Online Work Survey: Fall 2012 Global Results

Conducted by Genesis Research

Associates

Methodology

• Survey was conducted by independent research firm Genesis Research Associates and commissioned by oDesk

• Objective: Understand the evolution of hiring and staffing on a global scale, among businesses hiring online

• Fielded online in fall 2012 and released in October 2012

• Audience: Businesses that recently hired online workers on oDesk

• N = 2839 Global

• Sampling error: +/- 1.8 points globally

2

Agenda

• How important is talent to a business’ success, and how painful is it to access?

• How does online hiring compare with traditional hiring?

• What is the economic impact of online work?

• What kinds of businesses use online workers?

• What is the future of online work?

3

A quick primer on online work

• Any skill that can be done on a computer• Tech, design, legal, admin, translation,

etc.

• Simulates working in an office • Except that work is done in an online

workplace so it can be anytime, anywhere

• Relationship-based, quality work• Directly managed, 1:1 work

4

How important is talent to a business’ success, and how painful is it to access?

5

Businesses need talent, but say traditional hiring is painful

6

43%

47%

90% say access to talent is important

Very impor-tantCritical

28%

42%

70% agree traditional hiring methods are

painful

AgreeAgree strongly

9) How important to your business success is the ability to hire people with the right skills when you need them?Base (total respondents): 2839

10A) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?

“Traditional methods of hiring and staffing are painful”

Base (total respondents): 2839

Why is traditional hiring difficult? Talent scarcity is almost on par with cost

7

Not flexible

Time it takes

Hard to find talent

Expense/cost

17%

20%

30%

33%

Factors contributing to the difficulty of hiring on-premise

(Distributed out of 100)

29D) Please distribute 100 points across this set of 4 issues to indicate how much each one contributes to the difficulty of hiring on-premise workers.Base (total respondents): 2839

“It's extremely difficult to find qualified, skilled people in the UK for our operation.” – UK

“My animation project was stalling because of the lack of talent in my city.” – U.S.

They already believed traditional methods weren’t working

8

Yes64%

No36%

11) At the time when you first found out about online workplaces (like oDesk), were you actively seeking a new way to hire?Base (total respondents): 2839

Actively looking for a new way to hire when they found out about online work

How does online hiring compare with traditional hiring?

9

76% say online work helps solve the talent availability dilemma

10

Agree strongly

Agree Neutral/No opinion

Disagree Disagree strongly

34%

42%

15%

8%

1%

Online Workplaces Enable Businesses to Choose the Best Talent Instead of Settling for What’s Available

Locally

10C) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? “Online workplaces (like oDesk) enable me to choose the very best talent for my needs instead of having to settle for whatever talent is available locally”Base (total respondents): 2839

Online Hiring is MUCH faster

11

Online worker On-Premise worker

2.8

23.9

Median Days to Hire

18) How long does it typically take to hire an online worker? Please estimate how much time usually passes between when you first start looking for someone to hire and when the new worker is officially hired and under contract.Base (total respondents): 283929A) How long does it typically take to hire an on-premise worker? Please estimate how much time usually passes between when you first start looking for someone to hire and when the worker is on-board and starting to work.Base (total respondents who have hired on-premise workers): 1286

“There is a great ease of hiring an online worker vs. in-person. Not only is the time to interview lessened, you can try out the services quickly and determine if there is a fit for the position quickly.” – U.S.

Online is “easier” and “less stressful” than on-premise

12

68% say on-premise hiring is more stressful

82% say online hiring is easier

40%

53%

28%

29%

Much more Somewhat more

30) In general, how would you compare hiring on-premise workers versus hiring online workers?Base (total respondents who have hired on-premise workers): 128631) In general, how would you compare hiring on-premise workers versus hiring online workers?Base (total respondents who have hired on-premise workers): 1286

Online work helps overcome traditional hiring challenges

13

62% say can find specific skills that would be difficult to find locally

67% say allows me (or my in-house staff) to focus on higher-level skills

72% say faster hiring

72% say provides more flexible staffing (scalable for variances in business needs)

22%

20%

18%

19%

40%

47%

54%

53%

Importance in Decision to Hire Online Workers

Very important Important

14) How important were each of the following in your decision to hire online workers?Bases (total respondents): More flexible (2056), Faster (2041), Higher-Level Skills (1907), Find Specific Skills (1760)

A bold prediction:

By 2020…the majority of contract workers will be working online (86%)*

14

33) Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statement about business.Base (total respondents who had an opinion): 2142* Percentage corresponds to those who agree out of respondents who had an opinion

What is the economic impact of online work?

15

Online work expands the labor market: Only 17% would have hired locally

16

What Would Have Done if No Appropriate Online Worker

Not sure

Done something else

Delayed/canceled project

Worked extra hours

10%

16%

21%

37%Hired on-

premise

worker

17%Something

else83%

20) Thinking about the most recent time that you hired an online worker, if you had not found an appropriate online worker, which of the following best describes what you most likely would have done?Base (total respondents): 2839

Hiring workers from anywhere is seen as good for their own country’s economy

17

Agree Disagree

72%

28%

10K) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? “The fact that businesses like mine have the ability to hire workers from anywhere in the world is good for my country's economy.” Results shown among those who have an opinion. Base (total respondents who had an opinion): 1953

“By hiring workers abroad we are able to create new projects and products that in turn help our economy out. We have grown to be able to pay employees locally as well.” – U.S.

