Gig Economy’s Fast-Moving Global Marketplace Helps Companies Gain a Competitive Edge

It used to be that a company’s talent inventory went down the elevator at 5 p.m., to reference a quote from the legendary ad man David Ogilvy. In today’s digital age, all that has changed. Tech companies now have worldwide access to top talent through a global community of designers, developers, testers and data scientists. This community of highly skilled on-demand talent is on the rise: The Gig Economy.

The gig economy has changed how businesses and workers interact. Additionally, it's a fast-growing segment of the global labor pool. A survey by the Federal Reserve Board reports that 30 percent of adult U.S. workers have participated in the gig economy. Another report by the McKinsey Global Institute finds that up to 162 million people in Europe and the United States—or 20 to 30 percent of the working-age population—engage in some form of independent work.    

Gig Economy Allows Companies to be Fast and Flexible

Tapping the offerings of the gig economy—like on-demand talent networks and crowdsourcing competitions—allows companies to compete in a fast-moving marketplace. It’s also a great way for businesses to access the most skilled labor pool. In his book, “Trillion Dollar Coach,” Eric Schmidt, former chairman and Executive CEO of Google says a company must act decisively and quickly. Speed and flexibility will differentiate winners from losers in the marketplace, he says.

"Everything happens faster now,” says Schmidt. “If you can build a team quickly around a problem, in the future, you can really succeed. The future is going to be about assembling the right experts quickly, getting the ideas quicker than anybody else and implementing them faster than anyone else, because global competition means the time frame you have is shorter and shorter."

Topcoder Offers Fast Access to the Best Global Minds

Many companies wishing to execute on a project intelligently and quickly, as Schmidt encourages, are partnering with Topcoder, the world’s largest on-demand IT talent network and digital crowdsourcing platform. Topcoder hosts more than 1.5 million members. Kendrick Burson, principal engineer, CSM, CSPO next-gen UI Architect for T-Mobile describes the success he’s experienced working with Topcoder for nondomain-specific tasks. Burson says he has increased his team’s productivity but also its total output and delivery speed. Topcoder has enabled his team to complete in two weeks, what normally would take four months to complete. Working with Topcoder, he says, “… allows me to accelerate my team to deliver what they are expected to deliver.” 

To gain this edge, companies are turning to the gig economy. Here, they're finding the skills they need to compete on a global scale. In the tech world, tools like crowdsourcing have become an essential capability that ensures success for the future. On top of that, platforms like Topcoder have become a respected go-to resource.