Companies want flexible talent. Only 29% have a policy for it.
Early results from the largest research study focused exclusively on the flexible workforce: 51% expect to increase their use of independent talent, only 29% have a formal policy. Matt on why the industry has not popped yet, and why this wave is different.
Matthew MottolaGet this in your inbox every week. Join 26,000+ subscribers.
To those in the US, Happy Post Labor Day. I hope you had plenty of hot dogs, plenty of sun, and plenty of rest.
Now to business: We just kicked off the largest research study focused exclusively on the flexible workforce, and the early results are fascinating.
| Take the survey to see early results » |
Buyers, take this survey instead »
The message is clear, companies want flexible talent, but they don’t know how to embrace it at scale.
For members You already have exclusive access to the live results, find them here » |
My take on the data so far... I’m not surprised at the excitement yet lack of scale. I’ve seen this industry since 2012, and watched it go through the 3 explicit waves from gig, to freelance, to talent marketplaces, each pushing flexible talent further than where it started, but each falling victim to “why didn’t this industry pop”.
The reality is every transformation doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and needs multiple adjacent societal, economic, and technology shifts to realize its potential.
Take Uber. It was only possible when they could combine the iPhone, cloud computing, and an app ecosystem. In the case of flexible talent, it’s arguably 100x more complicated. Not only does flexible talent need the tech to find, scope, and scale thousands of individuals, it’s a transformation in a highly human, highly relational, and highly subjective space. Getting a ride and leading a multimonth paid ad campaign are like comparing a shed to a skyscraper.
But as the data shows, companies are ready to build their skyscraper that is their flexible workforce. But they need help. Lots of it. Which is where we, and the thousands of explicitly flexible talent solutions on Human Cloud, come in.
Here’s to a world that works!
- Matt
PS: Does your organization want to help partner on this research? Reply and we’ll coordinate.
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Matthew Mottola CEO of Human Cloud. 4x entrepreneur, angel investor, author of The Human Cloud (w/ HarperCollins), with experience advising companies like Microsoft, Deloitte, and G7 governments on how to use flexible talent. |
Featured Event
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Invite only · 20 seats Tuesday, September 29 · 7:00 PM CT · Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Dallas Twenty senior talent and workforce leaders, one table, a candid conversation on contingent workforce strategy, talent access, and managing spend and compliance at scale. Hosted by Tony Buffum, with FoxHire and KarmaCheck. Featuring
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This week: How To Pick The Right EOR
Thursday, September 10 · 12:00 PM ET · 60 minutes · Virtual
EORs have become the cheat code for scaling flexible talent. The safety of a full-time employee with the flexibility of a contractor. I’ll walk through what makes a good EOR, what makes a good partnership, and how the right partner becomes a feature you can sell.
Shoutouts!
Wins from across the community over the last two weeks. Keep them coming.
Customers Verified
 | Hyst was verified as a customer of beecrowd, the São Paulo based AI-powered platform connecting companies with top LATAM tech talent. |
Business Cases
 | Global contractor management platform Mellow helped Your Story Interactive, a mobile game developer, pay 260 contractors across 10 countries with weekly payout processing cut from over 3 hours to 1.5 hours and one-day contractor onboarding. Verified by Human Cloud. |
Add yours with the Business Case Agent »
Kudos
| beecrowd earned kudos from Marcelo Moreira, Chief Data Officer at Hyst: “The experience with beecrowd was extremely positive, standing out for the speed of the process, the quality of the professionals presented, and the team’s close support.” |
Collect yours with the Kudos Agent »
Industry Insights
Deals & M&A
| • Korn Ferry completed its $1.1 billion acquisition of AMS, adding one of the largest RPO and contingent workforce outsourcers to its talent business.1 |
| • ALKU acquired rockITdata to expand its AI and healthcare IT consulting capabilities.2 |
| • Pasona Group agreed to acquire Enfactory, adding roughly 30,000 vetted professionals to its talent network.3 |
| • Expert360, the Australian white-collar talent marketplace, is selling to Swipejobs for $16 million AUD. The founder and early investors get no share payout.4 |
Industry Events
| • RecFest USA · Sep 10 · Nashville, TN |
| • Future of Work USA · Sep 15 to 16 · New York, NY |
| • SIA CWS Summit · Sep 28 to 29 · Dallas, TX |
Sources
| 1. Korn Ferry, Korn Ferry Completes Acquisition of AMS |
| 2. PR Newswire, ALKU Acquires rockITdata |
| 3. Staffing Industry Analysts, Pasona Group to Acquire Enfactory |
| 4. SmartCompany, Expert360’s $16 million sale leaves founder, early investors with no share payout |
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