Does the gig economy actually increase efficiency?

When companies seek to streamline processes and improve their bottom line, they should turn to the gig economy. Researchers estimate that by 2020, almost 31 million workers in the U.S. will be gig-based. So how can that help companies grow in revenue and efficiency?

Hiring Experts for Efficiency

Efficiency is defined as, “the accomplishment of, or ability to accomplish a job with a minimum expenditure of time and effort.” So, when companies use experts to come in and complete specific jobs, they’re allowing for less time and effort to be spent solving a problem.

Accessing the gig economy allows companies to hire experts on a project-by-project basis. That makes it easier than ever to expand to new locations, take on new initiatives, and supplement a team’s capabilities with specialized expertise.

Even companies who do on-site work can find and hire specialists to accomplish tasks from across the globe.

Accelerating Change in Business

Making changes to a business initiative is often a difficult and confusing process, but when companies can bring in consultants and experts to help, it streamlines their progress.

According to this insightful article from EY, “A contingent workforce can help drive and accelerate change. It can also support rapid scale-ups in business models where dramatic growth can occur overnight.”

The ability to scale nationwide in half the time cannot be overlooked, and when companies use on-site labor to advance their business they get to take advantage of the experience and expertise of their contractors. This can help them see opportunities and respond to changes much better.

Freelance Workers Invest In Their Skills

One of the often-overlooked aspects of using gig workers is that freelance workers invest in their own skills. Unlike full-time workers, who usually receive company money to advance their learning, it’s in gig workers’ interest to keep evolving their expertise.

Gig workers often come with a set of experiences that can help companies accomplish their goals, and it’s in their best interest to come to the table with a vast knowledge of the problem at hand. In this way, using the gig economy makes excellent business sense and can highlight areas that need improvement or exploration.

Using the On-Site Gig Economy

One area of the gig economy that’s often overlooked is the on-site contingent workforce. When companies use on-site labor to expand their service offerings or supplement their full-time employees, they allow for more efficiency and scalability. They also open themselves up to more projects because they’re able to adapt to shifting demand. Using on-site labor has already helped many businesses, like our long-time client In-Store Focus who were able to finish more jobs using on-demand contractors.

“Out of 1,000 stores we need to visit, we may only be able to service 990. Prior to Field Nation, we couldn’t do anything about those 10 stores to finish the job. Now, we can pinpoint and manage any issues in those 10 remaining stores by re-staffing and sending different service providers.”

If you haven’t used the gig economy to expand your business offerings, it may be time to dive in and see what kind of efficiency you can create with freelance workers.