Talent Managers Declare Gig Work the 'New Normal' According to Research from Kelly Services®
26 Mars 2018 - 1:30PM
New research from Kelly Services® provides insight into why
companies hire gig workers and what the most innovative among them
do differently from their peers. Surveying 2,100 talent managers
worldwide—across industries and career disciplines—global workforce
solutions provider, Kelly Services, uncovered new insights about
gig adoption rates, the outlook for gig hiring, the growing
influence of independents, and areas for competitive innovation.
The most noteworthy survey findings include:
- Gig work becoming the new normal: 65% of
talent/hiring managers say the gig economy is rapidly becoming the
new normal for how businesses organize work.
- A flexible workforce is the way forward:
Nearly 3 in 4 talent/hiring managers (73%) say a much more flexible
and fluid workforce will emerge as a way to navigate an
increasingly dynamic global business climate.
- Workers are free agents*
by choice: 75% of global free
agents choose gig work for positive reasons, seeing it as a way to
improve their personal and professional lives.
- The advantages are clear: 43%
of organizations engaging gig workers experience at least a 20%
labor cost savings and 72% say using gig workers/free agent talent
gives their team/organization a competitive
advantage.
“The research shows that hiring gig workers is pervasive across
regions and industries, but there’s still room for improvement,”
says Amy Anger, vice president and global practice strategy lead,
Gig Economy, for Kelly Services. “The majority of hiring managers
say a flexible workforce will be a key way to differentiate and
compete in the future, yet 39% of organizations are what we call
gig-work laggards: they aren’t currently using gig workers heavily
nor strategically.”
What factors are driving the gig economy?
- Skills Gap: Companies today need a ready
supply of knowledge workers in emerging areas of expertise to stay
competitive.
- Work/life design: More and
more freelancers are opting for gig work by choice rather than
economic necessity. As independents, they have greater autonomy
about how, when and where to work—and employers are feeling
pressure to adapt to these preferences. The research shows seven
out of 10 talent managers using free agents see the employer-worker
relationship shifting, with talent asserting more leverage.
- Technology advancements: The
surge in the “human cloud” (technologies that enable virtual
collaboration) have made gig work much more cost-effective and
productive. Technological improvements, generally, have enabled
more people to work from anywhere – creating a cycle of increasing
demand to have more flexibility in their work style.
- Economic pressure: Volatile
market conditions have made many employers wary of adding to their
permanent payrolls and more receptive to the concept of a scalable,
variable workforce in order to be competitive.
“The research findings are fascinating not just for global
organizations seeking an edge over competitors, but for the entire
gig economy ecosystem—from the growth of cloud-based technology
solutions that power the independent workforce, to the growing
interest among those seeking independent work to become ‘digital
nomads,’ or professionals who work whenever and wherever they want,
not tied to an office or even a city,” says Anger.
Why do companies seek out gig labor? Most cite cost
savings and filling talent gaps, but a large number point to
knowledge transfer as a key benefit. 60% use gig labor to
bridge a talent or capacity gap and 57% use it to realize cost
savings and/or efficiencies. The research also shows that a
significant portion of hiring managers see independent workers as a
critical source of outside knowledge and experience; 49% use gig
workers to infuse talent into their organizations and grow internal
expertise.
“For some forward-thinking organizations, hiring independent
workers is a way to import new and innovative ideas,” explains
Anger. “Independents tend to work across a higher number of
organizations and industries. By soaking up knowledge and
experience from multiple engagements, they can be tremendously
valuable as innovative problem solvers. Our research shows that 75%
of those who engage gig economy workers believe that free agency
helps individuals build a skill repertoire through various
gigs—skills they can infuse into the organizations that engage
them.”
To understand the full potential of the gig workforce,
watch the innovatorsThe Kelly Services research includes a
Workforce Optimization Maturity Index which provides insight into
the maturity level with which firms currently leverage the gig
workforce. Those that use gig workers less effectively than their
peers are called laggards; those with stronger skills and
commensurate benefits are competents and differentiators. The
most-skilled organizations are innovators.
Innovators make up just 13% of all companies, but they can reap
big rewards when it comes to deploying and leveraging gig labor.
Innovators are heavy users of gig labor and tend to use
independents for highly visible and strategic challenges. They view
gig workers not as outsiders, but as a critical and valuable
component of the overall workforce. And innovators are highly
advanced in how they use technology to aid in the practices and
processes of managing gig labor. (Not surprisingly, this group also
reports the highest level of cost savings: innovators are nearly 3
times more likely than laggards to save over 30% on labor
cost).
Survey Methodology: The 2017 Gig Economy Talent
Manager Research was conducted online by Inavero on behalf of Kelly
Services. The study surveyed over 2,100 talent managers from around
the globe.
For additional information, please click here.
About Kelly Services As a global leader in
providing workforce solutions, Kelly Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:KELYA)
(Nasdaq:KELYB) and its subsidiaries, offer a comprehensive array of
outsourcing and consulting services as well as world-class staffing
on a temporary, temporary-to-hire, and direct-hire basis. Kelly®
directly employs nearly 500,000 people around the world in addition
to having a role in connecting thousands more with work through its
global network of talent suppliers and partners. Revenue in 2017
was $5.4 billion. Visit kellyservices.com and
connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn,
and Twitter.
Contact: Jane Stehney
Kelly Services.
248-574-9800
stehnja@kellyservices.com
* Today there are 50 million free agents in the U.S., comprising
33% of the U.S. workforce. Globally, free agents/gig workers make
up 31% of the workforce. Gig work describes any engagement for
which talent is paid for a discrete task, project or period of
time. Dozens of terms fall under the “gig work” umbrella—from
freelancers and independent consultants, to micropreneurs and
independent contractors. All of these are referred to as part of
the gig economy or on-demand economy.
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