1 company out of 2 saw one of its employees become a freelancer in 2021

 During the health crisis, many talents made the choice to become independents. This status has grown more and the freelancers are workers who are increasingly recognized by companies. Inevitably, one may wonder if this already well-underway movement will not soon become a trend towards which a majority will move.

Evolution of the job market

For businesses

Some businesses are still suffering from the consequences of key talent leaving for independence. The shortage of qualified freelancers and their retention are also becoming major problems since these talents no longer correspond to the traditional recruitment process. Indeed, a majority no longer want to be hired on a permanent contract.

While these movements are explained by both economic and societal factors, it is in reality our relationship to work that is changing. To build a career, talents no longer take the same direction as their elders. In fact, gaining seniority within the same company for ten or twenty years is no longer an objective for many of them. This is replaced by other perspectives, such as making your skills and commitment available to a company whose culture is consistent with its personal values.

For freelancers

On the talent side, many people fully realize their professional project as soon as they find an experience that echoes their deep aspirations. This status also offers them more autonomy and flexibility, two reasons mainly cited when asked why they preferred the Freelancing. This is also why 9 out of 10 freelancers want to remain independent.

But that's not always the choice that talent prefers. Indeed, this status is still too often associated with precariousness for a large majority of self-employed people. Some choose it by default because they cannot find a permanent position that meets their expectations.

Companies are thus losing employees who change their status but above all face a loss of motivation among an increasingly growing number of talents in search of meaning.

What options are left for companies looking for highly qualified profiles?

For the time being, companies have a first step to take: to realize that they will have to adapt or at least take into consideration some of the desires of talent in order to remain attractive on the market.

So, to anticipate recruitment difficulties and limit the departure of talent, we identified three possible actions:

• Taking into account the expectations of candidates and transforming the recruitment process to make the company more attractive
• Use a recruitment agency and/or a matchmaking company
• Focus on new talent profiles, such as independent consultants

If the latter option is increasingly considered by companies, the world of work as we know it will undoubtedly evolve towards a form of hybridization, where employees and freelancers will collaborate together on the same project in order to achieve common goals.

*Cooptalis study, September 2021