Gig economy and the workforce: Giggling all the way to the bank

With the emergence of gig economy, it’s time for jack of all trades, master of one to rule the workplace. Adding on to the quickly changing dynamics of modern day working where virtual offices, flex-working and work-from-home have all found a space, there is more scope to hire gig workers. Professionals with specialised skill-sets working in temporary positions, part-time, or on a contractual basis in an independent fashion on short-term engagements are becoming the norm, rather than the exception in India Inc.

Estimates suggest there are roughly 15 - 20 million gig workers in India at present, working primarily in domains like web and mobile development, graphics design, web design, data entry, accounting, consulting, etc. A survey by e-payments platform PayPal says that almost 23% of Indian gig workers earn about Rs 2.5 - 5 lakhs annually, while an equal number earn between Rs 40 - 50 lakhs per annum.

According to Konika Chadha, head of search (financial & consumer markets), Korn Ferry Futurestep India, a rise in the gig economy will likely produce a shift in jobs and the nature of work. “It will also produce a change in workforce dynamics with millennials becoming a sizable part of the workforce.” Not just gig workers, employers hiring them will also on the winning side.

Experts say the trend is shaping up very well and in the next few years’ time, almost 30-40% of the workforce in India will be comprised of those working for the gig economy.

“ A hybrid workforce is a stepping stone in today’s work culture where we see a combination of traditional staffing and gig workers working under one organisation,” says Mayank Patel, director, professional staffing, Adecco Group India.

Driving the trend towards a contingency workforce are factors such as the need for flexibility, better work-life balance, greater autonomy of working, and a need for avoiding negatives like long commutes and office politics. From the corporate side, factors like enhanced automation and digitisation and cost efficiency have contributed towards the hiring of gig workers on a need basis.

The gig economy is unsurprisingly producing a far-reaching impact on the role of HR and the structure of organisations.

“The whole thinking of people who work with you full-time and who you need to retain based on their performance and valuable skills is flipped on its head,” says Arpita Kuila, Head HR, NEC Technologies India.

“Gig economy will ensure that the HR  job will become complex, not redundant,” says Anil Ethanur, co-founder of specialist staffing firm Xpheno.

HR managers will have to work and manage an alternative workforce not defined by a structured framework, as gig professionals are not bound to any firm and have the freedom to jump from one company to another, shifting loyalties.  

“In the gig economy, people have the freedom ‘’to do what they like, versus it being a part of their job’’. Maintaining the right compensation scales in an evolving environment will be another challenge. Equally challenging will be the retention of good talent,’’ says Chadha.

Experts feel HR policies will be compelled to undergo an overhaul.

“Skills for managing a transient workforce will have to be built. Far greater project management and delivery skills will be needed from people managers than ever before,” says Kuila.

And this will eventually call for the need to integrate contingency professionals into an organisational structure.

Patel says that HR will need to chalk out policies for a variable workforce and also keep them engaged within an organisational culture and set-up. “Employee engagement, career mobility, development feedback and hyper-connectivity through integration through IT infrastructure are some of the key aspects which HR managers will have to focus in future,” says Patel.

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The greatest challenge of the gig economy, however, would be the risk of data leak from one organisation to another in terms of processes and objectives, say experts. Ethanur says corporates will have to protect their intellectual property (IP), as “building IP with a gig workforce will be challenging.” “On the positive side, companies will have a leaner and more competitive workforce which is more productive,” says Ethanur.

Priyanka Golikeri, DNA Money