How to Hire in the Gig Economy
Nowadays, many workers are like stereotypical musicians looking for gigs. It’s true that the template of working full-time for a company is still standing, but today people have so many other options. Because of the Internet and the use of special apps, people can do freelance work in a variety of ways. They can do these things to supplement their income or even just do these things on a full-time basis.
If you’re running your own company, you need to understand how these new employment options can affect your hiring process. This gig economy isn’t a fad, just like the use of the Internet and apps aren’t fads either. Some, like Intuit CEO Brad Smith, think that by 2020 about 43% of all professionals will be working gigs.
Recruiting in the Gig Economy
What does this mean for your company? One quick conclusion you can make is that with so many workers opting not to work full-time, you may have found it more difficult to find new workers to fill out your positions for an extended period of time.
Using Contractors
Instead of having a regular W2 employee, you may need to think about dealing with 1099 contractors. These are workers who don’t have to go to the office and work on a defined schedule. Instead, they can stay home or work in a remote location and simply provide the service or work needed by their parent company.
These 1099 contractors don’t have income tax automatically withheld from their pay. They also don’t get benefits such as workplace insurance that the company may provide for their regular employees.
But the freedom afforded to 1099 contractors provides a very tempting offer for many workers. What this means is that you may want to think about offering similar arrangements with some of your employees, as they may quit and become contractors for another company instead. Some of your positions may also be filled with contractors as well.
Self-Employed Service Providers
These self-employed service providers are similar to 1099 contractors, except that they can work for several companies at once. They can provide specific services such as website maintenance, SEO, or writing blog articles.
If you need the services of these types of professionals, you may find them on sites like Freelancer.com. You may also find them on networks such as LinkedIn and even on Facebook. Hiring these services is like using another company for your security or your maintenance.
Hiring New People and Retaining Your Employees
With the availability of employment options like these, companies must not just find a way to hire people among the dwindling number of workers who still prefer to work full-time. If you’re running your own company, you also need to make sure that your current employees remain at their jobs so you don’t lose all that knowledge and experience.
So what can you do to attract new workers and keep the current ones? Here are some ways that can help:
- Emphasize what makes your company culture unique. Point out what values your brand promotes so that workers can view joining your company as a sign of support for these values.
- Meticulously list all the benefits and perks of being your company’s employee. Mention how you offer insurance if you do, and how your group of employees help out one another.
- In your websites, feature photos and testimonials from your employees. It makes your company more real, and not just another faceless corporation. Post videos of employees hard at work or having fun. Let them tell potential hires about what they love about their job—and this also reminds these same workers why they shouldn’t quit!
