Top 10 GovCon Stories – #4

Summary
The Obama administration has pushed over the last couple of years to increase insourcing or the hiring of direct government employees over contractors. In 2010, the debate over “insourcing vs. outsourcing” seemed to intensify, with contractors and groups expressing their displeasure, and the government trying to soften the impact of their policies. Still, government officials continue to be focused on bringing work back into agencies.

Why it matters to the GovCon space?

Written by: Jeff White, Founder of govWin

I’ve talked with a lot of people who ask me what the impact will be from the government’s drive to cut back on contractors in favor of government employees. So, there is no doubt that this was a big story over the past year. In fact, I think it is an issue that we will watch in 2011 as well.

In my opinion, the whole debate around “insourcing vs. outsourcing” ties into yesterday’s #5 top story, Two-Year Federal Pay Freeze, the issue of the federal budget deficit and what is best way for the government to deliver services to the rest of us.

Like I said yesterday, the Obama administration’s goal of adding jobs to the federal payroll seems to run counter to idea of reducing the federal budget and cutting costs. I think this sends a very mixed message to current federal employees, who are receiving a two-year pay freeze, and the private sector.

This administration has placed a strong emphasis on higher service quality and better product value. It would be a shame to undercut all the gains made by growing the number of insourced hires beyond what the government really needs, and at the expense of valuable, efficient and cost-effective contractors.