Gig Economy And Micro-Entrepreneurship Are On The Rise, But Are We Ready To Manage That Successfully?

To say that Covid-19 had something to do with the shift in how the country approaches work is like saying 9/11 had something to do with how airlines rethought their approach to security measures. It’s not like change wasn’t coming; it’s just that the pandemic transformed workplace culture far more quickly than many had initially expected.

Perhaps the most pervasive shift observed over the past several months has been a dramatic rise in the number of gig workers and micro-entrepreneurs. Such fundamental and accelerated change has highlighted the need to find — and the benefits of finding — a different approach to how organizations manage and support their distributed workforces.

Direct Selling, Ecommerce And The Gig Economy Are All Experiencing Huge Growth During Covid-19

Everywhere, there are signs of a revolution in the way people and companies generate revenue — and a boom in online shopping during the pandemic has seen mom and pop merchants flocking to Walmart and Amazon. Walmart added 3,000 new sellers in June this year and followed that up with 3,600 in July following the announcement of its partnership with Shopify. While Walmart’s growth might be viewed as significant, Amazon continues to break all records, signing up thousands of new merchants daily.

Direct-to-customer (DTC) sales are also currently undergoing a renaissance, with hair and skincare brand Monat seeing new partner signups rise by 300% since lockdowns hit. Monat is typical of the growth seen in direct selling during Covid-19. As early as April 2020, direct selling companies have experienced as much as a 40% surge in new clients. There are personal stories behind a huge slice of the sales in what’s become a $35 billion industry, and micro-entrepreneurs have played a part in propping up the economy during the pandemic.

Others have turned to different methods while looking to earn a crust during Covid-19. Thousands of new gig workers entered the fray during lockdowns. At the peak of restrictions, the popular freelance platform Upwork saw 50% more signups as people — whether working full-time or on a side hustle — put their talents and experience to work.

Micro-entrepreneurship has become a far more invoked term following the events of the past few months. People trapped in their homes by Covid-19 turned to their computers to find new ways of working. Because of Covid-19, what got touted just recently to be the future of work is already here. An increasing number of companies now have distributed workforces composed of micro-entrepreneurs, direct salespeople and gig economy workers. 

Distributed Workforce Management During Covid-19: The Need For Performance Enablement

A recurring theme during this challenging time is the fact that technology has enabled us to survive. It really is that simple. How children kept attending school, how consumers shopped during quarantine and even how businesses continued to run — digital platforms did much (if not all) of the heavy lifting. There’s no escaping the fact that Covid-19 has accelerated the onset of an environment that demands something new. Workforces just changed, and with that comes new challenges. An increasing reliance on gig economy workers and micro-entrepreneurs means that companies need to reassess how they undertake distributed workforce management — and the potential rewards for doing so are tangible and significant.

With the rise of traditional distributed workforces over the last several years, we’ve seen the benefits and necessity of technologies like learning experience platforms (LXPs). Meaningful just-in-time learning has proven itself while delivering better training outcomes, yet there’s more to come. While LXPs are great for employees acquiring additional skills, they still barely solve the performance question. The key to driving success in the new normal of work will be data-driven performance enablement.

Learning Experiences And Performance Enablement: The Next Evolutionary Step?

Performance enablement is a logical next step for companies that need new ways to deal with — and grow within — a work environment that increasingly relies on remote communication and management. There’s a real need to engage gig economy workers, direct salespeople and micro-entrepreneurs at every point of their daily routines in a highly personalized manner. Performance enablement presents a chance to continue the progress of LXPs and build on that — by delivering personalized, just-in-time learning modules but also business tasks designed to ensure workers always know what to do next, in the best possible way. That effectively means providing those people with precisely what’s needed.

Performance enablement works by analyzing performance and operational data in real time. The result is long-term behavioral changes, and each time a worker interacts with the platform, the software learns more about them. That leads to incremental improvement in individual productivity, knowledge and capability – and directly boosts personal growth and organizational KPIs.

Five Steps For Implementing Performance Enablement

Where do you start, what do you avoid and what’s the best data to collect?

1. Start collecting data as early as possible. It’s never too early, and if you wait for the perfect opportunity to implement performance enablement, it’ll likely never occur. Just jump in and get going.

2. Collect as much data as you can. Don’t limit things to just demographic information. Look at individuals and roles and combine demographics with learning and performance data, too.

3. Collect the right data to make gains. Don’t get trapped where data collection is more expensive than the potential return.

4. Make sure to put your data straight to work by connecting productivity and performance insights about specifically triggered activities — and then scale your efforts up.

5. Use data to see the bigger picture, and utilize the information you gather to make valuable forecasts. Keep your data actionable and insightful so you maximize readiness for skill shortages or seasonal productivity fluctuations.

While the arguments for performance enablement are not specifically pandemic-related, there’s no escaping the fact that Covid-19 has accelerated the onset of an environment that demands something more impactful at a large scale — and performance enablement platforms are the next step in the distributed workforce management evolution.

Original article posted by Forbes.