There’s a lot of buzz and hype (both positive and negative) around the rapidly growing ‘gig economy’ and the implications, not only for business, but for the workforce and recruitment in general.

While the gig economy is undoubtedly growing, this does not mean that it is a replacement for traditional employment models.

Rather, as Daniel Negro, Director of Alexander Appointments explains, businesses need to embrace both the traditional and emerging models of employment to attain the highest levels of expertise and experience to improve efficiencies and drive cost-savings.

But what exactly is the gig economy and is it really that new?

The gig economy is defined as a labour market in which short-term contracts and freelance work is more prevalent than permanent jobs.

“Temporary and contract work has been around for a long time but in the gig economy, people are employed on an as-needs basis, often fulfilling niche roles for short periods rather than simply filling a position while someone is away on long-service or maternity leave,” Daniel explains.

Bringing staff in for short term ‘gigs’ is not limited to junior admin roles. In fact, there is a growing trend to employ executives on a gig basis.

“This is often successful as it allows companies to benefit from expertise that their own executives might be lacking but which is not required on an ongoing permanent basis,” says Daniel.

Traditional models of employment still going strong

Despite the popularity of the gig economy, Daniel believes there is still a strong need for traditional employment models.

Between 0296594411, 32% of the workforce were employed in a freelance capacity, valuing job flexibility over job security. This means the majority of the workforce were still employed under the traditional full-time, part-time and casual model.

“Companies want to hold onto talented staff. This is the reason we often see people who match the corporate values of the company they are contracting for, end up attaining a permanent position there,” says Daniel.

“Permanent staff also have the benefit of in-house experience and understanding of company procedures and culture.”

Flexibility is the key

“People still value the job security of permanent employment. However, the emerging workforce are looking for companies that offer flexibility such as work-from-home opportunities and flexible working hours,” says Daniel.

“The key to successful recruitment of staff is to be open to both traditional and emerging models of employment. Being open to both means having access to a larger workforce marketplace.”