A comparison of IT project's team performance of internal versus outsourced employees.

Abstract

The performance of an employee is an integral part of a project’s success. In order for companies to realise their project objectives, it is essential that both internal and outsourced employees are performing optimally. This study aims to identify the factors that affect internal and outsourced employees, as well as to determine if there is a difference in employee performance in terms of information technology project deliverables. A sample of 74 employees was used from Derivco, which is based in La Lucia Ridge, Durban. The sample included both outsourced and internal employees. The data was collected by means of a questionnaire which included likert based questions. The data showed that outsourced employees performed better than internal employees as they had a greater probability of meeting the business requirements of a project. The literature review suggested that there were 20 possible variables that could influence employee performance. The results of this study concluded that 17 of the 20 variables identified from the literature review were important. The results of this study will benefit both employees and the organisation. Employees can gain a better awareness of their performance as well as helping the organisation in developing a better program to improve both internal and outsourced employees’ performance. The study extends the work of several models such as the Bennet and Franco et al. (2001) performance model and Develin’s (1989) organisational model. These models created a foundation for understanding teams, employees and the employer characteristics, in order to determine their performance patterns. However, particular attention is given to the Bennett and Franco model (2001) as well as the Sharpley model (2002). The reason for selecting these models is that the factors investigated in these frameworks are similar to those investigated in this research. The research aims to investigate whether South African organisations face similar impacts to the models described. The Bennett and Franco et al. (2001) and Sharpley (2002) models are based on perception, motivation, performance and an individual or internal motivation process. The findings of this research indicate that employees face similar factors to those shown in the Bennett, Franco and Sharpley models.