Findings from the
CrowdEmploy
project
Dynamics of Virtual Work Meeting
Athens, 8th October 2013
Anne Green
Institute for Employment Research
University of Warwick, UK
[email protected]
Introduction to the CrowdEmploy project
CrowdEmploy:
 Study commissioned by IPTS, European Commission
Project aim:
 To explore internet-enabled exchanges with potential to
impact on employment and the employability of
individuals
Research questions:
 How do internet-enabled models based on exchange or
donation of labour or capital operate from both the user
and operator perspectives?
 What are the opportunities and challenges that these
services present for employment and employability?
Aspects of employment and employability
 Enabling support factors
 Individual factors: demographic characteristics,
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economic position, employability skills and
attributes/characteristics, disposition to enhancing
employability, labour market and job seeking
knowledge
Individual circumstances: household composition,
household work culture, access to resources
Employers’ practices: recruitment and selection
Local contextual factors: features of local employment
Macro level factors: state of the macro economy
Methodology
 Multiple sources of evidence – including desk
research and a mapping exercise, interviews
 Six case studies undertaken
 Semi-structured interviews with users
(‘buyers’ and ‘sellers’) and platform
managers/owners
 Reflection on the experiences of users – with a
particular focus on issues relating to
employability
Focus of the study
CSF
CSW
CSV
• PleaseFund.Us
• SociosInversores
• PeoplePerHour
• Slivers of Time
• Do.it
• Tauschen-ohne-geld
PleaseFund.Us (1)
 Reward-based UK-based
crowdfunding platform:
works on an ‘all or
nothing’ basis;
a fee is charged to
successful projects
 Projects include books,
games, business travel,
community projects, etc.
Fundraisers developed skills:
 practical skills – e.g. using
Excel, making a video, etc.
 presentation and
organisational skills
 managing their public
relations and image
 skills brought to CSF are
more important than skills
gained
PleaseFund.Us (2)
 Fundraisers’ social networks
are the main community of
supporters
 Use of social media to
‘reactivate’ personal
connections and latent
support
 “I don’t think we got any
new people, they are people
in peripheral communities
who knew people, who knew
people who knew us”
Geography:
 Nothing to stop projects from
gathering funds from around
the world BUT the local aspect
of campaigns came through
 Some projects have greater
scope for reaching out over an
extended geography than
others – some projects are by
definition local
 Language may be a limiting
factor
SocioInversores (1)
 Equity-based crowdfunding
platform allowing
entrepreneurs to access
financial resources from other
Internet users
 Founded in 2011 in Spain context of economic crisis
 Acts as an intermediary
between entrepreneurs and
investors – charges a
commission on money invested
in the project or business idea;
does not act as a bank
 A team of analysts at
SocioInversores looks into
the feasibility of projects –
importance of trust
 Entrepreneurs showcase
business ideas Investors
search for investment
opportunities
 A small number of investors
is best option
 Employment opportunities
SocioInversores (2)
Geography:
 ICT enables relations to take place at a distance
 Example of an investor with care responsibilities –
can invest and take an interest from home
 Projects concentrated in Madrid, Barcelona and
Valencia
 “The Internet, Skype, etc, allow you to communicate at
a distance but there are nuances that cannot be
communicated but in person” (Investor)
 Expanded to Latin America
PeoplePerHour – introduction (1)
 A CSW matching platform – established 2007
 Categories of work include design, Web development,
writing, business support, video/ photo/ audio, admin,
marketing and PR, translation, software development,
social media
 May 2013 – 450,000 users in over 200 countries:
64% users in UK; next largest shares India, US and Pakistan
 Typical ‘buyers’ are micro-businesses with 1-10 employees
 Feedback and ratings system – issues for sellers
PeoplePerHour – how it operates (2)
Buyers
Sellers
 Post a job – outlining what is
 Build a profile – outlining story
needed, receive proposals,
review and select, make a
downpayment to start the job,
which is released on
completion
 Search ‘Hourlies’ – see if offers
meet requirements
 Search sellers’ profiles and
contact freelancers directly
 NO CHARGES
and skills
 Search for jobs and submit a
proposal directly – search and
get notifications of jobs
 Post ‘Hourlies’ – outline what
can do for a fixed price
 PeoplePerHour ‘TOP SLICE’
PAYMENT
PeoplePerHour: motivation - buyers
Cost
Non-cost
 “It costs nothing to
 Ease of use
advertise a job - there is
 Speed of response
nothing to lose”
 One-off services
 No overheads
 Generate ideas
 More cost-effective to pay
 Access to many more
‘per task’ than ‘per hour’
sellers than by
 No worries about
conventional means
employment legislation –
so implications for sellers
PeoplePerHour: motivation - sellers
Economic
Non-economic
 Supplementing income – for
 Life course – e.g. work
employees and existing
freelancers
 Gaining an income –
following redundancy
 (Re)entry to the labour
market – e.g. after sickness
 Overcoming discrimination
in the labour market
during/ after pregnancy
 Flexibility – especially for
childcare:
“It fits in so well with the
family”
