WEBVTT - Independent Talent Skills Fueling Economic Recovery

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Quick Takes Tim Stinovic from Bloomberg Radio. Every time I

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<v Speaker 1>talked with the company and senior leaders, I was doing it.

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<v Speaker 1>So this morning, the really issue of the workforce, access

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<v Speaker 1>to workers, reskilling, figuring out the way forward post pandemic. Really,

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<v Speaker 1>what comes up a lot too is hybrid flexibility, work patterns.

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<v Speaker 1>All of this continues to come up. We're all trying

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<v Speaker 1>to figure it out our way forward. Our next guest

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<v Speaker 1>has often joined us to talk about all of this.

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<v Speaker 1>She's got a front seat to it. Great to add

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<v Speaker 1>back with us, Jody Miller. She's co founder, co CEO

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<v Speaker 1>and chairwoman at Business Talent Group BTG, and she's back

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<v Speaker 1>with us on the phone from Los Angeles. How are

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<v Speaker 1>you great, Carol, Thanks so much for having me. It's

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<v Speaker 1>great to have you here, and it's a great day

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<v Speaker 1>to talk with you, especially when we just heard from J. Powell,

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<v Speaker 1>Chairman of the Federal Reserve, and he says the labor

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<v Speaker 1>market has a ways to go in terms of getting

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<v Speaker 1>back to those pre pandemic levels. How do you see

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<v Speaker 1>it well from our point of view, which is, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>fast moving on demand talent. It's it's booming. Um. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>everyone in the space is seeing you know, double digit

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<v Speaker 1>growth and there's enormous demand and talent is busy, and

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<v Speaker 1>uh so it's a it's a good time to be

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<v Speaker 1>an independent professional. Well, remind our audience that the kind

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<v Speaker 1>of talent you're dealing with, right, because we know that

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<v Speaker 1>there's dislocations in the workforce. Where are you seeing, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>this on demand talent, where is it really being called upon?

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<v Speaker 1>So we deal with what we would call the high

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<v Speaker 1>high end independent talent, former management consultants, former executive subject

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<v Speaker 1>matter experts um, you know, senior business people who can

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<v Speaker 1>go in and take on projects immediately. And you know,

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<v Speaker 1>it's interesting. We just did our fourth Skills Index and

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<v Speaker 1>what we found, not surprisingly, is there a category of

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<v Speaker 1>things that are somewhat related to the COVID period that

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<v Speaker 1>are growing very fast. So B two B marketing, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>anyone who's in B two B marketing knows you had

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<v Speaker 1>to we write the playbook UM forecasting, compliance, strategy and

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<v Speaker 1>process these huge, huge growth. At the same time, the

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<v Speaker 1>things that are most um common in the on demand

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<v Speaker 1>world are basics project management, market landscape and research, growth strategy.

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<v Speaker 1>So I think we're seeing this population able to both

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<v Speaker 1>pitch in and help on very specific things that are

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<v Speaker 1>happening in the world now, but also take on, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>the traditional roles that you know they can jump in

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<v Speaker 1>and provide value for. What about the trend that you're

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<v Speaker 1>seeing today post pandemic is different from what you saw

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<v Speaker 1>pre pandemic And what does it tell you, potentially, Jody,

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<v Speaker 1>about the broader economy? So the most significant surprising trend

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<v Speaker 1>is that our projects just flip to switch and went remote.

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<v Speaker 1>Clients who would never consider remote work all of a

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<v Speaker 1>sudden had to and they learned that it could be

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<v Speaker 1>very productive. So, where you know, we used to have of,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, let's say our projects with some on site component,

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<v Speaker 1>we shifted to you know, almost fully remote. And I

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<v Speaker 1>think that is a change that will persist and be

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<v Speaker 1>part of the mix going forward. Interesting, how do you

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<v Speaker 1>deuxtapose that against companies who are with their regular workforce

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<v Speaker 1>trying to figure out remote not remote hybrid? How do

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<v Speaker 1>we do it? Someone said to me this morning, and

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<v Speaker 1>I think it's a great line. Is remote is a capability,

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<v Speaker 1>not a challenge, And I think that's really a great

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<v Speaker 1>way to think about it. That companies have learned that

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<v Speaker 1>they can do a lot remotely. Um, there's also a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of benefits to being in person, and I think

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<v Speaker 1>each company is going to have to figure that out.

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<v Speaker 1>I think with with the on demand talent, you actually

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<v Speaker 1>have the ability to test right. You can try to

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<v Speaker 1>do something remotely on a project and see if it works,

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<v Speaker 1>and if it does, then you have confidence in doing

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<v Speaker 1>it remotely going forward. So in other words, one size

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't fit all. Yes, yeah, which makes sense, Jody. If

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<v Speaker 1>we start to see the economy or companies kind of

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<v Speaker 1>pull back, we've already seen it, Google, Apple kind of

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<v Speaker 1>postponing when they bring everybody back to the workforce, how

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<v Speaker 1>might that impact what you're seeing? And just got about

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<v Speaker 1>thirty seconds and then we'll come back and talk some more.

