Worknow_Aotearoa_NZ

The Imminent Rise of the Contractor Workforce

From my Gen Y perspective the traditional dependency on employment has been weakening as more of us recognise the potential we have to connect with others & create our own, new forms of work.

“…I don’t see employment coming back, not for years. My clients were amazed by how much productivity they could squeeze out of their people in the downturn. They’re not going to start hiring again — well, maybe temps or contract workers, but not regular, full-time employees…” Harvard Business Review: The Strategic Imperative Not to Hire Anyone

Sounds like increased productivity to me!

As business’ take the opportunity to outsource work & increase productivity and workers move toward contracting, new methods of organising and facilitating work will arise.

At Worknow we are backing the fact that social networking tools will play an important foreseeable role in the future of work organisation by:-

• Providing a forum for building shared intelligence.
• Providing a repository for knowledge.
• Helping us connect and collaborate more easily.

If you have or aspire to being your own boss then we have tools to help you match your talent, skills and interests with work opportunities

Simply create your talent profile today

Reducing Barriers to Productivity

Social networking tools will play an important role in the future of work organisation by helping us to create, connect and collaborate as project teams, regardless of time or place.

As workers move toward contracting and business’ take the opportunity to outsource work to increase productivity new methods of organising and facilitating work will arise.

Institutional “containment” as we know will cease to exist and with it the barriers to productivity that stalled the growth and development of our people and businesses.

Networking Tools & Platforms

Today’s social media tools and network platforms have created an environment where communication, collaboration and coordination are already in use. They need simply be applied in business to make it quicker and easier to get work done.

No longer limited by time or place or disadvantaged by the costs of travel, the concept of using networking tools to facilitate projects begins a paradigm shift in the way we think about and accomplish work.

IT and business technology will take center stage in the post-recession economy. The crisis…will sweep away organizations that do not grasp the importance of and utilize social network technologies.

Innovation will be defined by networks, [collaborating to] work with partners or competitors or customers using social technologies. George Colony, CEO of Forrester.

The way we work is changing and with it comes a shift in power, away from the corporate hierarchy that directed and controlled productivity in the past towards the innovative, more flexible contract workers that are ready and able to work, as needed.

Connect & Collaborate with Worknow

Networking tools and platforms give individual contractors and dispersed project teams the ability to compete with institutions at an unprecedented level. At Worknow we support this more flexible, entrepreneurial work ethic and are here to help contractors find, connect and collaborate on project work opportunities..

Innovation in a recession

The UK is heralding the flexibility & creativity, for which contractors are known, as the potential savior of UK economy.

UK organisations start to appreciate the benefits of a flexible contractor workforce, and …the positive impact interim executives and IT contractors are having in achieving technology innovation within large organisations, despite reduced budgets.

“The UK workforce has demonstrated unprecedented flexibility during this recession,” comments Keep Britain Working founder James Reed, “allowing organisations to explore a whole range of cost-cutting responses, other than relying solely on redundancies.”

The benefits of outsourcing and contract work are also being recognised here in Aotearoa as 63% of White-collar New Zealander’s look to sacrifice the security of nine-to-five salaries in order to head out on their own as private contractors.

As companies continue to let staff go and struggle to contain costs in the face of falling profitability both workers and employers are beginning to recognise that full-time permanent employment is not necessarily the most effective or efficient way to get work done.

The Benefits of Outsourcing Projects & Contract Work

By outsourcing work to private contractors businesses can get work done and maintain productivity while minimising payroll expense. While “employment” may by comparison seem safer, more secure, working as a private contractor also promises better pay and the flexibility to live a more balanced, family orientated lifestyle.

Future Models of Flexible Work

At Worknow we support a more entrepreneurial work ethic and are developing ways to help people find and connect with project contract work opportunities.

Contract Work New Zealand

New Zealand’s workforce is showing our ability to adapt and do things differently by considering contract work in favour of taking on the lower paid, less fulfilling full-time roles on offer. According to the online survey conducted internationally by recruitment firm Robert Walters:-

White-collar New Zealander’s are preparing to sacrifice the security of nine-to-five salaries to head out on their own as private contractors – in unprecedented numbers.

Nearly two out of three professionals (63 per cent) say they would be happy to take on a contract role, a new survey shows. That is higher than anywhere in the world except in Britain. Read Article NZ Hearld

As companies continue to let staff go and struggle to contain costs in the face of falling profitability both workers and employers are beginning to recognise that full-time permanent employment is not the most effective or efficient way to get work done.

The Benefits of Outsourcing Projects & Contract Work

By outsourcing work to private contractors businesses can get work done and maintain productivity while minimising payroll expense. While employment may offer security of income and contract work is comparatively higher risk, working as a private contractor also promises better pay and the flexibility to live a more balanced, family orientated lifestyle.

Future Models of Flexible Work

At Worknow we support a more entrepreneurial work ethic and are developing ways to help people find and connect with project contract work opportunities.

Old Models of Work Will Change

Finally! recognition from a Baby Boomer that that being “brought into line” with the Baby Boomer work ethic may indeed be a futile attempt to fit round pegs into square holes.

The question for us is whether the discipline of coming into the office for specific hours is a necessary artifact of the workplace or some hangover from the factory model. We were taught to come in, wear this kind of uniform, do this kind of work. Maybe that’s the wrong model now, and maybe Gen Y is an agent of that change. It’s something for each CIO to weigh; we must strike a balance that fits our organizations. Read Article

To the statement that the current system of work organisation is an artifact of the past I offer a resounding I agree! Thank you for recognising that it is not the only model available to us and that what worked in the past may be in need of change.

Productivity & Continuous Improvement at Work

And to take this one step further while the author offers some great advice on connecting with Gen Y in the workplace, I would suggest that the workplace instructions offered:-

1. establish clear expectations
2. offer regular feedback

Are as applicable to Boomers and Gen X’er as they are to us Gen Y. Isn’t this simply sound workplace advise on how to:

1. increase productivity and
2. establish a culture of continuous improvement

Future Models of Flexible Work

At Worknow we support a more entrepreneurial work ethic and we work to encourage people to connect with work in more flexible, effective and affordable ways.