Identifying new sources of talent in rapidly diminishing talent pools has been a constant challenge for the HR fraternity. In specialized industries like medical device technologies, organizations are constantly looking for newer talents who have expertise in evolving technologies. With a no-compromise focus on quality and easy usage for the end user as the core objectives, it is imperative to understand and attract the right talent who would give the desired results.

The recent upsurge of the gig economy which often gets mentioned as a revamped version of the ‘old’ franchising model is really upping this game for organizations. When it comes to the dynamism of the projects, R&D teams innovate across a wide spectrum of products, and hence, it is nothing less than magic to have project-specific experts to come and deliver within defined timelines. Thereafter, they move on to other assignments either within the team or elsewhere, while it gives them the thorough satisfaction of working on their terms and independence that comes as a complete package.

In today’s  VUCA world, millennials blend in very well with the dynamics of this culture, and if that reason was not good enough, the re-positioning of the work-home balance has further created the right environment for this economy to gain steam and to thrive successfully.

However, while it seems to be a win-win scenario in many cases, looking at the human psyche, the challenges are of course sustainability over the long-term. There are always phases in people’s lives where independence/ freedom drives one, while at some point in time, the need for security in all aspects sets in, out of fear of the unknown. Then, how does one market deal with their adaptability to ‘set’ cultures, to ‘set’ timings, to ‘set’ processes, policies, etc.? Is it a shift which is manageable or is it too disruptive for them? Ironically, in most cases, this need of stability could bring disruptiveness, since the ‘felt’ need for security takes you somewhere, whereas the craving for creativity/experimentation can pull you to the other end.

For organizations, this economy can create an unsettling environment, when the organizational cultural boundaries start blurring, where obvious disparities in compensation can create restlessness and the fact that not all roles in the organization can be brought over from the gig economy. This could create an invisible organizational barrier because there will always be a need for a constant in almost every function. If an organization were to be able to balance this out, then it can still be a win-win all the way.

But for organisations who thrive on floating talent, especially those that are into providing engineering solutions, be it software or hardware, to a range of industries like medical equipment, automotive, defence, and telecom, the gig economy is definitely a boon and they would not even mind hiring freshers and training them on very specific tools, since they are the business enablers for those limited periods of time.

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) seems to be flavour of the day, there will be newer realms of technologies that will keep invading us and creating disruption even before we realize their onslaught. To counter these, the gig economy comes in as a savior for many organizations and therefore the number of organizations benefitting from this will only keep increasing in the years to come.