Beware of the pitfalls of hiring gig workers

Self-employed gig workers save businesses money, but they can also cause big headaches.

With a 4 percent unemployment rate, the market for quality workers is tight, which makes hiring a gig worker tempting. And, there are a lot of gig workers. According to a recent study by Intuit (owner of TurboTax), about 34 percent of the workforce in the United States is composed of gig workers. By 2020, the number is expected to reach 43 percent.

With those numbers, small businesses can find a huge pool of talent, but unless managers choose carefully, projects can take a major hit in reliability, unanticipated costs, and quality of work.

As Satya Purna, founder of ZAG Studios, a brand strategy company, told Business News Daily (BND), “It’s a mixed bag. It’s difficult to find freelancers who can keep up a high quality of work. They also have their own preferences. They may change their focus midway (through a project), so you’ll need to find a new person.”

Gig work is often used to supplement income and that means a gig worker’s allegiance is somewhere else. According to Shiftgig, a survey of gig workers showed 51 percent of them had full-time jobs.

Gig work can also be an impulsive decision. According to Shiftgig, the momentum of gig work is driven by the smartphone. “ItÕs as easy to book a side hustle as it is to order pizza,” one CEO told Talent 10X.

One small business owner said she has had problems with gig workers dropping projects cold. Even contracts don’t help small business because to enforce one means going to court.

If you are planning to hire a gig worker, focus on true freelancers who aren’t working full-time for another company. Assign projects in small steps, with clear guidelines on what is to be done and when. Pay well and stress that a gig worker can also be hired for the next step in a project should the work be acceptable.