New research finds 48% of UK companies outsource work in 2023, with an increase of 41% since the pandemic. By comparison, in 2020 only a third of UK businesses expected to outsource more, then and in the future. Other findings are:
- 70% of B2B decision makers admitted to outsourcing some part of their business
- UK businesses allocated £500 billion to outsourcing in 2022
- Global spending on outsourcing could hit £571 billion by the end of 2023
The analysis by Virtual Business Assistant firm SpareMyTime found that the trend spanned all sectors, with IT outsourcing leading the way by increasing 22% from 2019. Their data also shows that smaller firms are much more likely to hire a supplier to help their finance function, with 37% of small businesses selecting this compared to 12% of large businesses.
According to SpareMyTime, the growth in outsourcing can be largely attributed to a surge in startups who are most in need of business process support such as IT and bookkeeping. Between March 2021 and March 2022, there were 753,168 new startups founded in the UK.
Melissa Gauge, founder of SpareMyTime comments:
“As businesses embark on the journey of scaling up, their needs inevitably shift, demanding increased capacity in different areas. The transition isn’t solely centred around unfamiliarity with processes; rather, it revolves around the quest for high-quality support. Attracting exceptional talent becomes a steep hill to climb during this phase and clients seek our assistance due to recruitment challenges.”
