| Business executives are under a great deal of pressure to lower the costs of doing business, while also creating value for their organizations. Outsourcing remains an effective means to meet these objectives; however, caution should accompany the use of such activities. Talent pipelines are an important component of an organization's outsourcing strategy; any issue hindering the development of an organization's talent pipeline should be of concern to organizational leaders. The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to explore the perceptions human resource professionals (HRPs) have about outsourcing, how they influence their decision to participate in outsourcing, how HRPs perceive the influences of outsourcing on their organization's talent pipelines, and how HRPs perceive their efforts aimed at mitigating the influences of outsourcing on their talent pipelines. Participants in this study were senior-level HRPs who worked in the information technology (IT) sector in the state of Florida. All participants had one, or more, years of experience in human resource management, supervised 25 or more employees, actively participated in outsourcing activities in their organizations, and worked in their organizations' employee career advancement programs. The results of this study showed that HRPs perceptions of outsourcing did not influence their decision to participate in outsourcing, although some were leery of the practice. The research also indicated that participants did not believe outsourcing had any major effect on their talent pipelines. Additionally, the results of this study also indicated participants perceived their efforts at mitigating any influences of outsourcing on their talent pipelines as being effective and proactive. The result of this study identified factors warranting careful consideration when developing or modifying an outsourcing strategy and its possible effects on talent pipelines, such as developing an effective system-wide communication system and institutional education and training, providing HRPs more input into the process, and enhanced institutional advancement programs for employees. Further qualitative and quantitative research is recommended to support the findings of the study. Expanding this study could also assist organizational leaders in developing a specific outsourcing strategy to retain current and future employees when they participate in outsourcing. |
