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Power To The People – The Talent Revolution

Business models are adjusting not just because of technology but also because of people. The traditional relationship between employees and employers is under strain. People want to feel a sense of purpose, they want to make a difference, have impact, and be valued and heard. They want to feel like they are part of something. People are moving towards businesses that have made it a priority to promote their purpose and mission. This will be essential for businesses to attract, retain and grow the best talent to deliver the best work and results.

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At the same time as belonging and being part of something, the workforce of now and the future is mobile, adaptable, and flexible. Short-term on-demand talent is in high demand, and the ‘gig economy’ and freelancer sectors are growing.

People are attracted to teams of people and their brands as much as the employer brand. There is movement away from conventional employment, at times, out of necessity, and other times, out of choice. There are many middle level managers working for traditional employers, including public sector, that would find it difficult to find a similar role. There has been a boom in freelance, interim and gig employment and this continues to reshape the market for people. This is driven in part by people’s desire for more variety and flexibility.

Freelancers are not hired by start-ups and small-sized businesses alone; major multi-national companies with thousands of regular full-time employees engage the service of expert freelancers for specific projects and tasks.

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It is becoming a viable alternative to the traditional nine-to-five and despite some negativity in the press, it is not actually all bad.

Millions of people and thousands of companies have already benefited from this approach to work.

The gig economy empowers people, both skilled and unskilled, to manage their time, work and how much they earn without committing to traditional long-term contracts.

The growth of the big gig economy has been largely influenced by technology, and the changing work culture across the world.

Contractors, freelancers, and part-time workers from all industries are choosing to work for themselves. Work processes are changing to support the agile, flexible, and mobile workforce.

A growing number of new businesses that cannot afford to hire full-time employees rely on gig workers for business administrative support. This has created an on-demand workforce for an on-demand world. It is increasingly popular with both businesses and workers.

Online talent platforms have amplified the many benefits of flexible work through their larger scale, quick matches, and simple coordination of work among gig workers and their clients.

Gig work is not just limited to platforms such as TaskRabbit and UpWork. Not all independent work roles are based around a technology platform, and contract workers can work for traditional companies without using online applications. In fact, technology giants like Amazon have embraced flexible workers.

It’s unlikely  there will be a slowdown in this area is; flexibility continues to be an important factor for people, who are looking for ways to work on their own terms and control their schedules.

For businesses, the technology infrastructure that supports independent work continues to is making it easy for them to seek service from skilled workers outside the business. Businesses are becoming more comfortable engaging with freelancers, even with the changes with taxation and contractual aspects. The costs for business to hire, train and retain employees continue to rise, and of course, businesses are continually ways to be agile and flexible in the future.

Although talent management may seem difficult in this new world of work, it is just as easy and just as important as before. As a business, the focus should not be on your employees’ tenure, but on the advantages of building relationships with so many people so that your company can get the best out of its talent.

Safaraz Ali, Featured in the Business Influencer Magazine