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Bet Big on Gig in 2023

By Michael P. Morris, Co-founder and CEO of Torc

After 20+ years of future of work advocates pushing to alter software development workplace paradigms for the better, the talent marketplace space has finally hit the acceptance stage. 2023 is primed to utilize a distributed contract workforce, adopt hybrid staffing models and recruit part and full-time staff via AI-driven talent matching platforms in earnest - proving that both sides of the employment equation (workers and companies) are ready to bet big on gig.

Revamping the mindset around enterprise software initiatives to be looked at in terms of gigs (projects/jobs that require high quality PT, FT workers on demand) has provided new flexibility for companies to address old (yet foundational) functions (recruitment, retention, team building, mentoring, succession planning) with modern approaches. The CTO and development organization now find themselves in the same boat as the CHRO and HR department - each looking to streamline finding/hiring/onboarding to create engaging work environments and valuable communities that preserve talent with the goal of reducing turnover/costs, advancing careers, and maintaining work/life balance (all while delivering innovative technology).

Part of empowering software developers to be successful and more productive (for themselves and a gig) comes with companies accepting that open talent models will likely be the reason the best of the best won't work full time in house ever again. The greatest demand I've seen for that type of talented gigger over the past 12 months has been in six key software disciplines:

• Front end developer
• Back end developer
• Full stack developer
• DevOps engineer
• Cloud architect
• Data engineer

Part of betting big on gig means providing a truly compelling developer experience. If companies aim to do that, the talent (and ROI) will come.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

About Michael P. Morris, Co-Founder | CEO | Board Member of Torc

 

Mike is the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Torc, an AI-driven on-demand developer marketplace, and is on its board of directors. A gig economy software development advocate, Mike is known globally as a tech pioneer who set the standard for what a freelance marketplace should look like (long before the world was ready for it).

As a visionary powering Torc, Mike draws on three decades of strategic technology and management experience. Since 2001, Mike held leadership roles at Topcoder and was an integral part of its successful acquisition by Wipro in his last four years as CEO. Prior to that, Mike was the General Manager|SVP of Appirio's crowd-for-cloud venture Cloudspokes, and brokered the acquisition of Topcoder in 2013. Early in his career he excelled through the ranks of technology companies like CMGi, Tallan, and Invensys.

A humble and proud Boston College double Eagle, guest lecturer (Harvard, MIT, NYU, UC Berkeley) and engineer at heart, Mike also makes time to volunteer. Most notably, as a board member for the Academy of Applied Sciences sponsored by the University of New Hampshire, he's a vocal proponent for STEAM education and bringing to fruition the creative ideas of young inventors everywhere. Mike also sits on the board of directors for two future of work companies in Communo and Open Assembly.

Mike does his best to unplug when he can and enjoys water skiing and coaching lacrosse and hockey. He resides in "Live Free or Die" country with his Princess Leia look-alike wife, their four padawans, and a wookie.