The Disposable Worker + Enterprise 2.0
As I wait on hold for JetBlue to cancel my flight to Baltimore (REALLY… an estimated HOUR wait??), it occurs to me that what JetBlue needs to avoid these types of situations is an on-demand workforce to take calls during events like…oh I don’t know…huge snowstorms in Baltimore (just a thought). This brings me to an article in Businessweek that I recently read called “The Disposable Worker.” In it, the author makes the case that the value proposition for the American worker has fundamentally shifted – away from permanent full-time employment, and toward a more “flex-time” approach, where human capital becomes yet another just-in-time resource that can be adjusted up or down as needed. He is, of course, entirely correct – we’ve known this for years. It’s fairly well documented that many American companies make extensive use of contractors. I do work with quite a few large clients and have been surprised several times to find out that the person I was working with for months was actually a contractor (the only way to really know is by the badge). As the author points out, the reason this is worth writing about now is that in our rough economy, we are seeing the downside of the value proposition – though contractors may get more flexibility, they are also the first resources to be laid off.
Oh my god.. after 50 minutes on hold Jet Blue just told me to call American Express to cancel..
Where is this going? Well, let’s first consider that a significant portion of a knowledge worker’s value to an organization is tied to his or her tacit experience. Historically, it’s been difficult to capture and transfer this type of knowledge. Traditional knowledge management systems were never widely adopted, and even if they were, they probably wouldn’t have been a good conduit for this. Second, let’s postulate for a moment that Enterprise 2.0 tools (e.g., social networking, wikis) will be widely adopted (which increasingly looks likely). As employees use these tools to get work done, real-time knowledge capture will become a reality. As a result, I believe that the employee value proposition will be even further adjusted. Just as a new employee could be onboarded into an organization more rapidly (and at a lower cost) utilizing Enterprise 2.0 systems, companies will also be tempted to let people go at a more rapid pace in difficult times (cost of re-hire is lower, and loss of tacit knowledge could be somewhat mitigated). I don’t mean to suggest that Enterprise 2.0 tools will render everyone disposable – after all, someone still needs to do work, to innovate, communicate…etc… but these tools will certainly continue to shift the balance of power, and help make the concept of institutional knowledge more real than ever.
Here’s a link to the full article, it’s worth a read.
Oh and after two hours on the phone, I managed to cancel my flight. After a $100 change fee, I have a $3.00 credit toward my next JetBlue flight. Awesome.
