The global eCommerce industry is thriving. Even though retail has gradually shifted from being mainly offline to online activity, the recent social distancing measures brought by the COVID-19 pandemic took eCommerce growth to an unprecedented rate. In Europe alone, the past year brought a total of USD 393 billion worth of eCommerce transactions. The figures are expected to grow towards a half-billion transactions in 2025.
The promising growth rate means more opportunities for retailers to innovate and expand their market share. On the other hand, the eCommerce industry may see legacy brands transforming digitally and more entry-level players testing their luck in the thriving industry. One thing is sure. The eCommerce industry is set to be even more competitive than before. As newer brands attempt to take over the spotlight, existing, well-established players are pushed to innovate and stay ahead of the competition.
As eCommerce brands continue to innovate, another set of issues emerged. There are not enough tech talents that have long been the backbone of eCommerce brands. 80% of tech and engineering managers report a gap between available technical talent and the type of talent they need. Tech jobs in continental Europe rise by 9% in the first quarter and 40% higher than Q3 2020. Organizations across the region are struggling to recruit and retain tech talents. In fact, in the EU, there is a shortage of 4.9 million people with the necessary skill sets required in the field of technology.
In the challenge of finding tech talents, organizations are tapping into the pool of freelance professionals. The recent trend of the gig economy sees qualified professionals in tech and engineering shifting towards freelance employment—26.5% of freelancers in Europe are from the IT and technology fields. At the same time, companies are starting to see freelance professionals as a viable alternative to filling tech and engineering vacancies for the following reasons.
Efficient Hiring Process
Hiring full-time employees usually takes a lot of time due to the traditional processes involved. There are usually layers of interviews and various documents required. The vetting and decision-making process also takes time. After all, a full-time employee is expected to stay for a long time, not just on a project basis. Aside from simply focusing on skills and technical capacity, there are other factors like personality and culture fit as well as a career path. Hiring freelancers, on the other hand, is fast and efficient as they can already start working on a project as soon as one week after they are hired.
Access to Talent
Hiring full-time employees are usually bound by location in relevance to the base of the hiring company. In areas where tech talents are limited, this is impractical. Hiring highly skilled, experienced, and professional freelancers enable organizations to tap into experienced tech experts who have been verified all across Europe.
Quality Control
Working with professional freelancers does not mean an absence of quality control. Trusted platforms come with dedicated quality control by experts. For organizations hiring full-time employees, developing their in-house quality control capabilities is also a must and can take up resources such as time and budget.
Cost of Human Resources
A full-time employee’s annual wages and other maintenance-related expenditures may not seem like a cost-efficient solution when working on specific projects. On average, the salary of a full-time developer ranges from EUR 50,000 to EUR 71,000 in Germany. On the other hand, hiring freelance professionals usually incurs a fixed fee, depending on the scale of the project.
Compatibility with Projects
Organizations can rest assured that their hired freelance professionals will be mission-ready, with customized skills for the project. On the other hand, full-time resources in the company may not always be equipped for the task. Their deployment may also be limited by access or internal bureaucracy of resource usage.
Undoubtedly, players in the eCommerce industry are facing the pressure to grow and innovate faster than ever before, with the unprecedented acceleration of online shopping worldwide. Organizations will have to go beyond traditional hiring solutions to maintain adequate tech talents to drive that innovation. Here at Upper, we enable companies and top product & tech freelancers to work together in a future-proof, mutually trusted setup. Reach out to our team today and let’s see how we can help you grow.