Outsourcing misunderstood: survey

A misunderstanding of what outsourcing is has led to the public misconception that outsourcing does not help the British economy, a survey commissioned by the National Outsourcing Association (NOA) has found, ComputerWorldUK reports.

The NOA commissioned a survey into public attitudes and was shocked by the findings. Public attitudes are in contrast to a Business Services Association (BSA) survey last year, which showed that outsourcing contributed 8% of the UK's GDP - £14 billion in business taxes and £21 billion in outsourcers' income tax, the NOA said.

According to Taylor Roberts, only 19% of the UK public believe outsourcing will help the country out of recession, according to the “Public Perception of Outsourcing” report. The research also revealed that the public associated outsourcing with cutting jobs, cost cutting and India. The NOA considers the misunderstanding of what outsourcing is to be responsible for the negative outlook on outsourcing.

When asked for examples of outsourcing, customers gave a factory being opened in China by a sports brand to manufacture trainers. People also gave the example of a call centre in India being opened by a bank. As no outsourcing is involved in either of these projects, the level of misunderstanding appears to be high.