The Human Cloud Podcast

While every board is talking about a contradictory great resignation, hiring freezes, and talent shortage, Akhil Seth and UST are leading Enterprises to an abundant talent pool of freelancers. Some crazy learnings: - Shortening proof of concepts from 2 months to 2 days - Fractionalizing Unicorns into multiple freelancers - Hiring and onboarding freelancers in a secure and compliant way without compromising speed and quality 2:00 - Why he's so passionate about Open Talent 12:52 - What he's working on at UST 15:55 - Industry leading solutions in virtual desktopping and change management 18:27 - Big wins for Open Talent 22:13 - Best projects to start hiring freelancers for 27:55 - The biggest challenges of hiring freelancers 37:00 - Why classification is such a big problem in hiring freelancers 41:00 - Akhil's leadership journey 45:49 - How to acquire and keep top young talent like Akhil Connect with Akhil: https://www.linkedin.com/in/akhilvseth/

The Matthew's are back in action to discuss 9.1% inflation CPI, hiring freezes at Google and layoffs at many other tech companies, the vulnerability of managers in this period, and how leaders can navigate these turbulent times. Follow along with the newsletter: https://humancloud.substack.com/

Rebekah Panepinto is your future leader. She's a technology leader with 10+ years experience driving technology solutions as a full time employee AND embracing side hustles. In the next 5 years over half the workforce will prioritize working with multiple employers rather than just 1 full time job. While most discussions center on the research, our discussion centers on how to do this, how NOT to do this, and what managing a full time job with side hustles means for the future of leadership. 1:30: Her background 2:50: Defining AI 5:30: How has technology changed - the cloud & AWS changed everything 11:10: How do we balance leaving vs staying and how your role effects this 18:30: How do employers react to side hustlers...(hint, they love it IF it's aligned) 24:50: How to make sure you don't get fired 28:00: How to create Rebekah Inc. and how Rebekah Inc is an example of talent acquisition shifting from 'ownership to access' 33:46: Every company needs to align individual autonomy with corporate goals to have long term success 44:10: How to build your team in the Human Cloud and work with them through personal projects, professional projects, and everything in between 48:00: How to find the right people - REFERRALS

This is a recording of a very special event from the Human Cloud titled, "The Future of Freelance Talent Marketplaces". We had an all star roster of participants which included: Tony Buffum (Upwork) Abby Forman (Fiverr) Niklas Lieb (Vicoland) Jon Younger (Forbes) The event included a debrief of the Forrester report as well as a round table discussion on many freelance focused topics. Thank you to everyone who participated and you for listening! Enjoy.

Jim Young (thecenteredcoach.com) is a men's burnout coach and author of the upcoming book Expansive Intimacy: How Tough Guys Defeat Burnout. Jim and Matt C discuss Jim's own path from burned-out executive to someone helping others escape their own dark places. They talk about strategies for building friend networks in middle age (Matt C asks for "a friend"), being vulnerable in a society that can view it as weakness, and how men can redefine what it means to be a "tough guy".

Managers - Effective immediately, hiring freeze, you can no longer hire any full time employees. Did you get pulled into one of these management meetings this week? You’re not alone. What also happened? We’ve heard from 10+ leaders about layoffs and hiring freezes this week alone. One was a top 5 most valuable company in the world. Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan CEO said, “That hurricane is right out there down the road coming our way. We don’t know if it’s a minor one or Superstorm Sandy. You better brace yourself.” More than 1 in 3 Americans earning at least $250,000 are living paycheck to paycheck according to Bloomberg Wealth. Dubai-based ride sharing firm Swvl cuts workforce by 32%. TaskRabbit (over 1,000 employees) goes fully remote. Unilever launches their U-Work employment model. In their words: "U-Work gives employees the freedom and flexibility associated with contract roles with the security and benefits typically linked to permanent roles". Legislation - Can we cut the sh** with prioritizing the past and prioritize talent choosing to adapt to today’s digital talent economy.

REPEAT GUEST!!! Glen is our legal wizard. We'll discuss what's legally in the way of the freelance economy, and how we can drive policies that help, not hinder the over 100 million freelancers globally. 7:25 Current platform worker proposals 13:45 What's in the way of govt's supporting the independenting workforce 18:30 How does government change happen? 27:00 What is the responsibility of freelance platforms? 31:00 What is the worst case for freelancers 32:50 What is the worst case for companies 37:40 How Covid changed mindsets and created a window of opportunity 41:23 Where will the freelance economy be in 5 years? 46:28 What can leaders do right now to push this industry forward 53:40 What can platforms be doing?

Layoffs, hiring freezes, and increased inflation...what does this mean for you as a leader? It means doubling your usage of contractors, prioritizing outcomes, and leaning into digital. The Matts also discuss Maslow's Hierarchy of Freelancer Needs and how companies and job seekers need to evolve from resume "spray and pray" and antiquated screening mechanisms.

What exactly is the future of work? It's remote first. It's freelance first. Yet these are just the surface. Below these sexy buzzwords are the industries of staffing, VMS, MSP's, contingent talent, etc., along with extensive procurement, HR and legal departments trying to read through the noise. While the terms seem boring compares to Web 3, creator economy, passion economy...they're the difference between cute thousand dollar projects and $1 billion dollar programs or companies.

Braintrust introduces full time benefits and web 3 partners. In their words, “the freedom of freelancing and stability of benefits”. Inflation CPI increases 8.3%. Starbucks hit with over 200 violations of the National Labor Relations Act according to Regional director of National Relations Board in Buffalo. Google revamps performance reviews after employees cite low pay compared to competitors. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is thriving ever since he made remote the default for every employee. Ollo (creative freelance platform) acquired by Bpool (agency platform).