More and more companies decide to outsource their non-core operations.
Croatian companies are increasingly recognizing the benefits of outsourcing, mostly in the areas of cleaning, maintenance services and information technology, while avoiding them for procurement, sales and administrative jobs, according to a survey carried out by Cronata and BNB Sklad on a sample of 60 companies, reports Lider on September 5, 2016.
As the main benefit of outsourcing, 45 percent of respondents cite the ability to focus on core business activities, while 30 percent point out expertise of people from companies engaged in outsourcing. For 15 percent of respondents the most important issue is the fact that by using external services they can avoid personnel problems, while 10 percent decide for outsourcing based on the possibilities for saving.
Although the research tried to include the same number of private and state-owned companies, the latter have responded in much smaller numbers. “The biggest stigma with regards to the possibility of outsourcing exists in the public sector, due to the fear of employees that they could lose their jobs. On the other hand, the research has shown that as much as 92 percent of workers feel that outsourcing does not endanger their jobs, while 95 percent make it clear that outsourcing is desirable”, said Natalija Crnički from BNB Sklad.
The research has also shown that Croatian companies mostly use external cleaning and maintenance services (61.7 percent) and IT services (48.3 percent). External security services are used by 40 percent of companies, accounting services by 38.3 percent and marketing and public relations agencies by 18.3 percent. The least popular outsourcing activities are procurement (8.3 percent), sales (6.7 percent) and administrative work (5 percent).
In addition to shortage of free time and the will to search for appropriate business partners for outsourced services, managers of companies say that the leading reason which prevents them from outsourcing is a weak selection of companies that offer needed services.
Outsourcing has for long time been a controversial issue when it comes to state-owned companies. Any announcement about the possibility of outsourcing any jobs unavoidably provokes protests and threats of strikes by unions, which fear that private companies which would take over would reduce the number of people employed.
