The popularity of the platform economy is continuously growing – and it is revolutionizing traditional recruitment. According to experts’ forecasts, the “gig economy” may surpass the amount of traditional in-house work by 2027.
For businesses, the growth of the platform economy means significant change. Instead of permanent employment, companies are increasingly turning to freelancers and gig workers for their projects.
What are the benefits of hiring external experts, and how do you ensure you get the best possible advantages from it?
Platform Economy – Why Hiring a Freelancer is Worthwhile?
Even if your company has an established team, hiring an external expert can be beneficial and profitable in many ways. No wonder the phenomenon is attracting more and more interest from businesses.
Freelancers are often specialists in their field. They are accustomed to working independently and adapting quickly to new environments and tasks. They have the specific expertise that your team is missing. An experienced expert can quickly join the activities of your company and team, integrating well into an existing team.
By utilizing freelancers, you get the opportunity to scale labor as needed without long-term commitments. Although external experts can be used long-term, this is particularly beneficial in projects where the workload varies or is seasonal. When you have access to a wide network of experts, you always find a professional to meet your needs, and the work does not depend on a single expert or stop, for example, due to illnesses.
Additionally, hiring freelancers is more cost-effective than recruiting and hiring new employees. Experts can be found easily and quickly from various websites, and platforms, and through recommendations, whereas hiring an employee often requires a time-consuming recruitment process.
Whether it’s a contract or an employment relationship, it’s worth holding on to good freelancers. Long-term cooperation is always more fruitful than changing freelancers with each new project. At best, a freelancer can become a significant part of your company’s team – or complement your skills temporarily as needed, without financial risks.
Read our clients’ experiences of long-term freelance collaboration >>
The platform focuses on the result and meets the needs
A fundamental aspect of the platform economy is the facilitation of interactions between clients and freelance resources. This involves establishing frameworks and systems that enable smooth and efficient collaboration, highlighting the platform’s critical role in this economy.
The contrast between the platform economy and traditional in-house recruitment is stark, particularly in the approach to addressing and solving needs. While the platform economy is geared towards delivering end products and achieving specific outcomes, traditional recruitment tends to focus more on individual selection and team formation.
In the platform economy, the objective is to identify and leverage the optimal resources for any given task, irrespective of whether these resources are internal or external independent professionals.
The platforms are designed to streamline collaboration, with the goal of producing end products or results through the contributions of independent professionals. The platform economy shines when it allows for a genuine focus on meeting needs, with the execution delegated to the platform’s selected service providers. This model offers practicality, speed, and cost-efficiency, challenging to attain in the conventional person-centric recruitment process. Ultimately, the platform economy presents a modern, adaptable solution that aligns with the dynamic nature of today’s business environments, ensuring cost-effectiveness and efficiency vital for securing a competitive advantage.
How Should Your Company Prepare?
With the growth of the platform economy, companies need to adapt to the changing job market. Investing in digital tools and platforms that facilitate the hiring and management of independent professionals is crucial.
Developing clear practices and processes – such as task definition, payment terms, and results evaluation – is key in working with gig workers or freelancers and helps your company build a repeatable collaboration model.
A cultural and attitudinal shift must also be reflected in the organisation. The platform economy requires openness and flexibility from companies – as well as an understanding that employee commitment and motivation can manifest differently than in traditional employment relationships. Organisation-specific new operational models must be created so that both parties can enjoy the benefits of the phenomenon.
Platform Economy Also Shapes Marketing – This is How You Prepare
The platform economy not only changes the nature of employment relationships but also significantly affects marketing. Freelancers and independent professionals often bring fresh perspectives and specialised expertise, which is particularly beneficial for marketing teams.
Freelancers, who work on different projects and industries, can offer unique insights and innovative solutions that enrich your company’s marketing strategies and campaigns. Their external viewpoint can help them see things in a new light, which is vital for brand development and marketing effectiveness.
On the other hand, a freelancer can be hired to handle tasks that currently take up too much of the rest of the team’s time. For example, when content production is managed by a skilled professional, the company’s in-house employees can focus on their core tasks and expertise.
Utilizing the platform economy in marketing requires effective project management and communication. Clear goals, schedules, and expectations must be defined from the beginning so that all parties understand their roles and responsibilities. Digital tools and platforms, such as project management software and communication platforms, are key to smooth work.
Finding a suitable and knowledgeable freelancer to join your marketing team can also be effortless. That’s why we at Smoothly have created a solution that meets both the current and future needs of businesses and marketing.
Respond to Future Needs with Smoothly
Smoothly is a content production platform that enables hundreds of marketing-minded businesses to produce, coordinate, and publish marketing content using designated content producers and technologies.
We have lists of hundreds of content producers from countless different industries and backgrounds, and we select the best possible creators for your business. We currently produce content natively in Finnish, English, Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish, and are rapidly expanding our network of experts.
Our content producers actively collaborate with your company and are committed to cooperation. We help your business produce high-quality content regularly and effortlessly, responding to current needs.
Smoothly offers all necessary parts of content production in the same service with a transparent monthly fee, so you can save time, money, and energy in marketing.
Explore our service. Here you can read examples of tasks and content that you can delegate to Smoothly’s content producers. We also offer you a 3-month trial period with a satisfaction guarantee – no commitment required.
Frequently Asked Questions. Here you can find comprehensive answers to your questions, or you can contact us directly.
Hundreds of marketers already utilize Smoothly’s digital service platform to support their marketing. Try content production and marketing routine delegation flexibly without a notice period!