Indian organisations willing to adopt a flexible employment structure

The daily grind at work is about to get over. Jobs in the future will allow far greater flexibility and autonomy than what is allowed today. A few years down the line, people will have their own "brands" and will be selling their skills to those who need them. Some reports even suggest that two out of five people believe that traditional employment will not be there in the future. Interestingly, a few companies are taking the concept of the "gig economy" seriously, allowing their employees to choose projects and negotiate project terms and deliverables based on their skill sets. Compensation is adjusted based on the amount of time worked. The employees have the freedom to freelance but under the safety net of a larger organisation or brand.

According to a study by PwC titled Work-life 3.0:Understanding How We’ll Work Next, 41% of non-independent workers say they expect to become independent workers in the next year— and 53% say they expect to work on their own in the next five years. Two-thirds of employees agree that future career paths will be determined by workers themselves, not by their companies. Similarly, 63% say the eight-hour workday will become obsolete, and 68% say that work will be done remotely instead of in a traditional office. Moreover, 76% of workers believe that benefits and healthcare will be squarely their own responsibility, rather than their employers’. About 86% of respondents at least somewhat agree that they have a strong desire to work independently. That’s because independent work is perceived as allowing greater flexibility in schedule and control over work environment, the opportunity to earn more, and a better work-life balance.

Take the case of Chandrika Pasricha. She herself has been a management consultant for over 17 years, mostly at McKinsey & Co, Inc and is the founder and CEO of Flexing It, a global marketplace that connects over 32,000 highly skilled business consultants and experts to more than 1,600 organisations across the region for project-based and consulting assignments.

"The interest in and usage of our platform is across types of companies and also industries. Over half of the organisations registered with us are startups and SMEs, followed by MNCs/large companies, professional services firms and PE/VCs/investors. These organisations are from different industries – including consulting firms, development/not for profit, banking services and financial institutions, retail, IT and telecom, education and FMCG. From the projects posted on Flexing It we observe a spike in the demand for flexible resources for marketing strategy development, industry analysis and market assessment, project management support, data analytics, interim CXOs, business heads and talent acquisition and recruitment," she says.

Organisations are realising the need to offer flexibility as a core strategy to retain high-performing talent. This flexibility could vary in terms of capacity, roles, options to work remotely, etc. This is a key expectation today amongst most senior professionals as well as the millennials ie, the ability to craft a meaningful portfolio of work while having control over their schedules, working style and balancing personal life along with the professional commitments, Pasricha says.

Most companies are now through their diversity programmes bringing women back to work. Start-ups too are looking for qualified professionals in an attempt to work within their constrained resources. Besides, it is a win-win for both. "Both organisations and professionals increasingly value learnings and skills, and each project executed builds on these, and increases the value organisations can get from experienced professionals," she says.

Rakesh Deshmukh, CEO, Indus OS, believes that traditional employment is making way for a more flexible employment structure. Indus OS has espoused the gig economy in the real sense. It has both experienced seniors and gives employees the freedom to choose their project to build their own brand and expertise. "We have seen that this freedom is exercised especially by the technology,engineering and product teams. The employees have the opportunity to choose the projects they would like to be a part of depending on their skill set from within the current and future company projects, rather than the management assigning projects to them directly. Employees can choose the area of work relevant to them and their future aspirations," he says.

Analysing general Industry and employment trends in India.