Companies have gotten lean during the recession, and in many cases that has led to increased profits. Technology has advanced to the point where mobile applications, real-time online collaboration and video conferencing provide inexpensive alternatives to having workers in an office, and the Internet allows companies to easily access brain power across the globe.
Tom Ringo, the head of IBM Human Capital Management (the consultancy arm of the company), said the firm’s global workforce of 390,000 permanent employees could be reduced to 100,000 by 2017, the date by which IBM is due to complete its HR transformation program. Ringo said the firm would employ “crowd- sourcing” and re-hire workers as contractors for specific projects when necessary, adding, “There would be no building costs, no pensions, and no healthcare costs, making huge savings.” An IBM spokesman later said Ringo’s comments were without merit. (Personnel Today, 4/23/10)
Whether IBM actually makes the transition to a mostly crowd-sourced workforce or not, the fact that it has discussed the possibility is significant. The expectation has been that hiring would increase not long after economic growth, but has this recession taught companies new lessons about the merits of lean staffing and the possibilities of technology? Might we see a significant segment of the U.S. labor force become permanent freelancers, doing work on demand?
Eric Zavolinsky
