Rethinking Your Gig Strategy
Rethinking Your Gig Strategy
Temporarily closed due labor shortages.
We apologize for the inconvenience; our dining room is closed.
Our hours have changed due to staffing issues.
Your shipment(s) may be delayed.
And so the story goes…
Everywhere we turn—the news, social media, malls, grocery stores, our local pubs—we’re reminded that staffing challenges are vast and wide. Mounting pressures placed on businesses continue to spread across the country with no real end in sight. A sign we’re just scratching the surface when it comes to ongoing labor challenges.
And last week another blow. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of people quitting their jobs in the United States reached yet another record high in August, with about 4.3 million Americans leaving their jobs behind—especially in retail, where the quit rate is 4.7%.
That’s the highest level they’ve reported since the agency started tracking data in 2000—and the sixth consecutive month of sky-high quitting rates. Meanwhile, the 7.7 million people who remain unemployed aren’t jumping at the roughly 10.4 million job openings—leaving business after business with pleas for help in their windows.
The Battle for Talent
In August, some 892,000 workers quit accommodation and food services jobs and 721,000 quit retail positions, according to BLS data.
Brian Kropp, Group Vice President and Chief of HR Research at Gartner took to LinkedIn this week to put the most recent quits report in perspective, saying, “2.9% of employees quit their job in the US in August. That translates to more than 1 in 3 employees quitting their job for a full year. Layer on top of that the belief that employers expect 6.8% of employees to quit if a vaccine mandate is put in place. Add those together and we are looking at the potential of 40% turnover across the next 12 months.”
A hard number to swallow.
From hiring bonuses and increased pay to onsite interviews and immediate job placement—mom and pop shops all the way up to big box stores are pulling out all the stops when it comes to hiring the help they so desperately need. But it’s still not enough. So how can businesses stay afloat when traditional options have been exhausted?
The gig economy isn’t just an option—it’s a life-preserver during these uncertain times. McKinsey & Company says nearly 70 percent of executives report they’ll turn to in the coming months. A strong signal that when it comes to gig—things are just warming up.
The Growing Gig Supply
Industries have either suffered, thrived, or barely survived the economic downturn. But the gig economy flourished. Over the last six years, the gig economy has doubled in size. A third of that growth happened in 2020 alone—spurring growth that was over eight times faster than the US economy as a whole. With the gig economy projected to hit 85.5 million people by 2027, gig workers will make up 50.9 percent of the total U.S. workforce.
Based on a study conducted by daVinci Payments, it is clear that the pandemic has only accelerated the growth of the gig and played an important role in the post-pandemic recovery. Today, half of all organizations have already tapped into the gig economy as part of their recovery plan—with good reason—people are turning to gig apps like Hyer because of the flexibility it provides.
In fact, According to Monster survey data, in light of the coronavirus pandemic, 92% of respondents said they think now is a good time to look into the gig economy.
Among those who responded to the survey:
57% said they would take some kind of gig job while they’re in-between jobs
52% said they would like long term contract with flexible hours
39% would want short-term contract or temp work
The silver lining in this data? According to Gartner, hiring contingent workers gives HR leaders a new, larger labor pool to leverage. A blessing in times like this. And from a cost perspective, businesses tapping into the gig economy can save on compensation, benefits, recruiting, training and more. All factors that can position an organization for greater success not just now—but well into the future.
Rethinking your gig strategy? Let’s talk.
