December 18, 2002—UNICCO Service Company, an integrated facilities services outsourcing company, has released the results of a survey of 112 attendees at the 2002 National Association of College & University Business Officers (NACUBO) conference.
The survey, which covered 20 services outsourced by colleges and universities, found that 91% of respondents institutions outsource at least one service, up from 82% in a similar survey conducted in 2000. The survey further found that 78% of colleges and universities outsource two or more services—again an increase over the previous survey (67%).
The top outsourced service on college campuses is food service with 61% of the respondents reporting that they turn to outside vendors. Other top outsourced activities include bookstore operations (52%) and endowment fund management (41%).
A majority of 58% considered improving quality to be very important in driving their desire to outsource. Fifty three percent said outsourcing was also very important to reduce costs and 48% cited outsourcing as very important to help them focus on core competencies.
When asked what services they are most likely to outsource or renegotiate in the next 12 months, more schools mentioned housekeeping/janitorial than any other function. Bookstore led overall in longer time horizons as a primary area of outsourcing interest.
Attendees were also asked what service they would not consider outsourcing. A few functions led the pack; yet, even here, the vast majority of respondents are willing to turn to outside providers. Payroll is ranked as the least likely service to be outsourced but only 28% took this view. Mailroom management followed at 24%.
Complete survey results are available by sending an e-mail to request a printed copy.
