Ep. 144: Ursula and Barry, SIA, The $3.8 Trillion Freelance Economy And How Talent Is Now In The Driver's Seat

Leaders, Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) is the gold standard of research on staffing and workforce solutions. Founded in 1989 by staffing pioneer Peter Yessne, SIA was one of the first to pick up on the rise of the freelance economy and has led the charge in researching its size, growth, key players, and everything related to freelance ever since. 

In this episode, we chat with Ursula Williams, President of SIA and Co-Author of Together We Rise, along with Barry Asin, Chief Analyst and former President of SIA.

Key takeaways:

1: Out of the $3.8 trillion contingent talent spend, most is allocated to independent contractors, and much of it is unmanaged.

2: SIA first identified the freelance economy as early as 2004 in the form of ‘contingent talent.’ 

3: SIA started noticing talent platforms around 2010: Tech was the driver for freelance, starting with VMS (vendor management systems), then talent platforms.

5: What’s changed? Talent is now in the driver's seat.

6: There is a clear distinction between the B2B and B2C sides of external talent.

7: We’re still not any closer to agreeing on what to call this space.

Listeners will walk away with a tangible understanding of the space, where it’s going, and how to seize the opportunity of freelance as a sourcing strategy or an industry to build in.