The economy is changing. Companies like Uber, Lyft, Airbnb and other have heralded this change as the forerunners of the on-demand economy, which provides goods or services the moment they’re need and only when they’re needed. The on-demand economy is changing how we do business, and no sector is left untouched, including recruiting. In this week’s RPOA Roundup, we take a look at how the on-demand economy affects recruiting.
New Trend in Recruiting: Project RPO – RPOA - @RPOAssociation
The on-demand economy is thriving, and it’s reached all the way to recruitment process outsourcing. This article introduces the concept of on-demand or project RPO, which is an RPO relationship in which the provider is hired on an as-needed basis, letting the client scale up or down their recruiting efforts when they need to. It solves the problem of paying for recruiting capabilities when they are not needed, and brings the best features of RPO to apply when and if the client wants them.
Is Your Company Resisting the Future of Hiring? – ERE - @ERE_net
The future is changing at the speed of light, and hiring and work patterns are changing along with it. This article argues that the future of hiring is about a mindset of sufficiency instead of scarcity, meaning that instead of constantly being concerned about a shortage of talent and scrambling to find more, businesses will embrace a mindset of ‘there are more than enough people, I just want to find the best’ and let that inform their hiring strategy. It also discusses how the on-demand economy is drastically changing hiring practices and significantly shortening time-to-fill.
Flex Work and Telework: It’s Time to Kick Excuses to the Curb – TLNT - @TLNT_com
Flex work and telework’s time has come – the technology is there, employees want it, and employers need to face the fact that the nature of work is changing. This article argues for adoption of telework/flex work programs in the work place by discussing the possibilities and challenges of this kind of work. It points out that not everyone in the workforce will want to telework, that working from home requires discipline, and that employers need to remember that they are not the only losers if an employee working from home does not get their work done. Not performing up to standards and not completing projects is very risky for employees, and the good ones will not take the risk.
On-demand workers – are they employees, or are they not? This article reviews a report by the National Employment Law Project that argues on-demand workers are employees of the companies that hire them, not merely contractors. The reports calls for worker protections to be extended to on-demand workers, including minimum wage and data protections and having their Social Security, Medicare, worker’s compensation and unemployment insurance paid by the employers. It also claims that on-demand economy flagships like Uber retain a significant amount of control over the work of their claimed contractors, as well as taking significant commissions out of the workers’ pay.
The on-demand economy is growing, but where are independent workers finding their work? This article presents information from a MBO Partners profiling survey entitled “State of Independence,” which examines where independent workers can be found. It determined that around 9% of independent workers in the US use an “on-demand economy” platform such as Freelancer, Uber and Airbnb, and those that do are more likely to earn less than independent workers who do not use those platforms. It also found that millennials and women are more using on-demand platforms at a greater rate than men, and that many on-demand workers are using their on-demand work to supplement their regular income.
