A new study by Ernst & Young completed last month found that Europeans are becoming more open to outsourcing. Being one of the few research works analyzing Europe’s openness towards outsourcing, the study showed that outsourcing was being used by 70 per cent of the European firms surveyed.

The British are, however, likely to outsource only a few standard functions, while the French and Belgians are open to outsourcing a wide range of functions.

Also, compared to 70 per cent of respondents that had at least one outsourcing relationship, only 49 per cent of respondents cited cost savings and higher productivity (revenue earned per employee) as the advantage of outsourcing for their organization. About 33 per cent identified better quality through use of specialized skills.

“French companies attribute less importance to cost-saving benefits, with improvements in quality and strategic organization being the key advantages identified. Belgian companies are also strong proponents of the improved quality brought by outsourcing, while in the UK, quality considerations are rated on a par with cost savings,” the study said.