Full circle to in-house facilities services.

Careful consideration must be taken prior to in-sourcing in order to ensure that the decision is right for the organisation. There will be pressure to go for the quick fix, or the option that involves the least pain or takes the least time (this may be a knee jerk reaction to go straight back out to the market). Contractors will be alert to this due to market intelligence and as a result one problem may be solved but a number of others created as the organisation is put over yet another barrel. Before any decision is taken, an analysis of the circumstances relating to the outsourced services will need to be undertaken. There are several stages to go through when considering in-sourcing and on the whole the steps will mirror those that need to be considered when outsourcing services in the first instance. It is important to recognise that the change management process associated with in-sourcing services will need to be carefully managed. This point cannot be stressed enough. In-sourcing will require management of the outgoing contractor, the in-house team and the customers during the mobilisation phase. A facilities strategy that is aligned to the organisation's strategic direction--sharing core values and goals alongside a good specification are essential. To ensure services are delivered as specified, a robust and effective monitoring system will need to be developed and put into operation. Just as all organisations are different, the drivers influencing the in-sourcing decision will be different--with factors relevant to the host organisation. If in-sourcing has been thoroughly and carefully considered there is absolutely no reason why it should not be effective (as long as it is specified, resourced, managed and monitored in an appropriate manner). In-sourcing is now being considered as a viable alternative to outsourcing, as a vehicle to add value, a sense of corporatism and team spirit to the organisation.