What You Won't Know Until You Try

12/16/19 • 39 min

Jumping into the talent economy can definitely feel like a daunting step. There’s a stigma around leaving a cushy full-time corporate job to jump into the uncertainty of the freelance world.

Look at it this way: You don’t know what you’re missing until you give it a shot.

With the explosion of freelance workers and the imminent decline of full-time work, nothing is really as “secure” as it seems. At this point, it’s just as risky to stay in a full-time corporate job as it is to freelance.

In this episode, I talk with Jonny Dunning, the founder and CEO of the on-demand workforce management system Talon. This talent management platform helps freelancers live up to their fullest potential while helping companies find the experts they need to survive and thrive in the changing world.

Jonny and I talk about the risks and rewards that come with diving into the freelance lifestyle, how companies utilize on-demand workers, and what the future of freelancing with these on-demand talent platforms looks like. Throughout our conversation, Jonny shares insights into why more and more companies are shifting away from using staffing firms to hire talent, how a workforce management system benefits the freelancer and the company, and how the future of work affects every generation of workers differently.

Get ready to learn about the shifting nature of work and figure out if it’s the right time for you to dive into the talent economy.

Some questions I ask:

How did you make the decision to leave college and start traveling?
How did you get your job at Jobsite?
Have you seen a change in the way that people are looking at working?
How do you help companies navigate their need for faster access to talent?
What led you to found Talon?
What’s the difference between freelancing and staffing programs?
What do the next five years look like for Talon?

In this episode, you will learn:

Why it’s important to buck the trend and test your limits once in a while.
How the shift to on-demand work spans generations.
How global workforces like Toptal integrate with staffing companies and freelance management systems.
Why companies are now shifting to hire talent based on quality rather than cost.
How the job board markets and on-demand talent economy are evolving in similar ways.

Connect with Jonny Dunning:

Talon

Resources:

CWS Summit

Trance by Adam Southward

About The Talent Economy Podcast:

Companies today face a global war for talent. Highly skilled on-demand talent demand flexibility around the way they work and live. This future of work podcast brings together thought leaders, staffing experts, and top freelancers to talk about the evolving nature of work, the future of freelancers, and how companies can navigate these changes to remain competitive, drive innovation, and ensure success.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jumping into the talent economy can definitely feel like a daunting step. There’s a stigma around leaving a cushy full-time corporate job to jump into the uncertainty of the freelance world.

Look at it this way: You don’t know what you’re missing until you give it a shot.

Get ready to learn about the shifting nature of work and figure out if it’s the right time for you to dive into the talent economy.

Some questions I ask:

How did you make the decision to leave college and start traveling?
How did you get your job at Jobsite?
Have you seen a change in the way that people are looking at working?
How do you help companies navigate their need for faster access to talent?
What led you to found Talon?
What’s the difference between freelancing and staffing programs?
What do the next five years look like for Talon?

In this episode, you will learn:

Why it’s important to buck the trend and test your limits once in a while.
How the shift to on-demand work spans generations.
How global workforces like Toptal integrate with staffing companies and freelance management systems.
Why companies are now shifting to hire talent based on quality rather than cost.
How the job board markets and on-demand talent economy are evolving in similar ways.

Connect with Jonny Dunning:

Talon

Resources:

CWS Summit

Trance by Adam Southward

About The Talent Economy Podcast:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Shift The Future of Work

The future of work is no longer a distant dream. The future of work is today’s reality.

Changes to the nature of work and organizations’ fundamentals are finally starting to create space for women and those sitting at the margins.

In this episode, I talk with Gina Hadley, head and co-founder of The Second Shift, who was part of the freelance economy before the term even existed. Gina’s mission is to revolutionize working cultures to support and retain women—including mothers—by demonstrating how even small changes ripple into huge impact toward creating a more sustainable workplace.

Gina, however, is not making just small ripples; she’s inspiring huge waves in the world of work. Throughout our conversation, Gina shares her insights into why companies with strict rules and regulations must undergo stark transformation to regain the talent’s trust. She also shares specific strategies around how companies can get the best out of diverse teams without making them feel like inmates trapped in a prison.

It all comes down to giving good work, creating a safe environment, providing adequate flexibility, and empowering the talent.

Get ready to learn how Gina and The Second Shift are making a seismic and systemic change in the American workplace for professional women.

Some questions I ask:

● How did you decide to spend your career pursuing the mission of The Second Shift?

● What’s the meaning behind the name “The Second Shift”?

● Why do you dislike the term gig economy?

● What is your advice to someone trying to work in a new way?

In this episode, you will learn:

● How Gina started working as a freelancer.

● What the membership of The Second Shift looks like.

● Why companies need to get on board with the future of work.

● What millennials are really looking for in their work.

● How rewarding workers through promoting them to managerial positions creates a toxic environment.

● Why there is a need for a seismic and systemic change in the American workplace.

Connect with Gina Hadley:

Gina’s LinkedIn

The Second Shift

[email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

The Importance of Learning How To Learn

So, you’ve earned your college degree, but have you actually learned how to learn?

Continuously reskilling within the workforce is essential to keeping up with our rapidly changing world of work. Without understanding how and when to reskill employees, everyone falls behind. That’s what makes freelancers stand out in the crowd: They’re constantly reskilling for the future and revamping their expertise in areas where others have failed to keep up.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Greetje “Gretta” Corporaal about the value of constantly learning and improving within the talent economy. Gretta is a sociologist of work & organizations at the Oxford Internet Institute. Her research focuses on the rise of online labor platforms, specifically how companies embrace talent platforms to bring remote workers into the company.

Throughout the conversation, Gretta and I discuss why freelancers are so adept at continuous reskilling. We dive into why companies need to engage these freelancers and what the future holds for workers around the globe.

Get ready to learn about the value of digital reskilling within the workforce industry from both a company and an individual perspective.

Some questions I ask:

What surprised you about companies that were starting to embrace on-demand talent platforms?
What is the 3S Framework?
What is the World Economic Forum?
How should people be thinking about the future of the way they work?

In this episode, you will learn: