Worknow_Aotearoa_NZ

Promoting the benefits of contract outsourcing over full-time employment

Rather than just blogging about why full-time permanent employment is not the most effective or efficient way to get work done I’ve decided to take a more direct approach. 

For a couple of months now I’ve been hunting down job positions, advertised on Seek or Trade me, that I recognise as having contract potential and  “applying” for jobs that match my talent, skills and experience – just not in the “traditional” sense of a job application.

Web Wizard Wanted

We require a tertiary-qualified, web savvy, graphic-skilled, customer-focused IT guru who is dedicated to effectively deliver quality online information to our clients and their customers. Our Web Wizard will have skills in the following areas:

• Client-side development
• Web Communication
• Multimedia web scripting
• Server-side development
• Ability to build and maintain web sites to the highest level.
• Ability to design and re-design web site in a co-ordinated approach with marketing, branding and sales focus.
• Strong IT background.
• Well developed and demonstrable graphic art skills
• Demonstrable ability to effectively communicate with people inside and outside of the workplace.
• Client interface.
• Capacity to work on a virtual Greenfield site.
• Must have “The Geek Touch” blended with passion, drive, creativity and ambition to succeed and work towards the next career level

This job opens up a new box of toys to let the Web Wizard’s creative juices flow, and includes animated advertising elements, video streaming, blogging, interactive magazines and advertisements, installation and maintenance of all screen advertising and links, uploading the latest media news as it breaks, uploading the daily newspaper and associated company magazines, and establishing a platform for viable and positive online commercial trade…

Using my CV & cover letter to promote contract outsourcing  as the most effective way to get work done.

Dear John,
 
I read on Seek that you are looking for a web wizard, a talented creative, marketing and people person with technical development and design skills.
 
Kia Ora, my name is Renee Lee and I am an intelligent, motivated and hardworking young women with a passion for helping people, providing solutions and making things happen.
 
I’m looking for a part-time contract role that will allow me the flexibility to pursue the development of my own company which supports and promotes more flexible ways of getting work done. Therefore, I offer for your consideration an alternative to the current full-time position you described.

If I may, based on my seven+ years in online business development, I venture to suggest that you split the role between two or more performance based contractors.

Performance based contracting would allow you to achieve superior results, within the same budget as you suggest and would effectively:

• Allow you to employ the talents of two or more, marketing, design and development specialists
• Delineate responsibility for performance to improve focus, output and productivity
• Provide a performance incentive
• Expand your available talent resources

As a business catalyst, I can provide you a talented team of online specialists to fulfil the work requirements you outline within your  budget…please keep me in mind should you consider a collaborative, talented, team approach an effective and efficient means to accomplish the work you envision for this role. For more information please feel free to check out some links that reflect another part of the work I do:-
 
www.twitter.com/lee0007
www.twitter.com/time_trade
www.twitter.com/350_nz
 
Thank you for taking the time to consider a more flexible approach to achieveing the results your require. I look forward to hearing from you.
 
Kind reagrds,
 
 
Renee Lee
Co Founder & Catalyst
Worknow Ltd
+64 21 18 300 50
+64 3 455 3901
www.worknow.co.nz

Changing the employment mindset is going to take a whole lot of time and letters of rejection but I can handle the rejection because every seed planted is a potential future collaborator.

There’s an old school mantra that advises “do not underestimate the competition” because knowing your competition is necessary in order to build strategic advantage. Yet from a Gen Y perspective, many of those same competitors are potential collaborators.

If we were to offer a mantra of advice in regards to competition it would be to “seek opportunity to collaborate rather than compete” which makes it ever more frustrating that the older generation, people we would also like to collaborate with, continue to deny the talents and capabilities of my generation.

Even an over educated, under experienced MBA student knows that success comes from being able to climb the greasy management pole. You don’t do that by trumpeting that you know it all or that Facebook is the interface proxy for enterprise applications.

Try that in this economy and you’ll be at the head of the queue when the next round of pink slips are distributed (sic). You can only know that from having worked in enterprises, experienced the nuances of management practice and negotiated the politics of power. Source

This comment completely fails to recognise that management hierarchy’s are not the future. While they might have worked for the industrial revolution, entrepreneurship, collaborative, mobile, networked teams are the future of our knowledge economy.

Political Hierarchies vs Collaborative Teams

Sorry, old guard but we don’t actually need to climb your “greasy management pole” because with today’s technology we can connect and circumvent your traditional hierarchy’s to collaborate and build businesses of our own.

Rather than politics, power and vainglorious titles we aspire to work together as co-founders in recognition of our interdependent need for each others talents, skills and trust.

Our entrepreneurial spirit makes us increasingly willing and able to take risks, our education has armed us with knowledge and insight and today’s technology allows us to connect, share and collaborate in new, more effective ways.

Dismissing the fact that we are tech natives, and assuming that we need to be “employees” fails to recognise that we are creators of our own future.

Love us or hate us 10 years from now we will represent almost 40% of the New Zealand workforce. Perhaps it’s time to accept that aspects of our work ethic, like our collaborative spirit, may be the best form of work organisation for a knowledge based economy.

1. Time Trade is specifically for the exchange of services

This means you trade in time and talent only; not goods or products. Here’s a couple of questions that might help you build your Time Trade profile

1. What three things do you think you do best?
2. What are your talents and skills
3. Are there any talents or skills you’d like to teach?
4. Are there any skills you’d like to learn?
5. What are your interests? Could you share your interest with others?
6. If you could do your dream job what would you do?
7. What could you volunteer to do or learn that would put you one step closer to that dream job?

We are all gifted with talents that are of value in a Time Trade community because Time Trade recognises that our life experiences, our knowledge, everything we are – from what we know to what we don’t know – creates value with which to help others.

2.One Hour Time = One Hour Time “Credit”

Here is a list of some of the kinds of services that members can exchange.
Education

* Tutoring/Mentoring
* Advocacy
* Classes/Workshops
* Computers/Technology
* Languages/Translation
* Personal Finances

Community Activities

* Clean Up/Recycling
* Community Service
* Fund Raising
* Special Projects
* Work for Social Change
* Environmental Campaigns

Health & Wellness

* Complementary Therapies
* Counseling
* Diet & Nutrition
* Fitness & Exercise
* Yoga/Meditation

Arts, Crafts, & Music

* Classes
* Crafts
* Entertainment
* Lessons
* Photo & Video
* Theater

Help at Home

* Cooking & Sewing
* Hair & Beauty
* Housekeeping/Chores
* Pet Care
* Respite Care

Home Repair

* Car Care
* Carpentry/Construction
* Electrical
* Garden & Yard Work
* Painting
* Plumbing

Transportation

* Errands
* Local
* Long Distance
* Medical
* Train/Bus/Airport
* Worship

Companionship

* Clubs
* Dining Out
* Email/IM
* Home Visits
* Medical Errands
* Telephone Calls

Recreation

* Books & Videos
* Dancing
* Events
* Games
* Sports
* Travel

Business Services

* Administration
* Computer Support
* Financial
* Legal
* Marketing
* Research

If you’re looking for a similar good deal on products we recommend Trademe

Connecting Young People with Work

With John Keys announcing a $152 million package to create new work, education and training opportunities for unemployed young people we’re feeling even more confident that our vision around helping the youngest working age generation transition into work will find support on many levels. Well, we hope that it does but at the very least we’re reassured to learn that our mission aligns with the concern of our current Prime Minister who said yesterday:-

I am concerned for our young people.Those aged 18-24 are the fastest growing age group on the Unemployment Benefit, representing a third of all those who receive it.

The number of young people who wanted a job but couldn’t get one has more than quadrupled in the past year, leaping from less than 4000 in June 2008 to nearly 17,000 by June this year.

My concern is that for a young person starting out in their working life, a long period of unemployment could be very damaging. Source

Quid Pro Quo: Using Time Trade to Encourage Young People to Volunteer

When we looked at solving problems relating to work it was quickly evident that young people are the demographic most in need of solutions. So we got together to identify ways we could help them transition from study to work.

Lacking the work experience needed to gain value from our contractors’ marketplace we focused instead on ways that we could help them build the necessary work expereince, skills and references.

By incorporating unpaid work into our formula and encourage volunteering through the concept of Time Trade, we identified ways to:-

1) provide a measure of value and recognition for the development of a peer mentoring scheme, using time credits.

Enlisting alumni to mentor upcoming graduates about work life and career paths. Those graduates, in turn, trade their time to perhaps tutor fellow students who in turn again volunteer in their community and build valuable work skills.

2) provide incentive and reward to encourage more young people to volunteer, using time credits.

We believe volunteer work develops a service orientated work ethic and skills that assist the study to work transition. Some of the skills we know volunteers can develop include:-

• Leadership & team building skills
• Relationship building skills
• Communication skills
• Negotiation skills
• Creative thinking skills
• Organisation & time management skills

As Social Development and Employment Minister Paula Bennett points out encouraging Gen Y to become involved in our communities creates win-win situations. Her comments about the Community Max Scheme could as easily apply to Worknow:-

“This is all about providing opportunities – we see this as a very positive approach to addressing youth unemployment while helping fund useful community projects… I believe this is a win-win situation.”

Where we differ is that we intend the growth of youth volunteers to be a permanent fixture of tomorrows communities hence the development of out Time Trade platform.

