Interest in impact sourcing is increasing
Impact sourcing is a new type of IT and Business Process outsourcing. It combines the European demand for strong outsourcing partners with corporate social responsibility (CSR). And its popularity is growing fast.
What is impact sourcing?
Impact sourcing is a sourcing model that aims to improve the lives of people, families and communities. It does this through meaningful employment in Information Technology Outsourcing (ITO) and Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). For buyers, this means prioritising suppliers who provide learning and career development opportunities to employees with limited job opportunities.
It is not only about reducing costs. It is about making a positive impact and investing in people. Impact sourcing often stimulates continuous job creation and benefits the whole community. It also benefits buyers, as they can employ high-potential people in a market dealing with significant skills shortages.
Impact sourcing benefits
The benefits of impact sourcing include:
- low costs;
- proven, reliable service delivery;
- a large group of talented people;
- a stable and engaged workforce; and
- social impact.
Outsourcing to companies in developing countries already offers most of these advantages. But, to qualify as an impact sourcing provider, you need to show buyers that you are actively hiring and training people with limited employment opportunities.
The future of impact sourcing
As of 1 January 2021, the government of the United Kingdom assigned 10% of the points in its Requests for Proposals to social value. We see similar things happening across Europe in both governments and companies, including SMEs.
Impact sourcing is becoming very popular. We can see this in the number of member companies in the Global Impact Sourcing Coalition (GISC). We expect that other countries and companies will join. Impact sourcing can be a vital part of a company’s CSR policy. It is thus becoming more and more important as a buyer requirement.
How can your business benefit from this trend?
Start an impact sourcing pilot project to see how it benefits your business and the community. You can ask business support organisations in your region how to start a pilot project.
Examples of impact sourcing suppliers include:
- Harambee in South Africa;
- Sama in India, Pakistan, Kenya, South Africa and Uganda;
- Alorica in Latin America and the Caribbean; and
- The Mandela Legacy Foundation in South Africa.
Of course, European companies can also qualify as impact sourcing providers. This could mean more competition and a reduced skills shortage in the market. Even so, the trend towards impact sourcing offers good opportunities for BPO and ITO providers in developing countries.
Globally Cool B.V. wrote this news article for CBI.
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