Indeed is Quietly Testing a Gig Job Site

Indeed confirmed to the HCM Technology Report that it’s testing a product flavored for the gig economy.

According to HRTechFeed, which first noticed the site last week, the subdomain gigs.indeed.com appeared in June. The site speculated that the gig site might put Indeed’s recent purchase of the UK flexible work platform Syft into a wider context as “a look at their future plans for the U.S. market.”

However, speculation is all anyone has to work with—outside of Indeed, that is. The company “frequently tests products in an effort to improve the overall experience for job seekers and to make the process of hiring better overall,” a spokesperson told us. “Indeed Gigs is a product that we are testing to see if it provides value for our job seekers and employers who use Indeed to hire.”

The spokesperson declined to provide any information about how users were responding to the test.

Jeff Dickey-Chasins, who consults with a number of job boards through his company Job Board Doctor, LLC, suggested that, at least so far, Indeed has only put so much skin in this game. “What Indeed seems to be testing is a custom skin on the Indeed site—you can find the same jobs on the regular Indeed site,” he said. “It’s hard to see why they would promote this site in competition with the regular Indeed site.”

He then, well, speculated that “it’s possible that they may consider launching another brand and first they want to test the waters. Possibly, this is a response to competition from UpWork, Fivvr and Snag.”

Indeed Gigs a Logical Move?

When it comes to web sites, “custom skin” is another way of saying “repackaging” and, given the weight of its brand, Indeed may not need to invest in a deep development effort to attract workers who are looking for a second (or third) job, or a platform on which to find freelance work. As more companies expand the size of their contingent workforce established job boards have little choice but to wade into the market.

In September, Randstad Sourceright reported 25 percent of global enterprises and mid-sized companies were shifting permanent roles to contingent positions in a bit to remain agile. The company said these firms are increasingly using gig and freelance workers to fill formerly permanent positions. Meanwhile, 55 percent of working professionals said they’re more open to non-traditional work arrangements than they had been in the past.

The Gig Economy Data Hub—a cooperative effort of the Aspen Institute and Cornell University—says such trends are here for the long term. “Non-traditional and gig work is a fundamental component of today’s economy, and so is unlikely to dissipate soon,” is said.

Given all that, Indeed’s interest shouldn’t come as a surprise. Over the last several years, technology and services for the gig market has become an accepted component of the HCM technology market. That’s a logical outgrowth of the spread of the gig economy itself.

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Image: Indeed