A Generations Project Orientation

10 years from now we will represent almost 40% of the workforce and slowly but surely people are beginning to accept that aspects of our Gen Y work ethic, our project orientation for instance, are more suited to work in a knowledge economy.

AUSTRALIA’S pre-eminent demographer, Bernard Salt, has stepped into the debate on whether Gen Y is work shy by declaring they’re not lazy but they have to adapt in the downturn.

“In fact they’re incredibly hard-working within the areas they are interested in. In fact they work quite assiduously when they are engaged by a particular project,” he said.

While always nice to see people portraying “Gen Y” (Gen We as I like to call us) in a rare but positive light it remains evident that Mr Salt still expects us to conform to the norms that he works by. Norms that perpetuate the myth that happy and worker are divergent states of being.

“With the global financial crisis the wheel is turning and it’s time for Gen Y to adapt,” he said.

“It’s important for Gen Y to realise that work is not a form of entertainment. You should not be jumping out of your skin for eight hours of work.” Source

Fair call, it’s not a party but what Mr Salt’s discussion fails to recognise is that there exists other options to remaining an unhappy, under challenged, albeit adaptable employee.

Gen We Entrepreneurs

Research indicates we have an entrepreneurial spirit that makes us increasingly willing and able to take risks. As the most highly educated generation we are armed with knowledge and insight and chomping at the bit to apply it to work life.

Those that expect us to be so desperate for employment, during this recession, that we will just adapt to be more like the old guard was at work, may be disappointed to find we are indeed well equipped to adapt but simply not as dependent on traditional “employment” as previous generations have been.

Today we recognise that we always have the option of working for ourselves. With the right team, building a company need not be as risky as it has been made to look. With today’s networking tools is it’s becoming second nature for us to find, connect and work with each other

Worknow, like Trademe, for services on a networking platform.

Six months ago I did not know either of my two co-founders. I met Jamie by applying for a house on Trademe. Josh and I connected through shared networking circles – Intersect Facebook and Twitter.

Today we are evidence of the collaborative teams and new ventures being established using networking technology to connect talented, passionate people.

We encourage and support a more entrepreneurial work ethic by providing tools to help other people connect with each other to create solutions, new knowledge and work opportunities.

The Importance of Values

A wise person once offered me a very simple piece of relationship advice

“…make sure you talk about and discover what you each value…”

Now, I took that advice and to my dismay discovered that this guy that I was into thought “democracy” more important than my most fundamental life values.

This simple revelation was a turning point in that relationship and eventually, try as I might to think “…perhaps it didn’t matter…” the ever widening gulf between our personal values led to the demise of said relationship.

Lesson Learnt.

Finding Common Ground

As a new venture team, one of the most important activities our team undertook was taking the time to sit down and share with each other our goals, our dreams and our values and discuss what we hoped to achieve with Worknow.

We came up with a list of guiding values and our statement of intent which is simply:-

to create a world class business that helps people and effects change.

We also took the time to discuss our strengths and potential weakness’ which, as you may know, have more in common than many people expect and through this process discovered that we are a very strong team.

People. Our Greatest Strength

I can say with confidence that out team is one of our greatest strengths, we are talented, motivated, skilled and experienced but more than that we are aligned. We found our common ground and the shared purpose towards which we, as a team and individuals, aspire.

But it is not just our team that I mean when I say people are our greatest strength. It is everyone that we come in contact with during this process.

In order for our business to work we need to discuss and discover what other people value and aspire to achieve. And in learning these things find a common ground upon which to collaborate and achieve shared goals.

It’s starting to get a bit text book right, but honestly the more people we talk to the more feedback we get, the more questions we are asked and the easier it becomes to clarify and refine exactly how we will achieve our goals.

Worknow Community People

We are gathering a community of talented people that seek new more collaborative and flexible ways to work together because we believe networking technology can help foster and harness the collective potential of existing communities and distributed groups.

It seems that deriding Gen Y has become a marketing tool in itself. Repeat something negative about Gen Y and you’ve instantly attracted an audience.

Some readers will flock in order to have their personal points of view validated. But how many more will read because we’ve learned the importance of “…know thy enemy…”

Everyday we learn more about why the entrenched workforce fears us but more importantly the negativity provides us a challenge to rise to.

It seems, my entire generation now has a point to prove and the best way I can see to do that is to overcome the negativity, choose life and community over career, step around the square box and do exactly what we are disliked for.

Be different, challenge the status quo and find better new ways to get work done.

Although people continue to highlight our flaws a growing number of people are beginning to realise that these traits which appear as weaknesses may indeed be indicators of our strengths.

As one onlooker notes:-

“It is quite likely that some sizable percentage of these [Gen Y] workers will never work in a steady job on the payroll of a single employer. And an equally large segment may never know a career different from that of a ‘permanent part-timer,’ contractor, or consultant.”

