Improving employment services management using IPA technique

•Building a management mechanism that improves Public Placement Services (PES).•Questionnaires were compiled with 3 indicators to measure the extent to PES quality.•IPA result suggests improving the PES quality.•Mechanism: indicators, questionnaires, face-to-face services, IPA, and improving.•Mechanism is created as tools to evaluate and improve the PES quality.

This study is intended to build a management mechanism that continuously improves Public Employment Services (PESs), using the Importance–Performance Analysis (IPA). First of all, experts were consulted to create indicators and questionnaires for the quality of PESs. Unemployed persons were selected with convenience sampling, at PES agencies in 22 Taiwanese administrative districts, for a survey with two types of analyses (i.e., respondents’ perception analysis and IPA) performed in accordance with the 304 valid copies of questionnaire returned. After deriving results from the analysis, areas with potential for improvements quality-wise, the author proposed a management mechanism in the form of a cycle comprising 5 parts (i.e., establishing service quality indicators, developing service evaluation questionnaires, offering face-to-face services, performing the IPA, and improving the service quality). Findings of this study present indicators that measure PES quality, which makes up for the lack of literature on placement-service quality, proposes an IPA-embedded service management mechanism that continuously improves how placement services are managed. The research contributions of this paper are the objective analysis results, and specific management policy recommendations, obtained by using a scientific analysis method offered as reference for management’s decision-making.