To mitigate any associated risk from in-house IT provision, and to cover any internal skills shortfall, Julian Massel ­ head of IT for the newly created Equality and Human Rights Commission ­ favours insourcing combined with a smart approach to outsourcing.

“When it comes to outsourcing versus insourcing, you have to look at the overall picture and try to get the best of both worlds,” he says.

“My aim is to deliver a high-quality service to our customer base, and whether we do it in-house or use external providers depends on the service.”

Massel says his goal is to bring as much as possible to provide a higher level of service.

“Anyone who is part of an in-house team is prepared to do more than one activity, and the knowledge created by the whole is greater than the sum of the parts,’ he says.

“But insourcing demands good risk management to counteract problems, such as people leaving or any apparent knowledge gaps.”

The decision to insource was made when the commission was created last October. The new organisation combines the responsibilities and powers of the three previous commissions: the Commission for Racial Equality, the Disability Rights Commission and the Equal Opportunities Commission.

“The decision to insource was led by human resources (HR). With time pressures and TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment Regulations) there was no choice,” says Massel.

He believes the key to successful insourcing is good management.

“You need to ensure staff retention is high and create a flexible team,” says Massel, who believes the approach must be backed by HR.

“We need to put the emphasis on people and see them as a key asset so they are happy and motivated ­ and the approach depends on HR’s support as well as strong leadership.”

The in-house IT team consists of about 20 people supporting some 550 staff and is responsible for support functions, development and infrastructure.

Massel says there are some areas where insourcing does not make sense, and some areas where a combination of insourcing and outsourcing is best.

“We would never bring the wide area network in-house because the networking skills for major infrastructure are best provided by third parties,” he says.

While the first and second lines of support are provided in-house, third line support is often offered by an external party ­ again to mitigate risk.

However, Massel says that as the IT team’s skills develop, more third-line support could be provided in-house.

“There is an emphasis on in-house development and training, as well as learning on the job,” he says.

“By improving skills we can bring more IT in-house, and provide a creative and supportive environment so people are more likely to stay.”