Employers be ware: the perils of hiring a free workforce

The affect of the current economic downturn is far greater on the Bay Area job market than the downturn of the "dot.com bust" era in the early 2000s. Living through the downturn of the "bust," I can remember being fairly optimistic that a job would pop up and I did some consultant work to make ends meet and to give my idle brain something to chew on. However, based on this news story on these Job Nob gatherings/happy hours, it seems high tech employees are now willing to "consult" for free in hopes of securing a full time job when funding comes around. Yikes...



I remember consulting at Excite.com in 1996 as a way to get my foot in the door...which lead to me eventually landing a full time job. Now it seems the new trend is to no longer consult, but to intern. Hmmm...if people with 10+ years experience are taking the internship type jobs...where does that leave our college interns? Now of course a 10+ years of experience intern will do the job of a well experienced professional, but this trend is adding a skills hierarchy to a now free talent pool.

I see this trend creating a precarious path for struggling, funded and established companies. Yes, the job market is extremely tight now and is so tight that a willingness for skilled professionals to work for free is now a competitive advantage. From a worker's perspective, it sure beats watching Regis and Kelly in the morning and shopping at "Social Safeway" in the Marina looking for the value card specials on a Monday afternoon.

When the economy changes, however, worker's desire will quickly disappear as they seek revenue generating opportunities to pay the bills. Companies who get funding or have a growth in revenue will hire the knowledge base away from the other less funded organizations. Maybe this is a competitive strategy to learn what the under-paid competition is doing?

Companies who are hiring a "free" workforce really need to think through this process carefully. This trend may seem great now...but remember, you get what you pay for. An uncompensated worker is patient for only so long and money talks...especially in the Bay Area. When the free employee leaves, he/she takes a knowledge base to the next job...and knowledge is a competitive advantage. Executive staff may consider re-balancing strategic initiatives and work flows to match current bandwidth...and consider building the team when revenue's grow like most companies do in a soft market.

As for the idle worker...well that's a tough one. I've been using my time to build my marketing "tool kit" to become a stronger marketer and leader. I've been reading books and visiting AMA type blogs. When my butt gets soar from sitting too long and I've listened to all my iTunes music, I've been going for some great runs on the Los Gatos trail in the afternoon. Cool.

Comments welcome.