrast to temporary work agencies, the AGZ does not aim at making a profit, hence companies only have to cover wage and administration costs, but no agency fees.

Macro level

According to several studies (AGZ Südbrandenburg, 2013; AGZ Infozentrum, 2013; Hartmann, 2012; Kratz and Böcker, 2010; Tamen, 2009; Wölfing et al, 2007; Hertwig and Kirsch, 2013; Osthoff et al, 2011; Hartmann and Meyer-Wölfing, 2008) AGZ have benefited their regions in several ways, through:

• indefinite full-time jobs and the retention of skilled labour, providing regions with a competitive advantage;
• improved working conditions due to employers’ influence on each other and the implicit obligation for employers to provide similar working conditions to remain attractive within the AGZ;
• skills development in the region due to enhanced on-the-job learning opportunities;
• effective support of small enterprises in accessing skilled labour;
• improvement of ‘soft factors’ determining the attractiveness of the region as a business location or place to live (AGZ initiate discussions on the availability of education/training infrastructure, leisure centres, and care facilities with regional policymakers);
• labour market integration of disadvantaged groups for whom individual employers would like to provide jobs out of social responsibility, but cannot afford to do so on their own.

Micro level

There are also several advantages that AGZ can offer to companies from a micro perspective (AGZ Südbrandenburg, 2013; AGZ Infozentrum, 2013; Hartmann, 2012; Kratz and Böcker, 2010; Tamen, 2009; Wölfing et al, 2007; Hertwig and Kirsch, 2013; Osthoff et al, 2011; Hartmann and Meyer-Wölfing, 2008):

• distribution of employment risk across participating companies;
• cost of employment kept below that of temporary agency workers, not least because of the non-profit character of the AGZ;
• increased competitiveness (in case of sudden large orders core staff can be flexibly supplemented by AGZ workers who are already familiar with the company and its working procedures);
• familiar workers mean shorter induction periods;
• access to qualified specialists for strategic part-time activities, such as quality management, marketing, IT;
• access to and awareness of professional strategic HR management;
• access to tailor-made qualification measures and distribution of education/training;
• costs across participating companies;
• high motivation and commitment of workers;
• image as a responsible and attractive employer;
• cooperation with other companies, also beyond the shared workforce (such as joint use of machinery, shared purchases, acquisition of clients).

The same studies show that AGZ can offer workers:

• job creation and avoidance of overtime as tasks going beyond normal working hours can be shifted into a new post;
• integration into the regular labour market, particularly for people who might be considered as risky by employers due to an assumed high chance of failure of the employment relationship (such as the long-term unemployed);
• establishment of full-time indefinite employment with a single employer (the AGZ);
• equal treatment with core staff on income, working conditions and participation;
• access to flexible working arrangements, facilitating the combination of family obligations and work;
• access to education/training measures, also fostering career development of the workers and their employability on the labour market.