Challenges of Staff on Demand

As we’ve already hinted, implementing Staff on Demand effectively isn’t easy—internally or externally. That’s partially because SoD fundamentally threatens the social contract. The gig economy contravenes the world of pension plans, employer healthcare, taxation, and unemployment insurance. Regulatory obstacles, many created by political forces in the name of worker rights and conditions, often interfere with the ability to implement SoD. Enabling widespread SoD requires fundamental reform. Governments that embrace this reform—engaging with thorny questions like tax revenues—will create a thriving future.  But SoD also presents specific personnel challenges:

• The gig worker may not have Engagement with your MTP—and thus become a distracting force.

• Without specific standards to the contrary, freelancers may find themselves working on multiple platforms for multiple companies. As a result, they may exhibit mixed loyalties.

• Management will spend a great deal of time carefully describing tasks for freelancers; these tasks would be second nature for full-timers.

• There will be little time to train freelancers in the company’s culture or operating style.

• On-demand staff may have a stake in doing the best possible job, but they won’t have the same stake in the company’s long-term success.

• Gig employees risk being exploited by employers if they aren’t prepared to walk away. 

• Gig employees must learn to market themselves to get work.