 Desire to be self-employed
 Something to do
PeoplePerHour: skills development
 Formal qualifications helpful for CSW in global
marketplace – perhaps not recognised as a local
employee:
“We contacted you because you had a Masters degree”
(buyer to seller)
 Onus on the seller to develop skills:
“I’m not interested in people honing their skills”
(buyer)
 Costs for skills development borne by the individual:
“I’d consider short courses, but I don’t want to be in
debt for studying”
(seller)
PeoplePerHour: geography
 “You can as easily work with
people in the Philippines as
in Peckham” (buyer)
 Can test ideas on cheaper
sites first (buyer)
 “A great portal onto the
world” – “I can do this from
anywhere” (seller)
 Work and home – merge or
otherwise (seller)
 “Working for peanuts” to
‘break in’ – then “competing
against people where living
wages are a lot lower”
(seller)
 Need to learn “not to
undersell yourself” and “not
to chase work at all costs”
(seller)
Slivers of Time (1)
 Provider of software and
expertise supporting an
agency to administer and
manage the system
 Matching - online staff
booking and time
management platform
 Operates in public, private
and voluntary sectors
 Offers community based
paid and unpaid work local
 Opportunities managed
by agencies who use
Slivers of Time system
 Agency vets sellers
 Sophisticated system individuals can constantly
manage their availability
(flexibility and control on
an hour by hour basis)
Slivers of Time (2)
 Way of working beyond retirement – to remain
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engaged and included in the labour market
Provides extra income
Opportunity to do work where have experience
or to do something different – although rather
limited opportunities for skills development
‘Sellers’ are vetted - onus on ‘sellers’ to prove
their reliability
Highly committed
Do-It (1)
 UK-based broker for organisations seeking to recruit
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volunteers and volunteers seeking opportunities
Voluntary organisations may use Do-It alongside their
own websites
Potential volunteers can search on activities (online or
otherwise), availability and location – and select
Online activities include reviewing publications, online
research, e-campaigning, online forum moderation,
consultancy roles, peer support (involves training), etc.
Volunteers emphasised:
– altruism
– enhancing employability
Do-It (2)
Geography:
 “You Do-It from home, You
can Do-It wherever you
want. You are basically your
own boss in that sense.”
 “I thought if I don’t get any
paid work, if I got some
voluntary work this would be
good for the CV. I was
looking for anything
basically. The virtual
element was appealing as I
could do it from home.”
Skills:
 Communicating online
 Learn use of language
without visual cues
 “The disadvantages are you
gain no interpersonal skills,
there is no interpersonal
contact; I just work on my
computer and send stuff
back.”
 “Because it is virtual it is
harder to put on the CV.”
Tauschen-ohne-geld (Exchange without money)
 Initial idea of the website
(www.tauschen-ohnegeld.de) was to connect
regional German reciprocal
exchange rings
 Limits of geography: not
successful; exchange rings
are highly LOCAL – many
services are local (lawn
mowing, hairdressing, help
with practical tasks, etc.);
and other sites exist for
provision of extra-local
services e.g. holidays
 LoWi e.V. – example of
local ring
 Use ICT for documenting
services and goods offered
and required and recording
transactions
 SOCIAL contact is central –
“personal contact leads to
trust”; “human
communication is at the
centre of attention”
 Supportive environment in
which to hone skills
Synthesis – from these cases (1)
DIVERSITY
 Within and between
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platform types
Types of employers /
organisations using CS
Individuals can be:
‘sellers’ and ‘buyers’
reactive and proactive
self-employed and
employees
‘at work’ and ‘at home’
FLEXIBILITY
 Users need to be flexible to
use platforms
 Platforms facilitate flexible
working
GEOGRAPHY
 Enables global working –
increased reach of ‘buyers’
and ‘sellers’
 Facilitates local working /
exchange
Synthesis (2)
SUPPORTING ONLY
 platforms are
‘supporting tools’
only – individuals
need to bring existing
skills and networks to
use them
 BUT individuals can
use platforms as a
launch pad for
broadening skills and
networks, or
changing career
BUYERS / EMPLOYERS can
 Use cheaper labour elsewhere
 Reduce (and change) employment
opportunities locally
 Reduce inputs to, and responsibility
for, workers – as an ‘employer’ and a
‘training provider’
 Change (and make more transparent)
recruitment and selection of workers
 Organise work differently
 Create new employment and learning
opportunities
 Open up employment opportunities
for people who might otherwise be
unable to take them
Synthesis (3)
Prerequisites
Self starter
Developed
Support
Business skills
Awareness
raising:
(non)employed
Self efficacy
Manage time
Know market
Communication
skills
Customer
relations
IT skills
Literacy
Diversity of skills
Training:
- various
- bite-sized
Partnerships –
intermediaries
and platforms
For more information
Anne Green
Institute for Employment Research
University of Warwick
Coventry, UK
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +44 (0) 24 765 24113
On behalf of the CrowdEmploy Project Team:
Anne Green, Maria de Hoyos, Sally-Anne Barnes, Heike Behle,
Beate Baldauf
www.warwick.ac.uk/ier