PA outsourcing specialists Jonathan Cooper-Bagnall and Mark Brett have contributed to The Guardian Public article on the benefits of outsourcing for the public sector. Jonathan and Mark are quoted extensively in the article which explores the potentially valuable opportunities the government has to look at the way it runs services as many longstanding IT contracts come up for retendering.
Mark Brett, a senior outsourcing specialist at PA, says that if the government were a multinational, it would now be asking for a "really accurate" picture of where back-office services could be aligned.
Mark and Jonathan, head of sourcing consulting at PA, go on to comment on the benefits of a strategic approach to outsourcing. "The government needs to raise the discussion up a level," comments Jonathan. "It's about setting out guiding principles and a clear direction for outsourcing contracts."
Jonathan points out that cheaper labour costs need not mean moving jobs out of the country.
PA voices a note of caution in the article on the danger of seeing outsourcing as a panacea. The article refers to a PA report, published earlier this year, which warns that a sustained focus on reducing costs through outsourcing contracts risks undermining good relationships between suppliers and customers in the private and public sector.
PA goes on to talk about the importance of managing contracts with outsourcing suppliers effectively, and that these contracts require a certain level of investment from the customer. When weighing up all the costs, major contracts may turn out to be either neutral or only marginally beneficial in cost.
"As the government renews existing contracts, the debate should be about how to ensure it doesn't just get more of the same," comments Jonathan Cooper-Bagnall.
"It has to try and find different ways of working and ways of innovating. That has to be a better route to cutting costs. It's all about working with suppliers, rather than simply rushing to get contracts signed."
You can read the article in full here
