Outsourcing in the public sector, with Hilary Robertson, Sopra Steria UK

“In the public sector, where we have a wealth of data, I think AI is going to be one of those tools that is a game changer,” Hilary Robertson

Emma Carroll, Source’s Managing Editor, is joined by Hilary Robertson, Strategy Director at Sopra Steria UK, and Fiona Czerniawska, Founder & CEO at Source, for the latest episode of our Future of the Firm Podcast. 

The outsourcing market has shifted rapidly over recent years, and work done in the public sector is no exception. The pandemic, business failures, and digital developments have all played their part.

In this podcast, we talk to Hilary and Fiona about what’s new in the public sector outsourcing market, and where they see things heading next.

• They share their insight into the following issues and more: 
• How the public sector procurement process has improved and why, including the introduction of the UK government’s outsourcing playbook.
• The importance of technology, including AI, and the risk of obsolescence and skills shortages.
• The search for agility and how clients saw outsourcing as a solution during the pandemic. This appears to be a trend that has stuck.
• How the pandemic has caused clients to reconsider organisational boundaries and consider outsourcing core parts of their businesses.
• How clients are balancing investment in resilience versus investment in change.
• Addressing low-cost-bid bias amid macroeconomic uncertainty.
• The governance challenges faced by organisations that are juggling multiple external consulting providers.
• What’s new in measuring value in public sector outsourcing: This includes the importance of social value measures.
• Mindset change as part of outsourcing and whether this can or even should be measured.

If you enjoyed this conversation, don’t miss our sister podcast, Business Leader’s Voice. In our latest episode, we discuss reducing complexity in your business, with Beth Butterwick, CEO at Jigsaw.