The human side of outsourcing

This is an area I still feel is overlooked. I started researching on this because talking to IT people for another study a number of them told me they had been outsourced and that it had been a difficult time for them.

I wondered why IT people would stay to be transferred to an organization that was not of their choosing. I found the whole concept of being 'moved' almost like a piece of machinery, a bit concerning. But I kept an open mind and started to interview people about their experience of outsourcing - asking about positive (and any negative) aspects of being transferred. I also asked them questions about their reasons for joining the original organization, and around concepts linked to identity, identification, and commitment. I wanted to find out how they made sense of the process, how their relationships with the organization and colleagues changed (if at all), what good practice hints I could find for HR and general managers, and also for how to find your feet in the new organization.

I carried out a series of longitudinal in-depth interviews - the best way to find out about something that little is known about in detail, and in my view the best way to find out about how people experience transitions.

What I found in some ways surprised me (though in retrospect it should not have).

More on that later, although one thing that perhaps should not have surprised me is that the reason most of them did not leave was because - they felt they had no choice...