back to article Keep Calm and Carillion: Outsourcers seek image rebrand after UK construction firm crash

Outsourcers are anxious their hard-earned reputations are being besmirched by the recent collapse of Brit multinational construction firm Carillion, so much so their representative organisation is seeking a drastic image rebrand. The Global Sourcing Association (GSA) is calling for the outsourcing community to come together …

  1. adam payne

    Outsourcing outfits across the land should seize on the opportunity to "stand up and be counted, to celebrate our successes, and to demonstrate the almost incalculable value that we deliver every day."

    Is it incalculable because you have no idea of the number or is it that you aren't quite sure you deliver any value?

    1. Justicesays

      It's incalculable because

      they don't employ anyone with basic arithmetic skills.

  2. elDog

    Carrilion - that's way to early on this side of the pond for the pun

    But do carry on!

  3. Voland's right hand Silver badge

    Outsourcers are anxious their hard-earned reputations

    Outsourcers are anxious their hard-earned reputations

    Surely... this is missing some quotes.

  4. Chands

    Outsourcing outfits across the land should seize on the opportunity to "stand up and be counted, to celebrate our successes, and to demonstrate the almost incalculable value that we deliver every day."

    Err .. they haven't seized the opportunity because there aren't any successes. Outsourcer celebration is when millions are billed on projects that don't deliver and are mothballed. Money with no strings attached.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "[...]it’s clear that the industry’s standing in the public eye needs urgent improvement."

    TFTFY

  6. Christoph

    “Outsourcing is and remains a critical part of public sector service delivery”

    Because taking a service that is run for the public good and making it run for private profit will obviously produce a better service (because it's run solely to make money) with less cost (because you have to pay the shareholders as much money as possible as well as provide the service).

    Unless you happen to live in the real world, that is.

  7. Dan 55 Silver badge

    No ideas what to do?

    Launch an advertising campaign!

    1. rmason

      Re: No ideas what to do?

      @Dan 55

      Nail. Head. Hit.

      What they mean is "have loads of meetings then chuck money at a new logo and possibly a new acronym".

    2. Peter X

      Re: No ideas what to do?

      Launch an advertising campaign!

      This. And we know who will end up paying for said campaign too.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "stand up and be counted, to celebrate our successes, and to demonstrate the almost incalculable value that we deliver to our shareholders every day."

    FTFY

  9. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    WTF?

    ""while recent attacks on the model have often been extremely wide of the mark"

    What, that your CEO jumps ship after they sort out big, unrecoverable bonuses for them selves?

    That they low ball a contract and use the fees to pay suppliers they've not paid from the last low ball contract they signed?

    That this BS is driven by an ideology, which has very little actual (if any) evidence that it delivers actual savings when subjected to independent scrutiny (IE by someone who's CV won't be hugely enhanced by it seeming to have worked) ?

    I think such criticisms of Carillon (and "The model") are spot on.

  10. SVV

    Image Rebrand

    Also known as trying to polish a turd.

    On the "almost incalculable value" point, the cost is of course very easily calculable. And very high. And I suspect, very much higher than the "value", though of course that is a very nebulous concept with regard to outsourcing seeing as there is no surefire way their claim can be empirically proved or disproved. However the lack of a single comment ever on here saying "Hey, I worked on a project with them and it was a great success!" does seem to tell its' own story......

    1. Killfalcon Silver badge

      Re: Image Rebrand

      IME, a lot of outsourcers are fine for medium sized projects. If it's big enough for it's failure to endanger your company (or a director's annual bonus), then mysteriously things seem to end up costing more and more as they approach the two-years-late mark.

  11. Bill M

    No positive comments above re outsourcers

    Maybe that is because private enterprise has only one primary objective which is to maximise profit.

    Whereas public organisations' primary objective is to serve the public

    1. BebopWeBop

      Re: No positive comments above re outsourcers

      Unfortunately, the primary objective of public organisation's may not be achieved even if the goals are laudable. People rarely decide to fail deliberately (although there have been occasions in public sector projects where one has to wonder). But yes, I take the point, even if the private enterprise might choose to compete for public projects based on excellence of delivery (not usual), many of the knock on effects - staff benefits, taxation returns to name but two are discarded where lawfully possible (and sometimes even that test is bypassed).

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: No positive comments above re outsourcers

      Whereas public organisations' primary objective is to serve the public

      Bwahahahahahahahahaa! What a load of shit. Remember those champions of service and quality, like the GPO, British Leyland, CEGB, British Rail, British Steel, British Aerospace and the rest? I have worked in the public sector, and I can assure you that the primary objective was to not make any decision, and to dodge any accountability. Some decades later, my wife has moved from NHS to Civil Service, and is horrified by the fact that the primary objective is still to not make any decision, and to dodge any accountability.

      And looking at the shambles so many councils make of everything they touch, like planning, road maintenance, waste collection, safeguarding, you STILL think that the public sector's primary objective is to serve the public? Sorry, but no.

      1. Bill M

        Re: No positive comments above re outsourcers

        Curious as to what you think the solution is ?

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Missing from the list!

    Key Forensics another well thought out outsourcing move (I think that we are the only western country not to have a public funded forensic service anymore) https://www.policeoracle.com/news/investigation/2018/Feb/01/Police-pay-out-millions-after-collapse-of-forensics-firm_96901.html

    Get shot of the forensic science service the major players are in a race to the bottom to deliver at rock bottom prices while the police have been allowed to setup labs that are not required to have the same accreditations as the former public service or the new outsourced labs (this has cost people justice!). I am surprised that this cockup has not had more attention in the media. This firm is the first to hit the wall, others will follow then when only one is left and have the police over a barrel the cost of a centrally funded service will look cheap.

    1. BebopWeBop

      Re: Missing from the list!

      It has had some attention in the press (I remember seeing Gruniad articles that specifically covered it - see - https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/19/uk-police-forces-failing-to-meet-forensic-standards-safe-regulator-miscarriages-justice-outsourcing - although other examples might exist). The additional costs in screwups in disability assessments have been well documented - not that the government gives a shit about consequences to individuals - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/30/staggering-rise-pip-complaints-rot-system-disability-benefits

  13. Ken Moorhouse Silver badge

    Pull the other one...

    It's got bells on.

    Oh?

    Well, there were bells.

    Looks like they dropped a clanger.

  14. Richard Jukes

    They are up there with recruitment agencies. Scum of the earth who soley exist to be a middle man and take their cut.

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