How Technology Continues to Change the Gig Economy

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(Newswire.net — May 21, 2018) — On-demand work, the gig economy, independent work – no matter what term you use, this phenomenon that is sweeping the global labor market is here is to stay. With technology as its primary driver of growth, the gig economy is expected to expand and bring about more changes in the world of work.

Recent studies show evidence of how it has changed our mindset about notions of work. An International Labour Organization study of European Union countries shows how the traditional notion of work as office-based and time-bound is being challenged by the expanding use of technologies. It also found out that the use of technologies has brought about an improvement in work-life balance, has reduced commuting time and has boosted productivity.

Trends in 2018 That Will Impact the Gig Economy

As technology continues its exponential growth and development, so will its impact on the gig economy and those who work in it become more profound. The Forbes Technology Council identifies three trends that will bring about dramatic change.

With a growing number of talent entering the gig economy, there is also a need to aggregate all this talent and find efficient ways to connect them to actual jobs. This in turn fuels the emergence of online marketplaces where gig workers can share their portfolio to showcase their skills and bid for projects.

All these marketplaces serve as digital platforms for new and old talent, as well as help streamline the talent acquisition process of small and big businesses. For example, businesses in the U.S. that need technical expertise in systems and resources planning can go to specialized platforms like the Americas’ SAP Users’ Group or ASUG Talent Hub. Not only will they see the best qualified talent for their needs, they will also be able do it quickly and efficiently. According to Geoff Scott, ASUG’s CEO, “Technology is both an incubator and an accelerator,” but he warns, “What we’ve all learned is that our patience level is going down as the technology gets better. Business units are less and less patient and are no longer measuring progress in quarters or years, but are trying to measure it in weeks or months. So we have to get them staffed and confident.” ASUG conducted a research survey of SAP customers and identified speed, cost and efficiency as most important for companies hiring contract talent.

Giggers or independent contractors, one way or another, make use of online tools to keep track of their time spent on tasks and projects and to collaborate with team members on most projects. This generates a huge amount data on gig workers and how they work.

Harvesting this data is one thing, while making sense of it is another. Although it may be daunting, companies that invest their time and resources in mining this data will be able to use it for making the gig economy work for them and their businesses.

Another driving force is the sheer number of people who will eventually enter independent work. In the U.S. alone, it is estimated that half of the adult workforce will have in one way or another experienced working in this arrangement. It also means that more people will be seeking this type of work, as opposed to traditional job arrangements.

Technology Trends and the Gig Economy

With the growth of the gig economy and the number of people entering it, technology has a way of helping companies keep up with these changes.

A larger and mobile workforce may be a nightmare to manage for retail businesses. Here comes field management and project management software to help companies streamline their business processes. Online marketplaces help them overcome the first hurdle of finding and hiring talent. But once they are on board, there must be a more efficient way to manage assignments, workflows and timelines, which is what management software is best for.

Companies need to choose the best management software for their needs. This way, they can concentrate on more substantial concerns of the business and not so much on day to day management.

To find the right talent, companies need to know what it is they need, when they need these individuals and for how long. Not only that, employers are best kept to tasks that are more meaningful to the business. This means taking them away from an inefficient hiring and delegation systems and replacing these systems with ones that help them find the talent they need for their business to succeed.

Through the help of technology for example, companies can entice good talent to want to work for them. Mobile-friendly job applications also make it easy for people on the go to quickly act when they see an interesting job opening.

Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of one’s workforce is crucial in maintaining a robust and reliable team. With technology, a wealth of data about workers’ performance and other important information will be on hand. Companies must learn to mine this data primarily for insights on how to improve productivity and workforce performance. Worker satisfaction and motivation can likewise be gauged which can help businesses craft better talent development programs.

Handling mobile and remote workers may present another problem in quality assurance. Without technology, business owners may not easily know whether their employees are doing their work or providing the services they were hired to do.

In retail businesses, GPS-related solutions address this somewhat. For output-based tasks, several remote worker tracking software is readily available. These types of software primarily monitor time spent on task and can be used to determine areas of improvement when it comes to productivity and efficiency.