Flexitimers attended the Big Debate in City Hall last Wednesday and were fortunate to put a question to the panel. The panel, which was chaired by by respected broadcaster John Bowman, consisted of Jay Bourke (Cafe Bar Deli), Martin Murray (Interactive Return), Brian Carey (Sunday Times), Marc Coleman (Newstalk), Mark Fielding from ISME, Damian Young Head of Small Business, Bank of Ireland, Paula Fitzsimons, Global Entrepreneurship Monitor author and Pat Lynch, Chairperson of Dublin City Enterprise Board.

Q: Did the panel think that companies (under pressure to cut headcount) were more likely to outsource activities or use part-time, freelance and contract staff in order to remain competitive during these challenging times?

Summary: there was unanimous agreement that companies must outsource and use flexible staff to stay in business.

Quotes:
Marc Coleman - 'there is no doubt, no option that companies will have to outsource / use agency staff'

Pat Lynch 'your largest overheads walk in to your company on two feet....businesses must control these costs', 'It (outsourcing and using flexible staff) is a good business strategy'

Jay Bourke - If you're not letting people go, you'll go out of business, outsource right away'

Brian Carey 'It's a growing trend in Irish businesses'

This is good news for Flexitimers and particularly good news for freelancers, part timers and contractors out there who can now rest assured that more interesting projects and positions will be coming down the pipeline. Flexitimers offers part timers, freelancers and contractors access to skilled part time, contract and freelance positions and projects.

Labels: contracting, flexible work, Flexitimers, jobs, smart work, work