21 September 2021
Freelancing, multi-activity, … New forms of work are emerging or strengthening, especially since the development of the participative economy, which seems to have reshuffled the cards of employment. In addition, service platforms between individuals or connecting professionals are constantly conquering the web. In this context, jobbing seems to accompany the new forms of work: complementary income, mutual aid, or career choice; this model is shaking up the services market. A question then arises: how does jobbing accompany the new forms of work? Let’s decipher it.
According to the Oxford dictionary, “jobbing” is the act of doing occasional work for different people rather than regular work. This model brings together service providers looking for services and “jobbers” looking for paid work. The jobbers are service providers, individuals or professionals, who have the time and skills to respond to offers of missions in various fields: tutoring, childcare, personal assistance, DIY, gardening, catering, computer troubleshooting…
This model is attractive, both for its simplicity and its profitability. Since 2013, the websites that put jobbers and suppliers in contact with each other have been flourishing on the net… and these platforms are nothing other than marketplaces! The rise of jobbing has indeed been made possible by the prosperity of the marketplace model, which puts different actors in contact on the same platform.
Jobbing between individuals: platforms of “paid solidarity”. Jobbing corresponds to a real change of spirit and entrepreneurial traditions: from now on, an employee is no longer dedicated only to his company, he can realise missions in parallel to his job to round off his ends of the month and to exploit his interests and know-how. This new form of service corresponds to the evolution of society, which now favours what could be called “paid solidarity”. On the one hand, there are the people in demand of a service that requires certain expertise, on the other hand, there are the expert individuals.
Many platforms have understood this paradigm shift and have seized this flourishing market, such as Aladom, Allo voisins, Easyjobber, Jemepropose, Joobeez, Needhelp, Yoojo, or Yoopies.
The business models of these jobbing platforms between individuals are quite similar: the registration and the publication of missions are generally free and a commission on the missions (between 10 and 20%) is taken by the operator of the marketplace.
Today, more and more employees are embracing the freedom offered by freelancing and auto-entrepreneurship. This form of work is a real career choice that allows you to be in control of your schedule, choose your missions, and combine different jobs. This last aspect seems to be a strong argument at the time of the rise of slashers, these people who combine different jobs: graphic designer/community manager/photographer or sports coach/physiotherapist for example.
If these new forms of work can be synonymous with financial uncertainties, the marketplace model partly solves the problem. Indeed, jobbing platforms give visibility to jobbers, for whom it is essential to make themselves known and to find missions all year long. In this respect, the marketplace offers jobbers a major advantage: it favours the commercial development of their activity at a lower cost. They no longer have to spend time prospecting for new customers; they can therefore carry out more assignments. In exchange for this visibility, the jobbers pay commissions to the platform operator. Also, the jobbers are evaluated by the suppliers. Customers can choose the most suitable jobber for their project. The marketplace model is, therefore, a win-win-win situation: operators, suppliers, and jobbers are all satisfied.
Jobbing marketplaces, such as Comet, Crème de la crème, Jobijoba or Staff Me, put professional jobbers and service seekers in touch with each other. Some of these platforms go further than just putting people in touch with each other, and offer, for example, complete documentation to accompany the new forms of workers: training courses, company files, job descriptions, advice for job hunting, … Jobbing is thus a real alternative to traditional entrepreneurship!
Today, marketplaces are a booming market, especially in B2B, and jobbing platforms are no exception. The Jobbing Barometer thus reports 104,714 jobbing ads in June 2018 compared to 333,094 offers in May 2019, which is almost triple. Jobbing marketplaces indeed have significant growth potential and are becoming the keystone of the digital transformation of service professions.
If B2B marketplaces have taken over the commercialization of products, this model still has a lot to offer for the services market. The marketplace model has indeed proven its reliability and efficiency, so jobbing between professionals will likely find a strong ally.
The deep mutation of the forms of work has generated the growth of offers and demands of services. The context is therefore favourable to the multiplication of jobbing marketplaces: these exchange platforms are indeed increasingly popular with B2B actors. This popularity is partly explained by the improvement of technologies, security, and payment methods.
Lemonway is a certified payment service provider helping marketplaces manage payment flows between jobbers and end customers. Take advantage of our experts’ advice to maximise your jobbing marketplace’s chances of success! For more information, contact us.
