Every week we comb through the news to find employment trends affecting the hospitality industry so you don’t have to. This week’s topic: hospitality and the gig economy.
Hospitality and the Gig Economy
For the past several years, the gig economy has been growing in popularity due to its’ ability to provide flexible employment to millions of workers and a new way to find labor for businesses around the world. Like ride sharing, ‘gigging’ will one day become a household name.
While there are numerous advantages to engaging in the gig economy, often called the “on-demand” market, hospitality has been one of the last industries to fully embrace all gig work has to offer. In this article, we’ll highlight a few ways hospitality and the gig economy can benefit from each other:
- No prescription fees. Many third parties that provide gig labor, LGC for example, do not require upfront costs for signing up with their system. In our case, you’ll only pay once you place an order for staff.
- Less risk. In our case, employees are hired on directly by LGC, which means our clients are not responsible for compliance related costs such as background checks, drug tests, or workers compensation. Keep in mind that many staffing partners hire employees on as 1099 contractors, meaning different rules apply.
- Bigger talent pool. One of the most common challenges when hiring in the hospitality industry is low unemployment. By securing labor in a non-traditional way – in this case, through utilizing gig workers – there will be more candidates able to work these positions. The flexibility and choice offered in the gig economy means even workers with a full-time job can find a gig that fits into their schedule.
- Avoid scheduling blunders. Gig labor is a great option if you need to supplement your employees’ schedules. For example, if you don’t have enough workers for an event or someone didn’t show up to a shift, gig workers can be easily deployed to your business. If you experience seasonality, hiring gig workers through those busier times can be extremely useful and cost effective.
It’s estimated that by 2020, “the number of self-employed workers in the United States is projected to triple to 42 million people.” With the current workforce in the U.S. around 160 million, this projection shows over 25% of the labor pool working independently. Regardless of the industry you’re in, if your business has been considering using a gig labor option, it’s a great time to take that leap. As for hospitality and the gig economy, we’re excited to see how this pair grow in the future.