With the rise of the gig economy and a wider swath of Americans defining work on their own terms, the assumption of slow payments isn’t as safe as it once was. Gig workers — the independent contractor crowd — are…
gig economy
Labor Department Says Gig Workers Are Fewer Than Thought
The gig economy is smaller than we think. Or maybe, it’s how we think of the gig economy that has resulted in estimates that a third of the workforce are part of it and that 57 million people earned money…
California Court’s Worker Classification Ruling Has Broad Implications for Gig Workers
A three-part test announced Monday by the California Supreme Court has far-reaching implications for who in the state can be classified as an independent contractor. The 7-0 decision in a case brought by drivers working for a delivery company squarely…
How Small Businesses Can Win In the War for Talent
Small businesses face a common challenge. According to the 2018 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Summit report, 70% of small businesses struggle to find and retain skilled talent. At 70%, this issue is nearly a pandemic among small businesses. In fact, according to…
Mythbusting the Gig Economy
If 2017 was the year “gig economy” became a household phrase, 2018 will be when businesses adopt this flexible workforce model at scale. Why? We’re in a new era of work, where professional success has many definitions, business agility trumps…
Engaging Your Freelance Talent Is More Important Than Ever
The war for talent continues to rage, and 77% of CEOs are now concerned about talent/skills availability as a business threat, according to PwC’s Annual Global CEO Survey. But where do CEOs turn to find this valuable and elusive talent…
Move Over Retention, It’s All About Attraction Now
Retention is a key metric for most companies. Particularly when it comes to retaining the top performing people, tracking turnover can uncover problems as well as identify successful practices and managers. But for how much longer will retention be a…
3 Steps Companies With a Blended Workforce Should Take to Protect Themselves
Companies that solely rely on traditional hiring models may soon lose their ability to remain competitive. Traditional models of hiring no longer provide the agility businesses must have to access in-demand skills when and where they’re needed. One reason is…
Temp Staffing, Freelancing: Both Growing Rapidly
Temporary help across the nation is on the rise, growing so rapidly Staffing Industry Analysts described it as a “secular shift.” Almost 3.1 million workers were employed by staffing firms in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s…
The Hidden Consequences of a Growing Gig Workforce
In the employment firmament, their star is rising. They appear when you need them, go away when you don’t, and there’s always a long line of replacements ready to step in. Contract workers are in wide use today, and it’s…
Should You Offer Performance Pay for Your Gig Workers?
From Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to Fiverr, TaskRabbit, Upwork and Behance, gig platforms are everywhere. If you need something done, whether it’s a simple microtask or a complete overhaul of your marketing strategy, chances are there’s a gig worker on a platform somewhere that can do…
Facing a Misclassification Claim? Here Are Some Ways to Get Your Insurance to Pay
Most businesses, and startups in particular, need to keep costs down. Workers either cannot or do not want to work traditional hours. So begins the boom of the independent contractor model, or the so-called “1099 economy.” But when a startup…
A Look at the Big Picture of the Future of Work
Maybe in your particular vision of the future of work, you imagine factories full of robots, automating commonplace tasks, while human beings orchestrate the work’s ultimate goals and intent. Perhaps you think of the working population’s shifting demographics, with the…
How to Hire Great Freelancers
Each project your company undertakes with freelancers (sometimes referred to as agile talent, 1099s, consultants, contractors, etc.) is a two-way street. As a manager, you need to be prepared to hire freelance talent and provide specific guidelines and metrics for…
Communication is the Key to Getting the Best From Your 1099s
We all know communication is central to the success of any relationship. So why, then, do so many companies and HR managers have trouble setting effective communication parameters with freelance talent? Part of it could be that most companies simply…
The Future of Work: Micro Jobs
This series profiles people whose ideas have the power to transform the workplace. Several are company leaders who have put their ideas into practice. Others are thought leaders influencing the way we work. Each new part will post on Tuesdays….
The Future of Work Is Going Freelance
Independent Work: Choice, Necessity, and the Gig Economy from the McKinsey Global Institute, is fascinating reading. If you’re in HR, talent acquisition or are a leader of people, you’ve probably been paying attention to the coverage of the “Gig Economy”…
Background Checking In a Gig Economy
The US economy has changed dramatically over the last 50 years — from stable employment in large organizations to an increased reliance on temporary or contracted labor (with an emphasis on service and tech industry jobs). While the manufacturing world…