Advancing Impact Sourcing

Training, education, investment and collaboration are all key to taking the business practice of impact sourcing to the next level, according to this year’s GISA winners.

Their views on the actions needed to drive large-scale adoption of impact sourcing follow:    

Kevin Parikh, Avasant Global CEO and Chairman 

Impact sourcing is interesting because it’s not that companies don’t support it and don’t want to adopt it, it’s that they don’t know how. One of the key objectives of the Avasant Foundation is to be that bridge to help companies identify impact-sourcing candidates. With the right training, we fit them into the culture and businesses that the companies expect these candidates to represent. This, sometimes, can be a difficult bridge, but the Avasant Foundation specializes in training impact sourcing candidates on a custom basis for companies that need those individuals.

Alfredo Gersava Jr., Chief Marketing Officer, Virtualahan

In our society, disadvantaged communities like People with Disabilities (PWDs) often remain unseen, overshadowed by stigma and misconceptions. Yet, beneath these barriers lie untapped potential and valuable talents waiting to be unleashed. It's time to break through these barriers and create a more inclusive world through large-scale awareness campaigns and sensitivity training.

Despite the growing interest in impact sourcing - a business model that combines social impact with outsourcing - many companies still struggle to implement it effectively. Lack of confidence, financial resources, and human capital often hinder their efforts. However, addressing this generational problem requires a multifaceted approach that encompasses both financial and human investments.

The good news is that there is a growing recognition of the benefits of embracing impact sourcing, particularly for PWDs. Companies that prioritize inclusivity can tap into a diverse talent pool, unlock new perspectives, and contribute to social and economic empowerment. To achieve this, it's crucial to provide the necessary support and resources to help companies overcome challenges and implement impactful strategies.

By leveraging awareness, education, and investment, we can break through the barriers that limit the potential of PWDs and other disadvantaged communities. It's time to harness the power of impact sourcing to create a more inclusive, diverse, and empowered workforce for a better future. Let's invest in the untapped talents of PWDs and pave the way toward a more inclusive and equitable society.

Pam Sands, Vice President – Diversity Office, Kelly

To drive large-scale adoption of impact sourcing, businesses must focus on building awareness, collaboration, scalability, metrics and evaluation, government support, and building a supportive ecosystem. By doing so, they can create more opportunities for marginalized communities and make a positive impact on society.

Olivier Camino, Global COO & Co-founder of Foundever

At Foundever, our commitment to impact sourcing goes beyond exceptional customer service; we empower underrepresented voices, deliver innovative solutions for inclusive employment and bring more awareness to this topic.

Through our various programs, we’re committed to driving more transparency and large-scale adoption of impact sourcing by partnering with our clients to do more. 

By creating opportunities for growth, we take pride in leading and driving changes that impact lives for the better.

Social responsibility improves a community’s economic status as well as the lives of the individuals employed. Starting in the fourth quarter of this year, we plan to expand our education and training programs with the launch of a nonprofit dedicated to benefitting distressed communities around the world. Through a dedicated organization and team, our goal is to work on the roots of some of the issues we have seen over the years, lifting barriers to employment by providing access to language proficiency and customer experience (CX) skill sets, enabling people to become part of a sustainable workforce.

Dhiraj Dolwani, Chief Executive Officer, B2R Technologies

Given the demonstrated ability and potential of impact sourcing to create deep and widespread social impact, a combination of forward-looking legislation and communication could help its large-scale adoption:

• Policy advocacy for demand incentives: Propose government legislation linked to financial benefits for buyers. Link impact sourcing procurement by buyer corporations to “social impact credits” (akin to carbon credits) and propose supporting regulation for financial benefits connected to the same (e.g. tax-benefits for buyers of impact sourcing services comparable to philanthropy).
• Communication: Spread best practices in implementing impact sourcing published (by IAOP and others) as success stories emphasizing buyer benefits and the approach taken, emphasizing how impact sourcing fits into buyer’s ESG/sustainability goals.
• Training and Awareness: IAOP could consider offering an impact sourcing experiential program (like the Certified Outsourcing Professional program) perhaps as a competency building kit on impact sourcing.
• Aggregation of IS Service Providers: Support/promote an umbrella of sorts for service providers to aggregate and represent impact sourcing in buyers’ forums.
• Better representation: Increase the visibility of impact sourcing specialists in IAOP forums (perhaps as part of the Center for Social Impact), and help support the growth of impact sourcing organizations by subsidizing IAOP programs and events for them.