Trends Shaping the Gig Economy

More Gigs, More Money, More Opportunity

“The gig economy and its associated gig workers are here to stay.”

John T. Fleming

Just a few weeks ago, I read the article "3 Trends Shaping the Gig Economy" by John T. Fleming and published by the Association for Entrepreneurship U.S.A. Many of the points that John makes resonate with me, and I felt inclined to add the distinct perspective of the Fractional and Interim Sales Leader.

John starts out by sharing that the gig economy is growing at an ever-increasing rate: “With more than 57 million Americans involved and $1.4 trillion+ changing hands annually, the gig economy reflects people’s desires for more flexible work opportunities and greater freedom as to how, when, and where work is performed.”

Trend 1: More individuals pursue multiple gigs in 2021 than in 2020.

“Only working one gig is becoming less popular because many gigs are complementary to other gigs. Since gigs often involve underutilized time, hard assets, knowledge, and skills, the trend toward working multiple gigs may also indicate a desire to leverage such assets as effectively as possible.”

Between 70% and 80% of the assignments we facilitate through Vendux are fractional or part-time, and the most common format involves between 20% and 50% of an executive’s time. Consequently, most executives have between two and five gigs in parallel.

In addition to the perspective of the gig worker outlined above, the fractional engagement also makes perfect sense for smaller businesses that do not necessarily require 40-60 hours a week of the particular skillset. Historically, small companies required multitasking or wearing multiple hats. Fractionalizing the work allows a company to contract a specialist for every role.

Trend 2: Gigs are more likely to be carried out through online platforms in 2021 than in 2020.

“This movement, due to both technology advances and the increasing adoption of online platforms by a variety of companies—both large and small increases the effectiveness and efficiency workers can explore when adopting a gig opportunity. There are no physical constraints nor limitations of geography or time zone when working a gig that is primarily based upon utilization of digital tools.”

Location is rarely one of the criteria when we match Fractional or Interim Sales Leaders. Sales was traditionally a remote function, often geographically closer to the client than a company’s HQ. WFH during the pandemic made this even more prevalent. Online platforms and digital tools are enablers for remote work of all shapes, whether full-time W2 or part-time 1099.

Trend 3: Realistic earnings expectations among gig workers.

“Current research indicates that this income expectation has actually increased a bit. However, about 71 percent of the gig workers surveyed in October 2021 have the same expectation as those surveyed in July 2020. Likewise, the primary motivations that gig workers report for working their gigs have not changed over the past year. More than 80 percent of the gig workers surveyed in 2020 and 2021 stated that paying bills, saving and investing more, and improving personal lifestyles motivated their gig work.”

In our Bill of Rights for Fractional and Interim Executives, earning expectations are discussed as "Aligned Compensation":

“The clients' investment in your compensation needs to align with the value you deliver during the assignment. There is no one-size-fits-all. You can express your value in revenue, growth, and other improvements. And then look for alignment in the amount, the structure (base vs. variable vs. equity), and the payout (retainer vs. hourly).”

With that in mind, it is not so much about increasing rates slightly but rather correctly assessing the value a gig executive delivers and then asking for an aligned compensation. That alignment is a fair and equitable way, rather than the pursuit of “as-high-or-as-low-as-desperation-takes-you.”

Like John, I conclude that the gig economy is here to stay!

Contact us to discuss the trends you are seeing; we would love to hear from you.

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John T. Fleming – 3 Trends Shaping the Gig Economy

Photo by Anne Gosewehr