Sustainable Crowdsourcing for Business 2.0

When first wrapping their minds around Crowdsourced labor, some employers seem hesitant to turn assignments over to an anonymous workforce ("Who are these people and how do we know they’ll do a good job?"). A copywriter I met recently equated crowdsourcing with an image of a thousand monkeys banging on keyboards--random chaos. Whether it be prejudice against primates or some other primal fear, there can be any number of reasons for shunning the Crowd--ultimately having more to do with lack of trust than talent. Some employers may not comfortable with an unknown entity taking on tasks that may require subtle knowledge of their industry and company protocols. Others may be concerned that sensitive company data and materials would be circulated to a faceless mob creating all kinds of confidentiality issues.

Our JobSpooler platform offers a unique solution to this dilemma: a private job listing option. A private job is not displayed in public job listings; it is separately distributed to a 'trusted tribe'--a custom group of freelancers who already have both the training and trust of the employer. This simple "velvet rope" feature allows employers to use JobSpooler features in a modular fashion. They can take advantage of fragmented task division, asynchronous production and automated payment functions while bringing their own crowd of freelancers to the party.

Granted, Crowdsourcing model does not work with every type of project that comes up. Like any business tool, it should be used judiciously where the 'atomization' of a job makes good sense (anything that is modular, tabular, or template oriented for example). A B.Y.O.F (Bring Your own Freelancers) approach is useful when tasks are more complex or have an elaborate set of guidelines. If there is a particular idiosyncratic way that a company likes to set up digital assets, code flash objects, style documents, write reports, or create presentations--it can save time by bringing in people who already know the drill. The crowdsourcing platform allows the project manager to work more efficiently without having to micro-manage dozens of freelancers--every task is automatically accounted for, productivity is tracked, and nobody has to deal with a pile of invoices later.

Custom Crowdsourcing may also appeal to businesses that have recently experienced layoffs. While management reduces payroll they often increase demands on the remaining workers. The company lets go of skilled people in whom time and training have been invested. Suddenly the reduced staff is doing 10-50% more than they were doing before just to maintain previous levels of productivity. Though the situation is distressing for all parties, it can be made more tolerable by tapping into this group of former employees on an ad-hoc basis when necessary.

Is this really any different than a traditional freelance situation? This is not quite the same as firing someone and then asking them to come back and work as an independent contractor. That scenario is often fraught with legal and social issues. By contrast, crowdsourcing projects to former employees through a third-party can be a more fair and equitable solution under difficult circumstances. Instead of a few lucky ones getting the call, every qualified person gets an opportunity to work on a piece of the divided project if they so choose while having the freedom to opt-out when other opportunities come up. The company gets access to the people and the skills without having to work out any special administrative arrangements. The project gets done faster because more hands are pitching in. Overburdened staff can concentrate on the most important tasks in-house while crowdsourcing the overflow. The workers benefit from the cashflow and flexible scheduling while free to pursue their next career move.

Maintaining a loose working relationship with former employees can make it easier to bring the best ones back when company fortunes improve. Others may find they enjoy some of the benefits of freelancing (more pajama time) and prefer to maintain a freelance arrangement.

Over time, crowd-savvy companies may begin to mix use of custom crowds with common crowds. Trusted Tribes may be more reliable executing complex confidential assignments while common crowds perform more of the cookie-cutter tasks. By rethinking the traditional ways that people and projects are allocated, businesses can enjoy the tremendous productivity potential of Crowdsourcing without dreading an unruly mob of chimpanzees running amok with company assets.