Freelance marketplace Upwork and workforce management solutions provider Workforce Logiq agreed to an integration that will make it simpler for Workforce Logiq customers to source and hire freelance workers through its MSP program.
From Upwork’s point of view, the deal provides users with access to a wider range of potential clients.
New deal: @Upwork, @workforcelogiq join to simplify freelancer hiring by enterprises. #HR #HRTech #Gig Click To TweetWorkforce Logiq CEO Jim Burke said the partnership “gives our clients all the advantages of the world’s largest freelance marketplace with the confidence and benefits of a proven MSP program.” Those include financial control, compliance oversight and consolidated reporting and billing, he said.
There’s no question freelance workers make up a growing proportion of the workforce. Employers increasingly want the flexibility and long-term cost savings that comes from hiring on-demand talent, while younger workers variety, more control over their careers and their own personal flexibility. A study by Upwork and the Freelancers Union estimated more than over 56 million freelancers are at work in the U.S., representing about 35 percent of the workforce.
Upwork’s user base, which the company says numbers in the millions, offers 5,000 skills across 70 categories of work. Besides giving Workforce Logiq customers access to these workers, the integration provides Workforce Logiq clients with an integrated Independent Contractor Compliance workflow and Employer of Record payroll option. Those are meant to avoid worker misclassification risk.
The move’s an interesting one for Workforce Logiq. By adding access to talent to its offerings, which combine managed services with vendor management solutions, it expands the breadth of its contingent-workforce solution. The company positions itself as using patented workflows to better match talent and employers.
It seems almost a bookend of story for Upwork, which in March announced its first packaged service for small business. Besides helping SMBs identify and hire talent the service, Upwork Plus, offers on-demand support, increased job-posting visibility and dashboards for collaboration.
Access to the Upwork talent network will be available to Workforce Logiq’s MSP clients in the beginning of October.
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