The gig economy has been heralded by the arrival of technology companies whose on-line platforms give access to work opportunities to individuals who are independent contractors. Typical players include Lyft and Uber – who have disrupted the traditional market offering an improved service at lower cost – much to the annoyance of taxi drivers. Contributor Simon Coops, CEO – Acuity Coaching.

It also encompasses organisations like Airbnb who enable property owners to rent their property direct to the public, creating a new rival to traditional accommodation providers and a new source of income for house owners. These innovations have created value and shaken up well established service sectors largely to the benefit of consumers.

What does all this mean to the HR profession – is there something to learn here? Could some of this disruption and creativity be brought to bear on what we are being asked to deliver? The short answer is yes – despite claims that the gig economy is prospering at the moment because of lack of regulation and poor governance, there are signs that there are both threats and opportunities for HR and the organisations they serve.

The main threat is the disruption that comes from existing or new competitors tapping into the gig economy first and the opportunity is to beat them to it! The good news is that not everything about the gig economy is new. Chances are you are already tapping into it with contract workers at various levels.

Traditional taxi firms always tended to use self-employed drivers and have found themselves competing with Uber and Lyft for workers and customers – there must be opportunities to engage with temporary workers in different ways that derive competitive advantage in other sectors too.

The focus of the Gig Economy so far has been at the lower end of employment. The big disruptive effects of the Gig Economy are likely to be around the (new word) gigification of work that is more specialist and rarefied in its nature and generally delivered by more experienced and expensive people. There are certain capabilities that come to the fore at certain times for organisations; The disruption however comes from a combination of; An organisational structure tailored to make the most out of the available resource; A proposition to the market that attracts and retains the right people; A different route to market for the skills you require and Some means to track and evaluate the utilisation of individuals

The existing implementations of the gig type economy (contractors, interim etc.) are tactical in the main – they are a means to an end and will not create competitive advantage because they are not intended to do anything other than solve short term problems. The short-termism enables suppliers to take advantage of an unforeseen or unusual need justifying them to charge a hefty premium.

At their worst, contractor workforces create discord and tension because their lack of commitment and selfish behaviours, which are completely at odds with most corporate cultures. Properly implemented, the correct use of individuals from the gig economy creates a more flexible workforce and can: Bring real expertise to bear in strategically important areas; Enable downsized departments to function more effectively by flexing their resource levels; Promote agility and creativity by bringing in exposure to individuals with different experiences

Improve retention of key skills and experience by offering employment on an as needs basis; Increase the number of ways talented people can engage with the organisation over their whole career; Benefit the organisation’s diversity goals by offering another flexible employment option.

Some more forward-thinking organisations are already launching channels to directly interact with the gig economy. PwC has launched “Talent Exchange”, an online platform that directly connects independent professionals with PwC teams. Freelancers register, upload their CVs, then apply to work on the firm’s client projects.

Having access to known talent at short notice on a “pay as you go” basis at a reasonable price should really be a no-brainer. Some organisations have been marshalling the resources of the gig economy for years – Acuity Coaching builds and manages global Executive Coaching and Mentoring faculties for MNC’s which are staffed almost entirely by individuals who left corporate life for a portfolio career.

Acuity also taps into the gig economy for client needs in the fields of facilitation, training, consulting and change management. Acuity is able to utilise resources from the gig economy for almost every aspect of their business including operations management, quality assurance, client management, support services, finance and business development.

Whilst this is proof that this type of resourcing can work – how HR departments go about building resourcing solutions that utilise the enormous resources available remains the big question.

Thoughts inevitably turn to technology as the first port of call – just as PwC did. There are those who think that getting leaders to change their hiring habits and adopt alternative approaches cannot be achieved solely through technology. Once the concept is proven and accepted, technology can give access to leaders to the available talent and facilitate the hiring process – however on its own it will not work unless it has been proven as a valuable channel to market. Just stuffing a database with individuals who would be interested in working on a slightly different basis will not work.

The answer probably lies in taking a recruitment project type approach where: Leaders are canvassed for areas where they struggle to find resource, keen to find an alternative source and gain their commitment to try something new. A good specification for what a good candidate would look like is developed

An employment proposition is developed to communicate to the target audience which is attractive and deliverable

There is a screening process to select the best people
Leaders are prompted on a regular basis to consider utilising the new resource; Once utilised there is a careful assessment of the performance of the individual and detailed feedback gained. Once there is a track record, the information on the skills and performance can be made available on an on-line platform.

What will stop this happening is that it requires a big investment up front to deliver such a programme. There is no way that HR departments will be able to find the time to deliver something speculative in this way. My own belief is that there will be a different type of supplier who will offer to deliver that whole process with no up-front cost and manages the whole service on a PAYG basis.

Acuity Coaching has already proven the concept – they build global learning faculties for no initial cost and earn a margin when the resources are used. They believe that (misquoting Field of Dreams) “if you build it they will use it”. There is no doubt that new competitors in most markets will fuel some of their growth by utilising the resources of the gig economy. Established organisations will need to ensure they don’t get left behind.