May 15, 2024
Allen Narcisse, Founder & CEO, Gigs
How To Help Gig Economy Workers Now
Listen on:
The gig economy is hotter than ever with 36% of U.S. workers in it, and nearly half of the global workforce—1.6 BILLION PEOPLE—are independent gigsters.
With growing inflation and a decrease in the desire to go to college, there are a lot of people looking for other lines of work. Either something to fill in the hours of a shorter work week to make ends meet or for a full-time position in a local blue-collar field. LinkedIn and Indeed can help—but if you are looking for a hub of local, entry-level, hourly or blue-collar jobs, Gigs is the place to be.
Gigs focuses on honesty, clarity, and helping blue-collar and entry-level workers find jobs that match their needs. All postings tell you the estimated hourly rate, things to expect, commute distance, and benefits/perks—without all the corporate jargon you see on major job boards.
To unpack all of this, we invited Gigs CEO Allen Narcisse to this episode of the Reboot Chronicles Show. A Lyft and Uber alumni., Allen is attacking a space that societies and organizations of all sizes are struggling with. Listen in to see how he is simplifying the sector by connecting 86 million workers with thousands of employers in local communities across the US.
The Growing Gig Economy
Although the major job boards have helped millions of people find jobs, these job boards can feel overcrowded and overwhelming. As Allen puts it “The major job boards now focus in on every single job.” On top of that “most job boards don’t have the location and the accurate pay for jobs.” These are two crucial pieces of information for an hourly worker as the commute or a $.25 difference between jobs A and B can make all the difference in overall income. That is why Gigs first and foremost on all their job posts have those two pieces of information listed. Something that I would have loved when looking for jobs right out of high school.
Accommodating The Gen Z Workforce
Not to make the audience feel old, but Gen Z is at the age where they are all looking for jobs, and many of the missions for Gigs were created with Gen Z in mind. Allen mentions that one of the first things they did when starting Gigs was studying Gen Z job seekers and what they want when looking for jobs. He found that “one of the first call-outs they said is we don’t like traditional job descriptions, we don’t want to read them.” On top of that, more Gen Z’ers are “working while in high school and college” so accommodating Gen Z’s needs and desires as they enter the workforce is at the forefront for Gigs.
Creating the Next-Gen
As with all our guests, we wanted to learn more about Allen and the lessons that he has learned over his many years in the workforce. Allen has worked in a variety of fields including at the LA Times, consultancy, food delivery, and even a movie studio. From all these positions he told us two things, “there is no book that explains the shortcut of what’s really important” concerning any given job and that the best thing to do is be adaptable. Listen to your managers and other coworkers, listen to your clients and patrons, and then based on what job you are in, and what you have been hearing, then make a decision based on that.
