How GE Tripled Its Talent Network

The U.S. job market is booming with a record six million job openings as of April. Amazon alone has more than 13,000 positions currently posted on its site. While this may seem like good news, the bad news is companies are struggling to find the talent they need to fill these positions.

According to a CareerBuilder survey, nearly 70 percent of companies reported being unable to find qualified talent to fill open positions and it’s costing them nearly $1 million each year. When it comes to tech, the picture is even bleaker: There are 10 times more jobs than college graduates with computer science degrees.

To keep pace with today’s rapidly changing workplace and dire talent shortage, companies are having to adapt and embrace new approaches. One of those companies is GE.

GE and the future of work

Formed in 1892 as an electrical company, GE has evolved into one of the world’s largest companies spanning industries from aviation to healthcare to digital to finance. Innovation and invention are central to its success and that requires having highly skilled talent with specialized expertise.

However, the current skills gap and talent shortage don’t make that easy. In fact, hiring is getting more difficult for companies, with three times more hiring managers saying it’s gotten even harder in the last year.

The article “How GE is Adopting the Future of Work” looks at a solution the company has implemented to overcome this obstacle. Rather than being limited by the traditional workplace model that centers around a role to be filled, GE is adopting a flexible, team-based approach that focuses on engaging freelance talent with the specialized skills each project requires.

As technology continues to change and evolve, so do the skills needed to create it and drive innovation forward. Upwork CEO Stephane Kasriel predicts that in just a few years a third of the skills needed will be brand new. Even with incredibly talented employees, companies simply won’t have all of these skills available in-house because they’re changing so rapidly.

Bridging the gap

To overcome this divide, the GE GENIUSLINK™ program, a talent-matching resource, partnered with Upwork to create a network of millions of highly skilled independent professionals with specialized and in-demand skills.

Kevin Dawson, executive director of software innovation at GE Digital, says the future of work “operates in smaller, self-forming teams centered around problems we know we have to solve, aligned around customers.” With access to millions of highly skilled freelance specialists, GE is able to organize teams quickly to focus on solving problems and delivering products with speed and velocity.

Having the right tools

In addition to having the right talent, another key component of success is utilizing the right technology to optimize this way of working. Freelancer platforms like Upwork Enterprise make it easier to find the right talent and reduce the average time to contract from the typical six to eight weeks to just two to four days. They’re also more cost-effective than traditional channels, such as agencies, often saving companies 60-70 percent.

Reaping the rewards

Having the right talent at the right time can have a huge impact on business. In one case at GE, a team of statisticians and PhDs were able to uncover $800 million in opportunities and boost the sales department’s conversion rate by 17 percent.

In another instance, aviation specialists found a way to reduce the weight of a part by 84 percent, which would help cut fuel costs. Other experts were then able to create the part in just three months.

By taking a different approach to hiring, GE has been able to stay agile and push innovation even in the midst of a talent shortage.

For more about GE’s successful strategy and how you can achieve results at your company, read “How GE is Adopting the Future of Work” >>

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