“Future of work” is in the present — are you embracing it?

Karthik Sridharan

Co-founder, Flexiple. A tech enthusiast who believes in the importance of execution over strategy

Last updated on20 Feb 2024

In this blog post, we take a look at the future of work – what it means, why companies are increasingly shifting towards flexible workforces, and how hiring freelancers can be beneficial for businesses.

Firms spend an inordinate amount of time building their in-house tech teams. It has been a longstanding mantra that a quality team is cornerstone to creating a dream company and hence the investment in time and money in building one has seemed justified. While this has led to newer methods of hiring being explored, the necessity of this team to be in-house has seldom been questioned.

Long time to fill a position

To begin with, it is critical to understand the time spent in hiring a quality developer or designer. According to industry benchmarks, the average “time to fill” a position is almost 2 months across geographies — this metric only accounts for the time taken from the publication of a job opening to the offer being accepted by the candidate. Additionally, commitments such as notice period, further delay the time taken to join the firm by a month or two — making the entire process an intensive 3 to 4-month ordeal. Reports suggest that this duration has been increasing in the recent years.

Dipping employee-employer loyalty

Moreover, as concluded by a Forbes article, for millennials job hopping is the “new normal”. While the average tenure of the workforce is currently 4.4 years, the expected tenure of the youngest workforce is close to half that. Talent managers cite a large portion of resumes filled with job stints of a year or two. For companies spending many months training their employees, losing them in less than a couple of years is a huge waste of the time and money spent in the process.

Solution to the “new normal”

So, how can your company cope with the “new normal”? Using freelancers to augment your core team is the answer. As very aptly phrased by the top management of a Series C startup, the future of work involves each individual building his/her own individual brand and firms being entirely run by freelancers. With platforms such as Flexiple providing not only vetted but also specific recommendations to your talent requirements, building your team can’t be any easier.

The immediate cases where freelancers can solve your firm’s problems are:

1) Beginning the hiring process for a permanent position

As observed, it takes an average of 3 to 4 months to make a permanent hire — of course, meanwhile a firm’s work can’t be stopped or postponed. Hiring a freelancer to augment the team in such a setting ensures that the targets and deadlines don’t have to be compromised upon. Freelancers recommended by Flexiple, for example, would be perfectly matched for your requirements and will hit the ground running — no training and very low ramp up time needed.

2) Niche technology

Finding permanent hires in certain technologies might be extremely difficult. Further, the firm might not need such a skill on a daily basis. Therefore, choosing a freelancer who is an expert in the field, having worked on multiple such projects, would allow the company to take advantage of the contextual knowledge he/she brings to the table. Not only does this prove to be beneficial economically but also efficient from a productivity perspective.

3) Hiring freeze/ difficult financial environment

The funding climate is cyclical and a startup needs to be lean and agile to be able to adapt to such volatility. While companies might have a hiring freeze in such a situation, supplementing your team with freelancers can be the solution while also providing the needed flexibility, enabling your firm to grow even in difficult financial conditions.

Be at the forefront of the change

The “future of work” is now in the present — it is critical for firms to realize it and adapt their team-building strategies accordingly. Few firms such as Urban Ladder, Haptik, IFMR, LoadShare, CREO Tech (now acquired by Hike Messenger) have already recognized the trend and are working with Flexiple to grow their companies. Embrace the change and be a leader in the freelancing revolution.