Acquisition, Amazon Pushback, SIA Recap, Europe's Promising Freelance Growth, German Secret (shhhh), Can't Miss Info About The Human Cloud

Leaders, two newsletters in one month, wow! Why the excitement? Because the industry's moving fast enough to justify a double text.?

After a dismal Q2, with May in particular being a month most platforms want to forget, it looks like clients are coming back to life. Most platforms cite a bounce back this month, and expect next month to continue the positivity. Which for you...means continue the strong conference season (apologize to your future self for lost sleep), schedule those QBR's, and make Q4 the strategic planning quarter that sets the foundation for 2025.??

- Matthew Mottola, CEO

What's In This Edition

• ?? Acquisition - Randstad and Torc discuss their acquisition
• ?? Amazon Pushback - Why leading brands should be asking 'who' will shape the future workforce, not just 'where'
• ?? SIA Recap - A long way to go to realize the $3.8 trillion dollar opportunity
• ?? Europe's Freelance Maturity - Free Trade Europa releases Future of Work Study 2024
• ?? Freelance & Hospitality - Will your hotel receptionist be a freelancer? Probably

?? Can't Miss, Acquisition Chat ??

Randstad and Torc

We made a bold claim, that in 5 years, the world of work will be determined by BT (before Torc) and AT (after Torc). Come see how ridiculous this statement is on October 2nd.?

>> Attend >>

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?? You probably heard Amazon isn't too keen on remote...???

We don't think their dumb, they just don't see the full picture

This past week, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced they will return to the office the way they were before Covid. In Jassy’s words, the change is “to address the second issue of being better set up to invent, collaborate, and be connected enough to each other and our culture to deliver the absolute best for customers and the business”.?

We actually love the logic, but there is a massive blind spot...while the focus is on “where” people will work, it doesn't address “who” will drive the work? Will it be full-time employees? Agencies? Contractors?

As a Human Cloud leader you know the data is clear that the future workforce is choosing self-employment and freelancing.?70% of Gen-Z are currently freelancing. 53% of Gen Z works full-time hours on freelance projects.?45% of US millennials freelance. Etc

We'll leave it at this...maybe he's focusing too much on the saddle of the horse (full time work), rather than realizing there's a brand new technology called the automobile (freelance work models). What do you think?

>> Full Article >>

?? SIA Recap ??

Freelance has a long way to go! And that's a good thing...

The world of talent met in Dallas last week. We had a blast, and came away with the following insights (expect more within the coming months):

• The global contingent work industry is a $3.8 trillion dollar industry, with independent contracting as the leading category at $1.929 billion. The optimist in us says what a time to connect companies with the independent workforce. The pessimist in us says we have some serious work in defining the various components of every stakeholder and solution in the independent workforce. Reality is obviously somewhere in the middle.
• Excitement is high, yet "freelance" is still 1% of staffing and the broader world of "talent". This number is obviously not the full picture, as the majority of freelance related spend goes by a different name. But it's directionally indicative of the room we have to grow.
• The staffing industry is expected to contract in 2025. But what about freelance talent platforms? Human Cloud data shows that most platforms have neutral or positive performance, while over 85% of freelance leaders are confident long term about freelance. How will staffing react, and how "can" they react? Can they build/adapt and capture the positive growth of talent platforms? Or is it too late, and they need to acquire (buy) rather than build??
• We've really complicated the seemingly simple act of "matching" worker to company. One of our favorite slides showed worker and hiring manager, then in the middle the various solutions/processes to connect these two. It reminded us of a massive game of telephone, where instead of one person saying "I can build a website" and the hiring manager hearing exactly that, instead there are multiple third parties playing telephone and "I can build a website" turns into multiple different sentences with buzzwords contingent, temp to hire, EOR/AOR, compliance, IC, 1099, independent sprinkled in.?

Join The Conversation

?? How's Europe Doing?? ??

Pretty well...

Free Trade Europa released their Future Of Work Study 2024. The data is clear; freelance is growing steadily in Europe across individuals, businesses, and governments.

Here are some interesting takeaways:

• 61% of freelancers report no current interest in changing to a full-time role (Malt)
• 43 million people in the EU are expected to be freelancers by 2025
• There are over 500 European talent platforms
• The UK leads Europe, followed by France, then Germany
• Return to office decrees can increase office attendance by as much as 14% but push employee engagement scores down by 26%

Read Full Article

?? Highlighting Some European Platforms ??

Any that we missed?

Here is a sample of the best European platforms. We know we missed some. Email us or add them directly to our Industry Landscape.

• ???? Code Control,?Uplink, and?Freelancermap are leading IT, software, and design platforms, while Expert Powerhouse is a top consulting platform.?
• ???? Zoulloo?is a leading data scientist platform,?Brigad?is a leading hospitality platform, and?LeHibou?is a leading IT platform.?
• ???? Talmix?is a leading business consulting platform, while?NatQuest?is a leading supply chain expert platform.?
• ???? Tasker?is a leading hardware engineering platform, while?Sweav is a leading M&A consulting platform.?
• ???? Jelber is a leading marketing platform.?
• ????Redegate is a leading consulting platform.?
• ???? Indie List?is a leading marketing platform.

Any platforms we missed? Reply with the platform and country and we'll send you our Freelance 101 Walking Deck.

Find All In Our Industry Landscape

?? Will Your Hotel Receptionist Be A Freelancer? ??

Probably...

The freelance economy is quickly embedding across every industry, skillset, and region. Industries that 2 years ago were "never freelance", are jumping head first into the digital potential of talent platforms to build their future workforce.?

We were honored to partner with Fronthouz, the leading hospitality talent platform, and Startup Atlanta, to show how freelance is a transformational talent strategy for hospitality.?

>> Download The Report >>

?? Secret's Out!!! ??

Matthew will be opening Malt's exclusive Executive conference

Will we see you in Germany?

>> Request an Invite >>

One Last Thing...

• Add your company to Human Cloud's Industry Landscape. Or make sure your information is accurate, we're tracking 297 companies and averaging 5 new companies a week.
• Check our Presentation Hub to rock your next keynote, leadership meeting, or board meeting.?
• Apply to be a guest or Sponsor the #1 global podcast on the freelance economy.

About Human Cloud

Human Cloud is the global advisory firm at the intersection of technology and work. Fueled with over a decade of experience scaling digital first models across various environments, Human Cloud bridges the gap between technology promise and commercial realization for digital first work models that will become the global default by 2030.?

Human Cloud helps three major segments of the global economy. (1) Human Cloud helps large, Fortune 500 enterprises integrate digital first work models within their talent strategy so they can scale digital first workforces. (2) Human Cloud helps industry solutions like talent platforms, talent providers, and talent applications adapt to enterprise needs, connect with industry peers, and access market intelligence so they can grow sustainable businesses. (3) Human Cloud helps governments and investment firms make strategic decisions into how their portfolios and initiatives should embrace freelance solutions.???