Gen Y’s fierce independence will accelerate the nation’s evolution from a corporate economy of worker bees to an entrepreneurial one of innovative thinkers and rapid change, one where a majority of the Gen Y workforce is self-employed or even part of an ever-widening proprietary class.

The Gen Y group will be fiercely start-up oriented, and “by 2013, perhaps two- thirds of all adult Americans will be classified as entrepreneurial.” Source

Gen Y Entrepreneurs

So while this article talks of our US counterparts perhaps we should take note. More than any previous generation Gen Y has a more flexible and entrepreneurial approach to work.

Our entrepreneurial spirit makes us increasingly willing and able to take risks, our education has armed us with knowledge and insight and today’s technology allows us to connect, share and collaborate in new, more effective ways.

The traditional dependency on employment has begun to weaken as more and more of us recognise the potential we have to connect with others in order to create our own forms of work.

While our entrepreneurial and flexible approach to work demands of us greater self-reliance in return we capture the ability to shape our own future rather than “comply” or “conform” to the expectations of a workforce that often fails to utilise our talent or understand our work ethic.

Worknow

At Worknow we support a more entrepreneurial work ethic and are developing tools to help people find, connect and work together in new ways

Disadvantaged Gen Y

The recession is not the only disadvantage facing Gen Y as we enter and carve out our niche in the jobs’ market. The transition from study to work is a challenging event, made more difficult by:-

• entrenched negative stereotypes within the media and the boardroom.

It irks me that people and media feel justified in deriding our generation. Almost daily I read about how lazy, fickle, disloyal and demanding generation Y is yet so rarely is voice given to the truth that we Gen Y have different attitudes, and workplace expectations to the existing generations.

• An education system tailored to create solid employees rather than job creators.

As Sam Morgan notes “…We seem to have focused wrongly on building CVs rather than building businesses…” and as a result we have a wealth of talented people preparing themselves to be employed rather than cultivating talents which could drive economic growth through the creation of new business and new jobs.

Learn to be an Entrepreneur vs Employee

In America, in answer to the recession, educators like Babson College, are promoting education and up skilling but not in the traditional forms. For example if you are considering business then they suggest nowdays you need to choose a school where you will learn how to:

Be the Company. Rethink any degree that will prepare you to work for somebody else. Consider a program that trains you to work for yourself.

Volunteer Work Experience & Mentoring

Whether you prefer entrepreneur or employee there is still the catch 22 of “work experience”. Even in the best of times the transition from study to work is a difficult one but at Worknow we’ve identified two ways to support the study work transition for Gen Y students and recent graduates.

1. We encourage Volunteer Work Experience as a means to build confidence and valuable work skills before moving into the paid workforce. We also facilitate Time Trading (a.k.a Time Banking) to encourage, recognise and reward volunteer contributions.

2. A Peer Mentoring Community connecting Graduates with recent Alumni who can share with students of the same / similar discipline their experience of the study / work transition and highlight the real life opportunities available in the marketplace. Where to look, who to talk to, which skills are important etc.

Worknow

We are an online community and marketplace for kiwis’ to buy sell and trade their talent and services

Green Jobs of the Future

Governments including the USA and Australia are touting “green collar” jobs as a way to create new forms of work and aid economic recovery. The ever expanding Green sector encompasses industry and fields from engineering and planning to science and management, from construction to manufacturing and retail of alternative energy sources such as solar, wind and wave energy.

Copenhagen Climate Summit 2009

This year the environment will receive some serious attention with the international effort to address climate change culminating with the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, 7-18 December.

Already campaigns supporting environmental reform are in full swing. Global Environmental, Humanitarian and Animal Welfare organisations are taking a united stand to raise awareness on climate change.

Celebrities encourage people to Sign on with slogans from the likes of Ex NIWA Jim Salinger stating “The Science is bloody obvious”.

And with a ground swell of support, grass-root movements such as 350Aotearoa freeze sees people of all ages and backgrounds taking a statue like stand, to raise awareness and get people to question “what’s all this about?”

Growth of Contract Jobs in Green Market

Indeed, increased environmental awareness bodes well for the emerging Green industry which is already proving that it can create new jobs. Not only is the expanding industry creating “employment” but contract work too.

The green market has historically been one of permanent job placements…However, as the field broadens we are seeing more opportunities for contractors as engineers become more involved in the space, innovation creates short-term opportunities and many organisations opt for a more flexible workforce in light of the uncertainty of economic downturn. Source

While the UK is heralding the flexibility  and creativity, for which contractors are known, as the potential savior of UK economy the benefits of outsourcing and contract work are also being recognised here in Aotearoa. Hence, it is likely that with the growth of Green Industry, we too will experience growth in the number of contract opportunities.

Contractors Marketplace

At Worknow we support  and encourage a 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.