WorkGenius, a freelance technology company, acquires US based JBC, a staffing company.
This is a huge day for us here at WorkGenius as we have just acquired JBC, a US based, global staffing company.
We believe this deal will help accelerate the evolution of Human Capital Management for businesses, freelancers and employees. Read on to find out how.
The Future of Work: Freelancing will overtake traditional full time employment
Freelancing is needed now more than ever. Consider these macro trends that are currently shaping the market (and will, for years to come):
- The unemployment rate is currently at its lowest level in years
- Labor force participation is also low, at 62.4% (as of 03/22)
- There are 11 million open jobs
- Shelf life of a skill is dropping to 3-4 years and reskilling is often difficult within companies
- Demographics are changing (slowing birth rate without enough offset through immigration)
- Modern global talent seeks flexibility and new challenges – as a result the average tenure is dropping and remote work is rising in popularity
- Companies seek flexibility in workforces (payroll is the highest expense and companies want flexibility on payroll). The pandemic taught them that flexibility is key to scaling up and down. It also got them comfortable with freelancing and remote work
So how does freelancing help solve for a global market that is evolving:
- Flexibility – Affords people who are currently not working, opportunities to work (stay at home mother, talent that cares for elder family members etc.). It also allows companies to be agile without having to invest in heavy labor costs (physical space overhead, employee benefits etc.)
- Increasingly skilled market – Freelancers spend more on their own self-development and reskilling (because they can demand a higher hourly rate)
- Talent allocation – Freelancing allows for better optimization of talent allocation. Because of specialized skill in the freelancer space, more is done in a shorter period of time, ultimately helping more companies.
Technology is the future in freelancing
The current freelance market (staffing, contingent labor, temp.) is often very manual and leads to a suboptimal experience for freelancers, companies and staffing firm employees. If you are a tech savvy freelancer, you don’t want to be called. If you are a tech savvy company, you don’t want to call your staffing firm for everything (see below for exceptions).
One of the biggest pains in sourcing talent is matching requirements with talent. This is a huge time suck for everyone involved – companies, the staffing firm, and the talent.
A lot of time is also wasted in back office tasks (scheduling interviews, checking skills, reference calls, negotiating rates, checking availability, setting up payroll, updating resumes, scheduling start dates) – think making a restaurant reservation via the phone vs open table.
Technology can alleviate these issues (as it has in other industries, Open Table, Uber etc.)
NOTE: humans are needed to help clients define the role, and help talent to figure out their next career step (but that is different to matching or back office) -> let humans focus on core tasks, let tech do the rest.
So what is the tangible benefit of technology here?
- Time Savings – Get to your destination of a match quicker (because again, tech can automate steps)
- Productivity – No guesswork means better matches, which in turn will yield better results and productivity for companies. How? Well, because tech can analyze more data, quicker, with more accuracy
- Cost Savings – Less overhead for companies to engage freelancers, and for freelancers, less time wasted on overhead and finding their next project
- Parity – So much is automated because of tech allowing for more parity and ultimately more equitable rates
Curated global on-demand services are no longer optional, they are must-haves
- The global talent gap is eroding – With more access to information, education and opportunities, the talent gap between countries is eroding with the effects of globalization.
- Market unpredictability – If the investment market has taught us anything, it is to prepare for the unexpected. Businesses have learnt this lesson the hardest. That’s why future proofing must consist of catering to a variety of evolving needs. A business may need a hybrid workforce for certain functions and whiteglove staffing solutions for others.
At WorkGenius, we are building a company, and have now made an acquisition that underscores our vision for the future: A human capital market that is dominated by a global movement around flexibility, technological enablement and highly specialized on-demand services.
Find out how our AI driven platform and full-service recruiter solutions can tailor to your every staffing need.
