AI Christmas Gift, New Global Freelance Laws, Big News!

Who's ready for a break!? It's been a rough year for most.

Some platforms have seen 15%+ growth. Some have seen acquisitions (expect a wave of acquisitions in January). But most (80%) have seen neutral or poor performance. Especially in Q2 and Q3. ??♂? is the only way to describe May.?

2025 looks good. MBO's data makes it clear that top talent has chosen full time freelance/fractional/independence over traditional employment. Q4 showed increased excitement, interest, and spending, with two stats jumping out from Contractor-Of-Record Mellow in our latest webinar:?

• 60% Increase in company spending in MENA
• 39% Increase in company spending in SE Asia

But there are headwinds, and in this newsletter we'll hit the regulation headwinds head on.?

Enjoy your break. Enjoy your loved ones. And get some good rest, it's going to be a great 2025!

From our family to yours,

Matthew Mottola, CEO

Welcome Tony!!!

Renowned HR expert Tony Buffum joins Human Cloud to help enterprises modernize their talent strategies by integrating flexible workforce models and advanced technologies with Human Cloud.?[ Meet Tony ]

??? Read the full scoop ???

?? Gift Yourself A Fractional AI Expert This Year ??

Why? AI Strategies Are Failing Without The Right Talent Strategies

An AI strategy without the right talent strategy is like a beautiful boat without an engine. Intentionally, we say boat because rather than a car in traffic, a bad boat means being stuck in the middle of the ocean.?

Unfortunately, AI is that hot buzzword that brings many charlatans. We tell leaders that unless someone has a background in computer science, deep learning, statistical modeling, or neural networks, take advice with a grain of salt.?

Fortunately, talent platforms make hiring for AI expertise easy. You can find the right talent in less than 5 days (instead of waiting until your competitor's already shipped their AI feature). You can filter by proven expertise. You can start small. And if it doesn't work, you can cut ties quickly.??

Matthew put it this way: "Once you embrace flexible talent, you'll quickly learn that top talent is always only a couple of days away. You'll realize this is more than a "plug the hole" staffing solution. Flexible talent is a leadership strategy that drives growth and innovation across your company."

[ Read Full Article ]

Ready to hire a fractional expert? There are over 10 AI specific platforms in our Industry Landscape like Tribe.AI.?

Don't just hire for AI though. Combine industry and AI expertise to create something truly powerful. For example, pair a fractional CFO from Paro, or a fractional CRO from Vendux, or scope the business case through a market researcher from Ravenry.

?? Find Your Perfect Platform In Our Landscape ??

?? Is Santa Fractional or Freelance????

Join the Debate

If you think about it, Santa is definitely not a full time employee. He works a couple months of the year. He doesn't have a boss. But is he fractional, or a freelancer?

Arguments For Fractional:

• He's definitely an Executive (160+ years of expertise?)
• He owns the strategy
• He leads the team of elves and reindeer

Arguments For Freelance:

• He executes the sleigh ride?
• He's accountable to outcomes
• He provides significant cost savings for every family?

Our Take?

?? Who cares. Whoever gives him cookies can call him whatever they want.

???Peek Into 2025 Global Freelance Laws ??

From the Netherlands, to the US, to the UK, all regions are seeing increased freelance regulation.?

Governments all over the world are grappling with the future workforce. Did you know if everyone became independent contractors tomorrow, experts estimate the US government could lose between $2-4 trillion dollars of tax revenue. Yep, TRILLION.??

Here's a sample of what happened this year.

• ???? The EU Parliament adopted the Platform Worker Directive.
• ???? The Freelance Isn’t Free Act (FIFA) in New York went into effect in August 2024. The law requires the majority of businesses to provide written contracts, record keeping, and timely payments with their independent contractors. According to New York’s FIFA page, “if your complaint is still unresolved, you can sue the Hiring Party in court”. Talk about a lawyers dream.
• ???? The UK has gone back and forth on IR35.
• ???? The Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA) in Illinois went into effect in July 2024.
• ???? The Biden Administration tried their hardest to pass the PRO Act, a California AB5 copycat that went into effect in 2020 and has been a colossal failure.

Here's a sample of what's upcoming.

• ???? California’s Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA) goes into effect on January 1st.?
• ???? The Netherlands will start enforcing the DBA Act in January 2025. According to 3C, 13% of self-employed individuals may be classified as falsely self-employed.

What do you need to know and how can you calm your legal team down??

1. Acknowledge that there will be legislation in every region, and understand the foundational logic for most regulation. Most legislation focuses on classification, and classification has clear requirements on what makes an individual freelance versus full time.?
2. Address risk requirements from the start. You can identify all potential problems and all problems have existing precedent and processes to mitigate your risk coverage.?
3. Gradually build up, using our Chili Pepper Process to graduate from low risk to high risk work that flexible talent can work on.

[ Download Chili Pepper Process ]

??? Top Human Cloud Podcast Guests ???

Ranked by most listens per episode

1. Ep 149 - Miles Everson, MBO Partners
2. Ep 122 - Nuri Demirci Lopez, Principal PM at Microsoft & Author
3. Ep 131 - Hooman Radfar, Co-Founder & CEO of Collective

????? Europe's Ready For 2025? ????

Learn From Top European Platform, Freelancers, and Companies

Europe's flexible workforce is seeing rapid growth. With over 20 million freelancers across the continent, a widespread talent shortage, and a freelance population where 90% of freelancers have no plans for a full-time job, every European leader needs to embrace a flexible workforce.?

Who better to learn from than Europe's largest freelance platform, along with leading clients and freelancers?

Panel 1

• Vincent Huguet, Malt’s CEO
• Martina Reiss, Freelancer
• Marion Latreche, Senior Indirect Procurement Officer

[ Listen ]

Panel 2

• Belén Alomar Brutau, Malt’s Chief Product Officer
• Daniel Zinner, Freelancer
• Andreas D?lecke, CEO of Kerkhoff Consulting GmbH

[ Listen ]

One Last Thing...

• Add your company to Human Cloud's Industry Landscape. Or make sure your information is accurate, we're tracking 367 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.???