The gig economy model gives space to workers to trade job skills on a free market in short time commitments outside conventional employee contracts and schemes.
The most common comparison used to distinguish gig economy workers from traditional employees is that of an aspiring musician or band. That band is always on the lookout for the next gig to get paid for the dream job. In such jobs, motivation and power come from within, guaranteeing a strength to jump through the next obstacle hoop.
The gig economy has driven some of the most successful and innovative companies forward to a future massively fueled by technology. It has not only saved Bright Solutions from massive failure but it has also initiated the birth of Flash Hub, a virtual work company that paves the way for even more granularity in resource management. Conversely, gig economy workers have saved their careers by relying on side jobs.
Evolution of the New Work
However, the gig economy definition has evolved from this initial concept. It now encompasses a fuller set of job roles and business models. It is no longer exclusively based on the dream job or side job concept because it provides flexibility on:
- How to look at the job market, and
- How to manage resources in times of uncertainty.
During uncertainty and crisis, gig economy jobs are a survival mechanism for lost jobs. In times of growth, gig economy companies are the ones with greater adaptability. They are the ones most likely to pass through the next challenge.
You have to be ready to view time, people, and processes as resources to be able to take your company on the other side of the future of work. Your employees need to be ready for greater work accountability. This is the fuel for the growth of the company they work for.
Flexible, temporary, and freelance workers come together with leaders from the gig economy industries, planting the seed for companies that thrive, thanks to being most adaptable to the changing circumstances.
How Technology Drives the Gig Economy
Since most industries use technology as a backbone for daily tasks, successful project work on short-time employment contracts means you need to know:
- What technology works are what doesn’t?
- How to hire the best people that ensure you wrap up projects with a smile on a client’s face?
- How to negotiate and speak the same language with clients?
- Why communication is so important?
- How to set goals and measure success?
Some of the crucial answers to these important questions come in times of chaos and crisis. Here we explore the Flash Hub strategy for successfully running virtual work teams in the gig economy.
Technology
Technology gives the framework for doing virtual work. Therefore, even if you don’t work in a digital or software development company, when you work remotely, you will have to use technology to ensure you have time, people, and processes under control. The right technology tools, or rather, apps and platforms, can help you manage time, communicate with your team remotely, get in touch with clients and enable real-time feedback, run agile projects, and automate financial management.
People
Gig economy jobs may be more tasking for freelancers who need to take greater ownership of the product or the service they need to develop, but they also enable rewarding work and access to new talent for gig economy companies.
By embracing the gig economy, you have the opportunity to work with a team of people who are self-starters, go-getters, executors, and finalizers. And if you know how to hire the best people, they will be the force of your company without you needing to push and nudge them all the time.
Now, freelancers can be quite a challenge and one of the main reasons leaders are wary of the gig economy.
Yet, methods such as:
- Hiring via established talent marketplaces.
- Confirming freelancer’s digital identity.
- Finding experts or people with tightly matching skills to the job you need to get done.
- Setting clear expectations.
- Professional treatment in business relationships.
used by our Flash Hub teams can help you get in touch with people that won’t fail you.
If you want to know how to recruit the best talent and get ahead in business, check out this video that includes Manuel Pistner’s personal experience from working with freelancers for more than 5 years:
Transparency
Radical transparency is a principle that will connect you with the right gig economy workers but also weed your way out in the gig economy by linking you to the right clients.
By being radically transparent about the project development process and clarifying product requirements, you can remove obstacles, solve problems, and rectify errors early in the process. The outcome ensures success and happy clients by implementing the principles of agile project methodology. Agile projects ask for always correcting your course due to newly arising circumstances.
Communication
Out of transparency comes clear communication — picking communication tools and setting up processes everyone is aware of is key for the gig economy. You cannot work in short time bursts, onboard people, and train them quickly unless you don’t have a strong structure for communication. One of the prerequisites for the success of remote teams we assemble at Flash Hub is clearly communicating and agreeing on common business goals.
Building Relationships
Treating people well will mark you as an employer number one for qualified freelancers. They already have jobs to pick and money to earn. Therefore, an extra point for them is collaborating with leaders who are aware that the achievement of business goals must be accompanied by team support.
Initially, building relationships may seem less important in the gig economy. However, be sure that the best people out there will notice how you engage with them. They will prioritize and throw themselves in work coming from gratifying employers, even if it is only for a day or two.
Gig Economy and Unemployment
Whether we like it or not, businesses face risks and unemployment is one of them. Gig economy workers face the challenge of dealing with uncertainty just as traditional employees. In a crisis, they may be the first one to go but also the first ones to adapt to new trends.
This flexibility of working with freelancers in remote work has been many times confirmed with our flash teams. They delivered high performance and resilience during tough times.
By following the above gig economy examples set by our business model and characterized by radical transparency, getting in and out of working relationships will be easier to manage. It will be less painful for everyone, including clients.
Gig Economy Trends: Where Are We Headed?
The most important gig economy statistics haven’t changed in a while. They’re in favor of part-time jobs, contractual work, and short term work.
But that doesn’t mean that we should rest on our laurels.
Job trends are evolving as we speak. There is a new beaten path towards AI gig economy that slowly finds its way into mainstream employment. This newest trend is another indicator that the gig economy and technology go hand in hand. Adopting them both increases your chances of surviving in times of uncertainty.
At the moment, we work with over 50 permanent freelancers. Our past projects include working with hundreds of them at one point or another, and that is more than enough to run not only a rock band but a full philharmonic orchestra.
If you want to know how to orchestrate your team when times challenge you, give us a shout — we are more than happy to help!
