For the first time in a long time, it’s a buyer’s market for most job seekers. The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers indicate unemployment is less than 5%, which means people have unprecedented choice in the market. But today’s job seekers are looking for a new kind of work that upends the traditional approaches the staffing industry has embraced for years.
In 2018, technologies will evolve to provide the agility businesses need to stay competitive in the new gig economy. There are three trends that are the driving forces behind this sea change:
A New Marketplace Will Emerge
Only a few years ago, the idea of staying at a complete stranger’s apartment for the weekend or hopping into a random driver’s car for a ride home was outlandish. But when user-friendly applications like Airbnb and Lyft emerged, consumers were given unparalleled choice and access to specialized, real-time marketplaces that provided quality and diverse options.
Likewise, in 2018, a technology-driven marketplace will emerge where people are connected with diverse side-gig or “side hustle” opportunities. Similar to how Amazon created an online marketplace for goods, technology providers in the human capital ecosystem will step to the forefront to provide a venue for people to find gig work that matches their skills, schedule and financial needs.
As these technologies mature and a more diverse population of workers enter the gig economy, new data will be collected on when (and how frequently) they prefer to work, the skills they want to pursue and the types of roles they want to fill. As the business model takes off, it will leave a valuable data trail behind that offers insights into workers as they move across the marketplace.
Data Science Teams Will Start Answering The Questions That Matter
For years, one could compare a common frustration in the staffing industry with the inefficiencies of fishing in ancient times. Workers were found en masse simply by casting a wide net and hoping for the best. When the harvest wasn’t sufficient, companies looked for better talent pools, tried different nets or deployed more resources. The explosion of data only made the waters more murky for contingent workforce leaders seeking to collect and analyze the right information. HRIS, ATS and VMS tools collect an enormous amount of data, but the sheer volume is accompanied by extreme complexity. Historically, organizations have struggled to extrapolate data that drives more strategic contingent workforce decisions.
But in 2018, new technologies will allow companies to collect precise, relevant data on gig workers, including their work patterns, needs and desires. Today’s algorithms were developed solely to evaluate workers. While those are still valuable, in 2018, best-in-class organizations will implement solutions that provide forward-looking, rich data about worker preferences and habits. Companies will stop asking themselves, “Why aren’t we catching enough fish (or the right kind)?” and instead deploy technologies like a sonar fish finder to inform them where specific species are and use data insights to determine the appropriate bait. It won’t be about casting the widest net -- instead, the most successful and competitive companies will use data science to hone in on where the right workers live, what they want to do, at what frequency and how they want to be rewarded.
The Gig Worker Population Will Explode
Approximately 41 million people in the United States consider themselves some form of an independent worker, according to MBO Partners’ 2017 State of Independence in America report. In fact, that number is expected to rise, with MBO predicting, “Over the next five years, we project that fully half of the U.S. adult workforce will be, or will have experienced at one time, what independent work can offer.”
Half of the U.S. adult workforce may seem like an overwhelming number and indicates the profile of a gig worker will evolve from our current definition. A few factors will accelerate this mind shift. First, the emergence of user-friendly applications that intelligently help people find the right work when they want it will enable more people to be independent. Secondly, a previously untapped population of gig workers will emerge -- think flight attendants, full-time students, teachers or nurses -- who often don’t work 9-5 each day.
Technology will serve as the backbone of the gig economy’s explosive growth in 2018. Because today’s workforce model is changing, organizations must adopt these technologies or run the risk of losing significant ground to more forward-thinking, agile organizations. From a leadership perspective, it’s time to go back to the drawing board: What does it mean to work? Who should do the work? And how should they do it? By asking the right questions, we believe we’re well on our way to creating the future of work.
