Great question! I certainly think there is scope for this but only in some areas - one area where this is already a widely-used reality is lead generation. Now take professional services: because there is such a huge investment required in training someone and because if your PS capability suddently disappears/diminishes you cannot deliver on your promises, I don't think many companies would base their PS teams on non-employed professionals. That's why I can't think of a company who does not have a core team with a network of associates to bulk up their capability.

posted July 9, 2010

Although I understand the thought behind the ‘Malone’ articles, I believe there are still jobs out there as I see them posted for program and project managers all the time. Agree there may be less but the standard norm of applying for a position and working for a company still applies. Certainly different methods to find a job and communicate interest are changing with business networking. Due the economy, people are finding creative ways to make a living and risking into new ventures or careers they never thought of before. I’m 55 years old and have been fortunate to be working for a good company a long time. However early on I learned that I owned my own employment and continually need to train, learn new things, and some degree ‘re-invent myself’ to keep up with the requirements asked of me. One can never ‘rest on their laurels’ or the world will one day pass them by and you will be obsolete. I continually train, get new credentials, and be fluid and flexible…and feel good about what I’m doing. …JGH

posted July 9, 2010

I'd also read the Protean Corporation, an interesting look into the future. I think right now the distributed or cloud based work structure is affecting the technical side of it, where more and more developers & programmers are hired on basis of contract.

But like you suspected, most of the team will be dispersed through out the globe and only core members like Jeff mentioned above will be left on a permanent basis. The core does not merely mean board members, it could be an operations manager who knows inside-out of the business operations can be a valued core member.

I think the next generation HR will have the pressure to identify the gem from the heap they receive, since it will be on them, a company will perform/out perform.

This structure will also mean that there will be more entrepreneur's and more efficient models that can be easily patched to an existing system and relieve them when not required. Hence helping the entrepreneur and the company, that uses the service, a clear advantage.

posted July 9, 2010

It is the transition itself between the two paradigms that will be so difficult for some...

posted July 9, 2010

There's no doubt that freelancing and "working in the cloud" is becoming more mainstream. However, in my experience, there's an irreplaceable benefit to working face-to-face. It builds trust, improves relationships, shortens feedback cycles, and improves productivity.

What I have seen work well, though, is a primarily virtual workforce that meets in person occasionally. An in-person meeting at the beginning of a working relationship goes a long way to reducing suspicion, fear, and the overall unknowns of using a virtual team.

Many companies have already made this switch and offer near-shored resources for technical and creative projects. These teams scale up or down as needed so the corporate clients have total control over budget and velocity.

As the workforce moves to the cloud, HR's biggest challenge will become the maintenance of these teams. Managing virtual teams effectively is a skill, and it must be taught. In order to keep good employees, HR will need to lead the charge in training managers for these new realities and increasing awareness of techniques for working in virtual teams.

posted July 9, 2010

Hi Michael,

the Advice I would give is that of, recruiteres becoming more qualified to work these kinds of challenges. the workforcer market is slimming down into the stages of not allowing an unempoyed individual to find nwe work in the same field they were laid off from.

The obsticles are more and more, but the recruiters are sharper and choosing the best of the best encouraging more and more effort.

posted July 9, 2010

There are many factors moving us from a W-2 to a 1099 workforce, but there is an equally big distinction between 1099 work for large corporations and 1099 work for small business. The latter has all of the risks of employment (typically massive concentration of effort into one client and exposure to the politics of working for a boss who is likely to move) but none of the rewards (perceived stability, inertia during change, healthcare, etc.). Most of those moving into contract work for large companies, unless they are able to build a business themselves and thereby gain stability and diversity, are hoping every day to get hired, and this is a sad place to be. Changing one's mindset (which takes time) and working for small companies, though, is a lot more fun: people stay in place and projects tend to be smaller, so stability through diversity is possible.

As for the role of recruiters: sorry, but I'm not sure how the current role could fit, even in the corporate world. Recruiters help hiring authorities pick a person with linear career progression and ideal credentials so that they can stick for a long time, and if they fail, there is nowhere to point the finger. Their economics are based on a small number of long-term hires. I'm not sure either the search approach or the economics of the business lend themselves to the volatile, performance based project work of a 1099 world; and I find the possible fit even harder to see in the small company world.

posted July 9, 2010

Hi Michael,

We are in what I would deem a transition period. The virtual workplace has now been around for awhile and companies are seeing the pros and cons to their industry. A lot of sales people and sales teams that are spread out across large territories have actually been at this long before the name virtual was in....they were called telemarketer.

Ok...so we went from the industrial age, to Manufacturing and then to the service orientated way of employment. So what is next? At this point your guess is as good as mine. What I can tell you is that the markets will dictate what comes next. There was also a slowdown with people running around crying the ski was falling in at the end of each of these times in history...yet we survived.

Are there any 50 -150K jobs still out there? I am sure there are, but the number of people going after them has increased three fold. Honestly....sometimes its good to go without in order to really appreciate what you really have. I would assume those people out there that are drawing unemployment or have lost any extensions that would give their hind teeth right now for anything in that range.

So for you folks here in the US, just remember what really makes us great. Its not our government even though they want you to think so....its the people and the way were willing to pull together to help one another and show our creativeness on coming up with new ideas & inventions.

Each one of you are important and have something to offer one another. This area supplied by linkedin might be a great place to group up with others in creating a well rounded team to approach companies looking to contract work out or you may want to offer your services to small start-ups that are in dire need for your talent. I for one would be more than happy to try and help anyone here unemployed looking for work.

posted July 10, 2010

Good grief, I hope not. It's like risk tolerance: some of us (like me) would find the environment very difficult. It's like full-time freelance as a fiction writer.

One is supposed to say how wonderful it is.

I'd have gone stir crazy.

posted July 10, 2010

At first it sounded like you are selling old wine in new bottles. The concepts of freelancers and temp agencies have been there for ages, adding the term "in the cloud" to it does not add much to the proposition.

Having said that, I do agree with you that it will gain more in popularity, and any service that helps people to get on board can be valuable.

Are you focusing on a specific job types? I have always wondered how my area of expertise (product development/management) would translate to "the cloud" :)

posted July 12, 2010