Talent shortages and sad freelancers

This is some interesting stuff. In 2022, the biggest problem that staffing firms in the US had were talent shortages. What that sounds like is too much work and not enough people to go around.

It does state that a reduction in job requisitions from clients is also a challenge, but the problem is only 1/3 as big as talent shortages.

And when you look at hiring managers, the top three reasons they hire contingent labor (freelancers, contractors, consultants) are to:

1. Meet temporary workload demands (38%)
2. Boost productivity (35%)
3. Get tasks done quicker (33%)

This research comes from MBO Partners. Full research here.

There’s work out there. And it seems that these companies want this work done fast.

A freelance marketplace almost always has the problem of too many workers and not enough work. This makes for sad freelancers who can’t make consistent income. But staffing firms apparently have too much work and not enough people? I mean come on, that sounds like match made in heaven.

Below is from the same research that MBO Partners did. The biggest challenges of using this contingent labor are:

1. Finding specialized talent
2. Making sure the work quality is consistent
3. Hiring speed and managing turnover

And speed comes up again as a priority. So it’s not just speed to get work done, but speed to hire the right people who are good at what they do.

All I’m saying with this post is that it seems the supply and demand of labor isn’t equal across the board. So can you take the excess of supply in one place and spread it to where it’s more needed? Is it not possible to match discouraged freelancers who are ready to work right now with clients who need work done right now?

I don’t know much about the staffing industry or hiring managers, but on the surface this looks like a really good area to research further. Does the staffing industry only look for employees? What companies are these hiring managers working for that need work done quick? What’s the nature of the work?

I don’t want to get my hopes up though. I think my ignorance of staffing and HR is blinding me to things that a more experienced eye would see as roadblocks. It undoubtedly won’t be as simple as “Hey staffing firms, there are freelancers out here who would be happy to do work. Boom! Talent shortage solved!”