Business enterprise nowadays pushes competition by maximizing the use of technology such as the “cloud”. The concept of the “cloud” has been popular due to the advent of readily available software programs through the use of the Internet. These cloud applications had made business processing faster and practical. But as the world is changing, businesses tend to adapt to technological advancements faster. An example of this is talent sourcing, which has become flexible and modern through the use of the Internet. This process of acquiring talent may be classified into crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is still part of a larger domain, which is outsourcing – and employees that belong to this are called freelancers or extended workforce.
The extended workforce sector is emerging. According to statistics, Fortune 100 companies have doubled their outsourced employees since 2000. Outsourcing is said to be valued with an estimate of $6 trillion (Wallstreet Journal, 2010).
Borderless Employment Opportunities
Imagine the power of the general public being solicited to perform a whole lot of functions from administrative tasks to programming and design. These talent acquisition methods would not be possible without the presence of platforms such as Elance and oDesk to name a few that created opportunities for workers that are literally 1000 miles away from a company’s location. People being hired are classified as knowledge-based workers. These are considered experts in their fields. And because they are “experts” they are required to perform specific functions as the company’s need arises for such. In fact, in Elance about 80 percent of their freenlancers have professional degrees. Contracts may be awarded for both the short term and long term employment opportunities.
What does this Industry entail for workers? Because workers need not report to the office for eight hours daily, they can work at their own convenience. But the bottom line is that they need to submit their output on the agreed deadline. Indeed, it is borderless. For instance, professionals who need to be full time parents but at the same time need employment are given a chance to work. It also depicts that these industry is able to hire people in all levels whether you are an entry level or a top notch CEO or CFO.
A Plus for Business
According to a survey conducted by Accenture and International Outsourcing Association, 40 percent of companies surveyed tend to outsource people who are knowledge based. This is because they do not need to train individuals. Hence, they are able to save money. Overtime, the extended workforce has become an integral part of corporate strategies because of two traits, namely: agility and performance. Freenlancers are able to deliver despite very turbulent business environment. And at the same time, they are able to perform well because of their access to skills and expertise. For businesses, it is very important that they outperform their competition. Therefore, it is essential that they maximize their human assets by hiring competitive individuals. Simply put, experts in their field of work.
Technology reshaped business. It is now unrestricted to job hierarchies. Instead, it is determined by strategies that will increase the company’s competitive edge. The solution may be in the form of not permanent employees or the extended workers. Given the advantages of crowdsourcing, it now poses a question, “what companies should hire- an expert or individual whose potential is yet to be maximized?” But more important, at the end of the day, it is the result that matters.
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