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<v Speaker 1>I think when you have instability and uncertainty, having an

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<v Speaker 1>ability to quickly bring in talent and have them focus

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<v Speaker 1>on something near term and specific can be a very

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<v Speaker 1>smart way to deal with that kind of uncertainty. Jody,

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<v Speaker 1>you said at the top of our last block that

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<v Speaker 1>on demand talent is booming. What does it tell you

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<v Speaker 1>about a lot of the businesses that are out there,

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<v Speaker 1>and I'm assuming that a lot of the businesses that

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<v Speaker 1>you work with are large. But you can clarify that

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<v Speaker 1>for me because that also gives us an idea of

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<v Speaker 1>kind of what's going on in the economy. If if

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<v Speaker 1>they're upbeat enough to hire these talent to work on projects,

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<v Speaker 1>they must have some optimism about the outlook. Yes, um,

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<v Speaker 1>our clients tend to be you know, Fortune one thousand

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<v Speaker 1>or equivalents, the firms, major nonprofits, and they are busy

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<v Speaker 1>and as you know, you know, the the whole talent

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<v Speaker 1>market is busy. Um. The permanent recruitment is very um busy.

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<v Speaker 1>Right now. Talent have options, they have, you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>ability to decide what they want to do, and as

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<v Speaker 1>more and more projects become available, that also makes being

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<v Speaker 1>an independent professional more attractive. And so we're seeing it

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<v Speaker 1>happen on kind of both sides of the scale, more

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<v Speaker 1>talent coming into the market and more clients understanding that

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<v Speaker 1>this is a resource that they can tap into. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>always cursed when you talk about these because they are

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<v Speaker 1>their senior level individuals um as you said, executive management

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<v Speaker 1>who take on these projects. Do they often hire staff

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<v Speaker 1>and others to do it or is it usually a

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<v Speaker 1>one person kind of thing. It's a great question. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>there can be small teams UM. Firms like ours can

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<v Speaker 1>help build those small teams UM and they are able

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<v Speaker 1>to leverage their expertise with people who can do different

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<v Speaker 1>pieces of the puzzle. So it's absolutely or you know,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes they go in and the company themselves have resources

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<v Speaker 1>that they can surround them with. Well. Based on then,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I'm most thinking about trickle down trickle up,

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<v Speaker 1>But these are obviously the senior people who are leading

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<v Speaker 1>the projects. But I do wonder, based on where you

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<v Speaker 1>know they're working, what does it tell you about kind

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<v Speaker 1>of the younger workforce where they need to be focusing

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<v Speaker 1>their efforts. Again a great question. You know, the younger

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<v Speaker 1>workforce is very intrigued by the control that being a

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<v Speaker 1>project executive and independent professional gives you UM, And what

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<v Speaker 1>you know I would say to that generation is you

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<v Speaker 1>need to be sure you've got the skills that are

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<v Speaker 1>in demand and have the ability to go in and

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<v Speaker 1>provide value right away. So you know, looking at you know,

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<v Speaker 1>all of the growth sectors, look at the things you

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<v Speaker 1>know that we get asked to do every day, compliance

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<v Speaker 1>strategy and processes, you know understanding how to help these

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<v Speaker 1>companies with the increase cyber security risks. You know, understanding

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<v Speaker 1>how to go in and help a company that can

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<v Speaker 1>no longer meet their clients in person the same way

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<v Speaker 1>they used to. So having really relevant timely skills and

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<v Speaker 1>the ability to jump in and create value is going

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<v Speaker 1>to be what's going to give them options. I am

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<v Speaker 1>also curious to how much are you increasingly seeing big

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<v Speaker 1>companies or the companies that you work with. You mentioned

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<v Speaker 1>Fortune one companies and PE firms and nonprofits. How much

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<v Speaker 1>are also increasingly just kind of outsourcing when they've got

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<v Speaker 1>a specific project, rather than maybe having kind of a

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<v Speaker 1>special projects team in house. You know, I think companies

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<v Speaker 1>do both. UM. They can have special projects teams in house,

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<v Speaker 1>but sometimes growth comes, you know, when you don't expect it,

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<v Speaker 1>and so you have needs that you didn't plan for.

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<v Speaker 1>And this allows you to take advantage of opportunistic moments

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<v Speaker 1>or to handle issues you know, like covid um that

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<v Speaker 1>came up quickly, UM that you didn't care for. So

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<v Speaker 1>I think you need both. I think it's an an

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<v Speaker 1>not an or. And you know, the whole on demand

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<v Speaker 1>UM revolution is really about giving options to talent and

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<v Speaker 1>clients to supplement what already exists in the world today.

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<v Speaker 1>It makes sense. It makes sense, Um, Jody, we gotta run.

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<v Speaker 1>Thank you so much. Jody Miller, co founder, co CEO

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<v Speaker 1>and chairwoman of Business Talent Group, on the phone from

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<v Speaker 1>l A. She also, in some of the research she

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<v Speaker 1>sent ahead to us, shared with us the concerns of

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<v Speaker 1>a great resignation with expectations of the global workforce considering

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<v Speaker 1>leaving their employer in the next year. That's according to

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<v Speaker 1>some research out from Microsoft, so something that she is

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<v Speaker 1>certainly focusing on too in terms of what she does