In this, the second in our series that looks at disruptive companies that are reshaping the industry in which they operate, we turn our attention to online resourcing companies like Elance.
Elance completed the acquisition of the similar-in-nature oDesk late last year, to entrench its position as the world's biggest meeting place where consultants, contractors and freelancers can connect with companies looking for these services.
The debate now raging is whether the likes of Elance will remain a niche way of acquiring skills, for very specific types of activities in only a few key industries, or whether it will fundamentally alter the way individuals and companies structure the way they work.
All around the word, statistics are showing a trend towards greater levels of self-employment, as more and more people try to break out on their own. Largely driven by forces like automation in manufacturing and production, and the aftermath of the financial recession a few years ago, this trend clearly reflects the general shift from industrial-based to knowledge-based economies.
Elance, it seems, is the perfect platform for this growing contingency of 'independents' to find work.
Russel Brand, innovation consultant at T-Systems, describes trusted platforms like Elance as 'a crucial interface point for the individual to enter various business ecosystems', and says it represents an exciting new way for organisations to engage with knowledge workers.
However, the next question for South Africans, he says, "is to what extent do we have a knowledge-driven economy?" Services like Elance are only applicable to certain types of work, where activities can be broken down into easily-repeatable segments, with clear outputs and measurement criteria.
Some industries, and some companies, will be able to do this more easily than others, Brand notes.
Local relevance?
He says the kinds of flexible working arrangements made possible by Elance may well spur us into a state of 'Digital Taylorism', where companies begin to standardise knowledge work in the same way Henry Ford standardised his production lines a century ago.
"Digital Taylorism is about capturing, codifying and then reengineering the higher-value knowledge worker activities," he notes. It's a concept that, for the moment, seems to be some way off for most of us. But it does raise interesting questions: how much of what you do today can be standardised, automated, simplified, or eradicated?
Clinton Jacobs, senior analyst at BMI-TechKnowledge, can see the attraction for South African companies to opt for freelancer-based engagements, but questions the effectiveness of these kinds of platforms, given South Africa's labour relations laws.
"Looking beyond the flashy platform, how does this differ from labour brokering? Services like Elance pose a number of interesting questions for the recruitment industry and those involved in the labour brokering debate."
Jacobs says that, notwithstanding these policy hurdles, a more open and collaborative approach may well prove attractive to the younger generations.
In fact, Brand predicts that South African companies may ultimately be forced to adopt more flexible resourcing models if they want to compete for the best resources - within the various areas of specialisation.
"The organisations that can accommodate these flexible approaches will be the ones that win the war for talent," he says.
As services like Elance become more of a mainstream practice in corporate SA, he notes that local organisations will benefit by employing South Africans that are living in other countries. "In this way, it could help to stem the much talked-about 'brain drain', or at least slow it down to something of a brain dribble."
There is a social media aspect to the service, backed up by trusted payment systems, and a simple, intuitive interface. The most important fundamental features, notes Brand, include the escrow service that ensures fairness with the payment, and various quality control processes that serve to protect the interests of both sides.
In South Africa, there are a number of established portals that follow the principles of Elance - most notably for creatives like freelance designers and writers. So far, none of these have reached the kind of critical mass that gives them 'household name' status among corporate South Africa. However, as the trend towards self-employment and segmented, project-based work continues, it's likely that more and more young, talented South Africans will turn to these kinds of platforms for work. The smart companies will be those that keep an eye out for opportunities in these spaces.
First published in the July 2014 issue of ITWeb Brainstorm magazine.
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