First up, what is the ‘gig economy’. If you have read our tagline, maybe you’ve pondered what it means. In an easy way, the gig economy is the market whereby companies sign a contract with an independent freelancer for short-term assignments. The word “gig” is an informal word saying: a job for a predefined time frame or deliverable. It is/was often used in reference to musicians.
I see three important levers that make the gig economy a match made in heaven for businesses and freelancers: flexibility, turnaround time and cost and revenue optimization.
In this time of age, businesses need a higher degree of flexibility to be able to respond to the ever-increasing speed of change in the economy. Thanks to the gig economy, companies can increase and upgrade staff in almost any field of expertise. They can choose the best people for specific projects from a large pool of talents. At the same time, people tend to change jobs more often throughout their career. They seek better work life balance, being able to work more or less depending on their need, desire and availability. They seek to have jobs that better fit with their skills, passion and experience.
So, on the one hand companies look for flexibility and on the other hand freelancers look for freedom of choice. A match made in heaven.
As above mentioned, in this digital 24/7/365 world, speed is of the essence. The clock speed of many businesses has increased in the past decades, needing companies to be quicker to adapt. Once companies have identified the need for additional and new expertise, it’s a competitive edge to have this expertise operational asap.
At the same time, once a freelancer becomes available on the market, he/she prefers doing what he/she is good at, rather than making sales calls and interviews. He/she wants to be on the job asap.
So, the urgent need from companies for experienced resources and new skills are matched with the high desire from freelancers to be on the job. A match made in heaven.
The gig economy operates on trust and performance: less hassle with office politics, low performing employees with high salaries and social benefit plans, office equipment, training,… In a gig economy costs are made per gig; income is generated per gig.
So, on the one hand companies seek to optimize costs and on the other hand, freelancers are seeking optimization of their income status based on skills, expertise and willingness to work. A match made in heaven.
Need help in finding your match in the gig economy? Contact us! We’ve got interim and project managers for projects in sales, marketing, product management and innovation. We’ve got the match… made in heaven.