September 4, 2020 Open Mindset, Open Talent – An Uprisor Conversation with Peter Bjellerup

In our Uprisor podcast series, we’re talking with Future of Work thought leaders about remote work and on-demand talent. Clinton Bonner, VP at Topcoder, recently spoke with Peter Bjellerup, an independent consultant who spent many years promoting remote collaboration and inter-organizational collaboration at some of the biggest organizations in the world. 

Read and listen to the conversation as we explore what happens when you truly open things up. 

A New Enterprise Mindset

Peter and Clinton discuss how mindset is the most important factor for individuals to grow in the gig economy. You must first get in the mindset that a job is an opportunity for you to grow your network rather than just being another employee at the company. Peter shared that he learned this concept from a book that contrasted the way that companies do not depend on only one customer, but as an employee that is exactly what the individual is doing. To grow your skills and develop, you need to face different challenges that may not arise when devoting yourself to just one organization. Therefore, companies collaborating with on-demand talent will allow individuals to develop and grow by sharing their knowledge with others. This will also develop higher quality talent. 

Peter then discussed his experience of transitioning into a consultant with his new way of thinking. He thinks of a consultant as an extra brain rather than an extra pair of hands. As a consultant, you need to have integrity and bring value to the client instead of being a yes-man. If the client comes up with a solution that will not work, be upfront. Let them know why you disagree and offer a better solution for their situation. This will build trust and a long-lasting relationship. 

“The real consultant is an extra brain. And an extra brain doesn’t always say yes to the client. ” – Peter Bjellerup

The evolution of HR in the age of on demand talent

Peter and Clinton ended the conversation with a deeper look at how HR must evolve with the rise of the gig economy. Peter covered how open, transparent collaboration will be essential for companies hiring lots of on-demand talent. With an open talent model, people will come and go. So—their experience must be kept for other collaborators to have the ability to expand on it. Experience and knowledge should stay behind with the organization as gig workers move on. Peter imagines that the success of remote workers comes from being led by HR but not managed by HR. For the gig economy model to work for an organization and the success of on-demand talent, HR should set the framework and let the managers actively manage the remote workers. 

It was great to talk with Peter and find out his point of view on the the future of work. His experience of growing remote collaboration brought to light just how far the gig economy has come. It is exciting to be part of the movement and to help companies effectively use on-demand talent for better, faster solutions.

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