SHRM Finds Many Companies Not Offshoring

Asked “Does your organization currently offshore or have plans to offshore jobs overseas in the next 12 months?” 84% of the organizations polled by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) said they do not nor do they have any plans to. Comparatively 12% of the 400 human resource professional respondents said their companies do offshore and 4% said they plan to.

Part of the reason for the low offshoring rate may be the potential negative impact on employee morale. Thirty-seven percent of the respondents said the offshoring of jobs would have an “extremely negative impact” on employee morale, followed by 49% that believed offshoring has a “somewhat negative impact.” The impact , though, would not necessarily be felt in employee productivity as only 13% saw an “extremely negative impact” on productivity, compared to 37% that said offshoring had a “somewhat negative impact” and 36% that said the impact would be neither positive or negative.

Regardless of what decision companies make on offshoring, HR professionals do not foresee companies changing their training schedules. When SHRM asked “Do you think that the offshoring of jobs, in general, will encourage U.S. organizations to develop the skills of their current employees?” 84% of HR professionals said no.