European workers are more enthusiastic about the prospect of outsourcing than their UK counterparts, seeing it as an opportunity to develop their careers, research shows.
A study commissioned by IT consultancy LogicaCMG polled 200 employees from large organisations across The Netherlands, France, Germany and the UK to find out their opinions before, during and after the outsourcing of their jobs.
Almost one-third of employees in The Netherlands saw outsourcing as an opportunity to move into new industries and enhance their career prospects.
This compared to 30 per cent in Germany, 22 per cent in France and just 16 per cent in the UK.
The survey shows there is still a high level of apprehension surrounding outsourcing with 84 per cent of those questioned saying they were concerned about the changes that would take place during the process.
But the research revealed that the vast majority of staff (91 per cent) said these initial fears were for the most part unfounded.
About 70 per cent said they felt more satisfied in their new job, with 49 per cent of all respondents citing outsourcing as an opportunity to specialise further in their field of work.
A sense of involvement in the new team has the most positive impact on outsourcing project perceptions, the study found.
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Paul Dunn, management consultant at LogicaCMG, said: “The survey highlights the importance of a clear communications programme that defines the goals, outlines the benefits, engages affected staff at an early stage, and encourages input into all aspects of the outsourcing process.”
If the transition process is not effective, firms risk losing their staff as almost one-third said they would consider moving jobs.
