Research commissioned by the National Outsourcing Association (NOA) has revealed that 80 percent of the UK general public do not believe that outsourcing contributes to the economy.

This perception has stemmed from the connotations of outsourcing with cost cutting (67 percent), job losses (53 percent) and offshoring to India (45 percent). Commonly cited examples of outsourcing by the public included a major bank opening a call centre in India and a sports brand setting up a factory in China to manufacture trainers, despite the fact neither involve outsourcing, instead being examples of captive offshoring projects.

The research showed that nearly one in four people do not like outsources. While the profession is not disliked to the same extent as politicians at 67 percent or bankers at 47 percent, only 19 percent of the public believe that outsourcing can help the UK out of recession.

The research demonstrated that the public did not understand the role of outsourcing and that only 14 percent understood that the use of an accountancy firm was an example of outsourcing. Only 27% recognised a local computer company providing IT support to small businesses represented another example of outsourcing. The research shows that the UK public dislike outsourcing and do not perceive value in it, despite the majority failing to understand what outsourcing actually involves and its use throughout the high-street.

Martyn Hart, Chairman, National Outsourcing Association said: “The National Outsourcing Association’s Outsourcing Works campaign aims to tackle misconceptions and highlight the sterling contribution outsourcing makes to UK PLC. The NOA is confident that we can prove to the public the value that outsourcing brings to businesses, and the nation as a whole. Outsourcing is not just about offshoring and job losses, although the public currently thinks that it is. Most of the IT industry is outsourcing, in one way or another. This is not being recognised currently. The Public Perception of Outsourcing research shows that although the public is adamant that they don’t like outsourcing, for the most part, they do not properly understand what it is. The NOA knows that Outsourcing Works. The next wave of NOA research will prove empirically that Outsourcing Works, and then we’ll shout it from the rooftops.”

All of the key findings from this research are published this week in Outsourcing Yearbook 2012. It is available from sourcingfocus.com and noa.co.uk