Sourcing: in or out?
By Alan Bellinger (November 2004 Issue)
0 Comments 
Article Rating: 
Email to a friend | Print Version
Did you spot the juxtaposition in the header of this article? It refers to ‘sourcing’, but the narrative refers to ‘outsourcing’. There’s method in the madness; it highlights the fact that sourcing implies an informed decision on what to in-source and what to outsource. And this, in turn, highlights another key trend for us in Training and Development (T&D). Our key value add to the organisation used to be our ability to deliver new skills to an internal audience; our core skill was one of skills transfer. Now, our core value add is much more one of sourcing/facilitating rather than delivering. And that requires us to develop a totally different skills set compared to the one we’ve focused on in the past.
What’s more, developing effective approaches to the sourcing strategy can be a challenging exercise. The push of tactical problems is challenged by the pull of strategic trends – and then we have a missile on one side in the shape of sourcing complexity and a torpedo on the other side representing the innate desire of line of business executives to ‘do their own thing’.
It seems that everyone accepts that outsourcing is an inevitable feature of 21st-century business imperatives. But let’s stop for a second and ask ‘Why?’, and that’s when you come across the fact that the drivers are really diverse.
Let’s start with the obvious. Most organisations recognise that they can’t retain all of the skills delivery capability they need to achieve their business objectives in-house. Skills models are vastly more complex now than they have ever been, and it’s easier to look for external resources to cover the peaks and troughs of internal demand. Consequently, they will increasingly look to fill the gap by using external service providers (ESPs) for core skills.
We have only displayed above the opening paragraph of this article. If you are a TJ subscriber, login now so you can download a PDF of this article in full, free of charge. For non-subscribers the PDF can be purchased for £9.00 see the "Buy Now" Option above.
Readers Comment
Be the first to comment on this news story
Buy Now
You can download this article free by subscribing and logging in as a Full TJ member
Price: £9.00
Articles from this Issue
- Trust
- Distressed or de-stressed? How to create positive energy
- International opinion
- The psychology of prejudice
- Learning: ensure you get it, keep it and use it
- Sourcing: in or out?
- Focus opinion
- Rene Carayo
- Sailship Success: a metaphor for leaders
- Naylor Industries plc: a case study in leadership development
- Pilot of the airwaves
- Netcheck
- The Holy Grail