Bharat SainiLast Updated on July 8, 2020 by Bharat Saini
The gig economy is one most of us have heard about and might have used a couple of times. However, many of us do not really comprehend the full details of what it entails. The gig economy is a workforce that uses single projects or tasks for which a worker is hired, usually via a digital marketplace to work on demand.
In the past couple of years, the gig economy has seen rapid growth which has its pros and cons. It benefits workers that can now make money by working with flexible schedules and from wherever they want. On the other hand, it has undermined traditional industries and many payrolled workers.
Gig economy apps and supporting apps like Uber, Upwork and Slack have revolutionized what it means to be employed. They are also changing the concept of a community. For instance, what we could have needed from friends and family like a ride from the airport or a private place to spend a few nights are provided by complete strangers.
Amidst this massive shift in working and living situations, we are going to discuss 10 ways to use apps in a rising gig economy.
1. Accomplishing tasks round-the-clock
Using apps like Upwork or Fiverr lets you delegate tasks among your virtual team members who live in different time zones. This lets you get work done when people would be sleeping in your region. Freelancers are particularly useful for delivering voluminous work on a limited time schedule.
2. Taking advantage of B2B services
Gig apps allow businesses to form collaborations within the gig economy. Good instances can be seen with restaurants losing the need to create their own delivery services and instead working with Uber Eats to get their goods to customers. This is of even more value considering the current COVID-19 pandemic.
3. Quick Scaling Up
Businesses can easily scale up their working population by using gig economy apps. This is particularly useful for start-ups since they may not possess the big budgets needed to employ workers full-time during the initial stages. On the opposite end of the spectrum, companies can down-size without the need for payrolled staff.
4. Using on-demand expertise
Growing businesses that intend to maintain relevance within their niche will likely be in need of expert services in a couple of areas. It may not be possible for them to employ experts full-time. This is where gig applications come in handy. They let you obtain these services on a need-to basis.
5. Fishing in a bigger sea of talents
This is one of the more obvious ways to use gig apps. You can easily seek out prospective hires who are enthusiastic about accomplishing your tasks by using search filters that are programmed into the platforms. The filters assist you in tailoring search results to fit your needs in regards to skill, wages etc.
6. Retail staffing
A retail staffing agency is one of the different types of gig apps which contribute to the workforce. Working in retail is demanding and it usually involves long hours and mental exhaustion. This makes the industry one of the poorest performers in staff retention and attendance. Using retail agencies allow businesses to easily select temps for these jobs.
7. Seamless communication
Apps like slack fit nicely into the gig environment but can also be used by traditional labor setups. Working in slacks reduces needs for incessant email chains with clients. Once invited to a Slack team, freelancers can submit drafts and get feedback within a work specific channel. Clients can also send DM requests to freelancers if there are more projects.
8. Scheduling and clocking in
There are several of these types of apps. They let you monitor the effectiveness of project performance and let you spot areas where improvement could be implemented. These apps are very useful for new businesses that have not yet established workflows.
9. Saving up on traditional hiring costs
Traditional hiring processes are quite costly of finances and time. With apps, you can easily peruse a lot of job applications, interview and her temporary workers with a few clicks on a mobile phone.
10. Outsourcing
Outsourcing improves efficiency, speeds up project completion, cuts costs and lets companies focus on their core competencies. It is a new business model which might be seen as frightening to many owners. However, there are numerous benefits of using this tactic and gig apps generally create environments where accountability and safety is ensured.
