S4 Episode 12: Charlotte Gregson from Malt on the role of expert freelance platforms

Digitally Curious

For many the interim model of working is not new, where senior, experienced staff are brought into a firm before a permanent role is filled. With work moving towards a more distributed model, and access to talent being widened beyond the city centres, will a hybrid workforce model, utilising freelance and permanent staff emerge?
To answer this question and more, I spoke with Charlotte Gregson, PhD the Country Head UK of Malt, a marketplace for independent management consultants and industry experts.

Charlotte is a former consultant with a career that didn’t take a conventional path. After an academic career culminating with a PhD in Chemistry at Imperial College, her mind for molecules exposed a love for leadership after a stint in healthcare consulting.

When she moved to consultancy Eden McCallum to build independent consultant teams, Charlotte began to recognise the potential the professional gig economy could bring for companies and their employees.

We discussed a range of topics to do with the hybrid working model including:

• What does COMATCH do?
• How COMATCH compares to Fiverr and Upwork
• How traditional consulting firms are embracing experienced freelancers
• How does a talent on-demand platform work?
• What sort of experts and consultants use COMATCH
• What's the future for "Exec" Gig Workers?
• Is "The Great Resignation" real?
• Managing the consulting "bench"
• Tips for working with a distributed workforce
• Emerging tools to help distributed teams
• Using COMATCH StyleMatch technology to match consultants to jobs
• Using AI to match clients with consultants
• Are clients developing a self-service mindset to source talent?
• How COMATCH drives innovation
• A view of the freelance world in 12-24 months
• Challenges of being a tech leader
• The impact of the freelance model on traditional consulting firms
• Attracting quality freelancers to the COMATCH platform
• The rise of the "The Third place"
• The COMATCH business model
• The differences across international markets
• The resistance to adopting a hybrid workforce model
• The need for talent transformation
• Advice for companies looking to integrate freelance talent into key roles
• Dealing with issues around due diligence, IP, security and confidentiality
• The future of flexible working?
• 3 actionable things to consider when setting a hybrid workforce strategy

Resources mentioned in the show
Miro whiteboard
Padlett whiteboard

More on Charlotte
Charlotte on LinkedIn
COMATCH website

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Chapters

1. S4 Episode 12: Charlotte Gregson from Malt on the role of expert freelance platforms (00:00:00)

2. What does COMATCH do? (00:01:14)

3. How COMATCH compares to Fiverr and Upwork (00:01:43)

4. How traditional consulting firms are embracing experienced freelancers (00:02:51)

5. How does a talent on demand platform work? (00:03:31)

6. What sort of experts and consultants use COMATCH? (00:04:45)

7. What's the future for "Exec" Gig Workers? (00:05:34)

8. Is "The Great Resignation" real? (00:06:43)

9. Managing the consulting "bench" (00:07:54)

10. Tips for working with a distributed workforce (00:09:39)

11. Emerging tools to help distributed teams (00:10:51)

12. Using COMATCH StyleMatch technology to match consultants with jobs (00:11:58)

13. Using AI to match clients with consultants (00:13:08)

14. Are clients developing a self-service mindset to source talent? (00:15:13)

15. Driving innovation at COMATCH (00:16:07)

16. The freelance world in 12-24 months (00:17:12)

17. Challenges of being a tech leader (00:18:57)

18. The impact of the freelance model on traditional consulting firms (00:20:33)

19. Attracting quality freelancers to the platform (00:22:06)

20. The rise of the "The Third place" (00:23:16)

21. The COMATCH business model (00:25:12)

22. The differences across international markets (00:26:28)

23. The resistance to adopting a hybrid workforce model (00:26:59)

24. The need for talent transformation (00:28:26)

25. Advice for companies looking to integrate freelance talent into key roles (00:29:54)

26. Dealing with issues around due diligence, IP, security and confidentiality (00:31:02)

27. What is the future of flexible working? (00:32:17)

28. Quickfire round (00:32:47)

29. 3 actionable things to consider when setting a hybrid workforce strategy (00:34:09)

30. Find out more about Charlotte and COMATCH (00:34:39)