The gig economy refers to contract or freelance work rather than permanent job in today’s labour market. Gig work encompasses professional contractors as well as part time workers and app workers. People now want a more flexible way to work and companies want a more flexible way to meet the demands of their business. Professionals who are in-demand can choose where they work in terms of in-office, remote, or hybrid, and if they work remotely they can work for a company anywhere in the world. They can choose to have a “side hustle” which tends to explore the creative and artistic sides of people with their work being sold online on Amazon or sites like Etsy. People are also taking on part time or another full time job driving for a ride sharing or app delivery service.
Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) defines the gig economy as being synonymous with contingent work, including the use of contractors.
- “Ballooning by 30% during the pandemic, the gig workforce is now on track to surpass the full-time workforce in size by 2027.” — according to Forbes
- “Gig work will generate $455 billion in 2023, up 53% from 2020.” — according to Statista,
- “Hiring contingent workers allows HR leaders to access a larger pool of talent without the additional costs of recruiting, benefits, and training. This strategy has made gig workers an appealing alternative to traditional staffing.” — according to Gartner,
- “…disruptive technologies such as digitization, automation, and artificial intelligence combine with demographic forces to continue transforming the nature of work, how it gets done, and by whom. The resulting job displacement could be massive—think Industrial Revolution massive—affecting as many as 800 million people globally by 2030 and requiring up to 375 million of them to switch occupational categories and learn new skills.” — according to McKinsey
The McKinsey article goes on to suggest five strategies to address the upcoming talent demands:
- Build your employee base with upskilling/upskilling/retraining;
- Re-deploy your employees by renting out workers and shifting unneeded skill sets;
- Hire skill sets or ‘rent to hire’;
- Release with thoughtful terminations & voluntary attrition as well as ending contracts;
- Rent with partnerships, outsourcing, and contracts by ‘activating the gig economy’.
Having a hiring strategy is critical. Understanding your staffing needs and getting the value, both in terms of quality talent and cost savings, is the key to success. Curasion’s platform amplifies the opportunities for a successful strategy through direct access and fast, high quality matches to known and primary talent at a cost savings of almost 20% per hire in an easy to use platform with valued partners and support services. Getting available top talent when you need them, while saving time and money, is the best strategy.