Online workers are considered long-term team members

18

Role of Online Workers in Respondents’ Companies

Outsider31%

Staff/team69%

Long-term84%

Short-term16%

27) Do you consider online workers part of your staff/team or are they outsiders?Base (total respondents): 2839

28) Do you try to build long-term relationships with individual online workers, or do you just hire whoever is available at the time to fill your short-

term needs?Base (total respondents): 2839

“One of my online workers has proven to be so knowledgeable and skilled that I deputised her to run my staffing requirements including hiring, coaching and training. She lives 10,000 miles away and I have never met her!” - UK

In choosing workers, quality trumps cost

19

33% say education

49% say skills test scores

66% say references

70% say portfolio

72% say pay rate

78% say star ratings

82% say past work experience

6%

11%

19%

25%

21%

26%

32%

27%

38%

47%

45%

51%

52%

50%

Importance in Choice of Which Online Worker To Hire

Very important Important

15) And, how important are each of the following issues to you when you choose which online worker to hire?Base (total respondents): 2839

What kinds of businesses use online workers?

20

About half are suburban or rural

Urban area Suburban area Rural area

52%

37%

11%

Company Location

39) Which best describes your company's primary location?Base (total respondents): 2839

“I was living in a small community at the time with a limited talent pool. Commuting from a city was possible, but would have consumed too much time. So using remote workers was very desirable.” – US (Bay Area)

21

Most say they are “start-ups”Consider Themselves “Technology Companies”

Not a start-up

42%Start-up58%

41) Do you consider your company a start-up?Base (total respondents): 2839

“Quite simply I've been able to realise my dream and vision for a startup company. Without [online work] this wouldn't have been possible.” - UK

22

Almost 90% see online workers as a competitive edge

76% say "Online workplaces let me choose the best talent"

88% say "Online workers make me more competitive in general"

34%

40%

42%

48%

Strongly agree Agree10E) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? “Access to online workers makes my company more competitive in general”Base (total respondents): 283810C) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? “Online workplaces (like oDesk) enable me to choose the very best talent for my needs instead of having to settle for whatever talent is available locally”Base (total respondents): 2839

“…made my business possible to function and compete with large corporations.” – U.S.

23

Online work grows businesses faster

80% say "Online workplaces help businesses grow revenues

faster"

85% say "Online workplaces help launch products faster"

33%

40%

47%

45%

Strongly agree Agree

10I) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? “Online workplaces (like oDesk) are helping businesses like mine to launch products or services faster”Base (total respondents): 283910H) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? “Online workplaces (like oDesk) are helping businesses like mine to grow their revenues faster”Base (total respondents): 2839

Without my contractors I would not have been able to grow my business so quickly - UK

24

Online workers seen as a long-term business strategy

Temporary solution

16%

Long-term strategy

84%

26) Which of the following best describes how you feel about the role of online workers in your business?Base (total respondents): 2839

“It's the old adage, work smarter not harder. I noticed my business grow exponentially when I hired others to do work.” - UK

25

What is the future of online work?

26

Businesses are hiring about 3 online workers per year average

1 2-3 4-5 6-10 >10

17%

31%

22%

16%14%

Total Hired Past 12 Months

3) In total, how many online workers have you hired in the past 12 months (either through oDesk or any other way)?Base (total respondents): 2839

27

What do they need help with?

Customer service

Professional services

Administrative/clerical

Networking/IS

Sales or marketing

Writing or translation

Design or multimedia

Software development

Web development

5%

5%

8%

9%

13%

17%

24%

32%

37%

Skills Most Difficult to Find Locally

32) Which types of workers do you think are most difficult to find in your local area?Base (total respondents): 2839

TechNon-tech

28

Rapid adoption: 2/3rds hired for more than one skill, 2/3rds within 3 months

1 Type32%

>1 Type68%

Online Hire History

<1 wk

1-4 wks

1-3 mos

3-6 mos

6-12 mos

>1 yr

11%

28%

26%

15%

10%

9%

How Long After 1st Hire to Hiring Different Skill

17) Have you hired online workers with different types of skills, or have you only hired one type of online worker?Base (total respondents): 2839

17A) About how long after you hired your very first online worker did you first hire an online worker with a different skill set?Base (total respondents who have hired more than 1 type of online worker): 1928

29

High demand: 95% plan to increase or maintain online hiring

More63%

Fewer5%

Same number

32%

Next Year vs. Last Year – Number of Online Hires

19A) Do you expect that you will hire more or fewer online workers in the next year than you did in the past year?Base (total respondents): 2628

30

Most expect to increase spend on online workers in the next year

Of those spending more, 58% say they’ll spend at

least twice as much

About 25% more

50%-75% more

2x

>2x

13%

28%

25%

33%

More71%

Less6%

Same amount

23%

19B) In total, do you expect that you will spend more or less on online workers in the next year than you did in the past year?Base (total respondents): 262819C) As compared to your spending in the past year, how much more do you think you will spend on online workers in the next year?Base (total respondents who will spend more in the next year on online workers): 1868

94% say they’ll spend the same or more

31

By 2015, most expect at least 50% of their workforce to be online

More than 75%

About 75% About 50% About 25% Less than 25%

None

24%

16%

24%

16%19%

1%

Percent who say at least half their workforce will be online in 2015

19D) In 2015, what percent of your company's workforce do you estimate will be online workers?Base (total respondents): 2628

32

Predictions

• “In the future, hiring will be more dependent on having the right skills than on location” (95%)

• “In 10 years, most businesses will have blended teams” (94%)

• “In the future, new employees will bring online workers as part of their own work teams” (91%)*

33

33) Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about business.Base (respondents who had an opinion): Right skills (2507), Blended Teams (2407), Bring Online Workers (2096)* Percentages on this slide correspond to those who agree, out of those who had an opinion