The Future of Work is Here: Freelancing, AI, and Skills-Based Hiring

The Future of Work is Here: Freelancing, AI, and Skills-Based Hiring

In 11 years, the number of freelancers has doubled and the future of staffing is in the midst of total disruption. Remote collaboration, rapid technological advancements, and evolving workforce dynamics have been reshaping how successful global teams are sourced, built, and managed. In light of these changes, hiring teams are adapting their workforce management strategies to foster a resilient and future-proof ecosystem.

At Malt, we've always known that freelancers are the secret ingredient to propelling companies forward, increasing efficiency, and building at a scale. In such a pivotal time, we’re sharing our top 3 convictions about freelancing and the future of work.

1. Freelancing as a Strategic Imperative, Not an Option

Freelancing is evolving from what was once seen as a stop-gap measure to now being a key lever to build flexible workforces, drive innovative projects, and share expert knowledge across teams. As HR SVP, Power Systems & Services at Schneider Electric, Ambroise de Boisriou told us, “Freelancers are often top industry talent. Our decision to work more effectively with freelancers today comes from a need to rethink how we can ‘borrow’ essential and niche skills that we don't currently have in-house rather than from the current economic situation” Freelancing in Europe 2024).

While many full-time employees face constraints in dedicating time to upskill, freelancers have the flexibility and motivation to invest in continuous learning. In fact, they spend an average of 4-6 hours upskilling their competencies, allowing them to easily adapt to evolving client needs and future-proof their offerings. This crucial advantage is invaluable for companies wanting to tap into the gold mine of external experts and stay ahead of their competition.

Freelancers’ skills and expertise combined with permanent employees’ contextual and company knowledge creates a powerful blend. Working collaboratively together, they create Superteams– an unstoppable force that allows organizations to effectively execute new strategies, foster growth, and drive innovation. The rise of AI has opened the doors for freelancers to become the catalysts for change. With an increase in market volatility, high talent shortages, and a constant evolution of new technology, Superteams are a partner in driving business forward.

2. AI is Enabling Hiring Managers’ Access to Top Talent

In a decade, freelancing has evolved from an alternative option to a strategic engine driving the world’s top businesses, with now 6 million freelancers across Europe. On the flip side, hiring methods haven’t advanced much. Manually sifting through resumes and endlessly sending email chains to colleagues slow down the process and hinder companies from quickly accessing top talent. Companies see AI as an all encompassing tool that will enable them to reach new heights –and they’re not wrong. A recent Garner study indicates that 38% of HR global managers have already prospected or implemented AI solutions to improve process efficiency and improve their recruitment strategy within their division.

By automating tedious tasks and streamlining workflows, AI-powered tools can empower hiring managers to focus on what truly matters: identifying and securing the best talent. AI is transforming the hiring process, enabling hiring teams to optimize their time and resources to attract top talent. From analyzing data to providing detailed recommendations to improving how and who companies hire for their innovative projects, AI tools unlock a whole new level of efficiency. Malt’s new AI Search connects hiring teams with the best freelancer candidates for their projects in just seconds, making it easier than ever to build Superteams.

Many companies rely on private APIs, adding genAI and custom features to offer a somewhat tailored solution that they don’t fully control. Malt’s AI, on the other hand, leverages its own small language model with internal data and recommender system, as well as a bit of Generative AI when needed. By combining our small language models with LLMs and genAI, we aim to reduce our overall energy and resource impact. In addition, our small language models are designed without using sensitive information, ensuring robust privacy protection and data security.

To optimally match companies with the best freelancers, we use AI across two main functionalities:

1. Interpretation: The first step is interpreting meaning and context from job descriptions and what users include in their search on Malt. We do this using internal AI models that dissect and translate information so our system can analyze patterns, understand the wider context, and extract relevant details for a project. We also rely also on Generative AI (Google Gemini) for inputs like project titles or descriptions.

• The LLM’s function interprets key details from a project brief—such as job categories, skills, and descriptions—and translates this data for our database to match the right freelancers with the right projects.
• For example when a user types, “Figma, 5+ years experience, located in London,” the interpretation functionality uses a few different AI models to figure out that the user is looking for a designer with intermediate experience and specific creative skills.

1. Matching: Once the system has completed its interpretation of what the user is looking for, our talent recommender ranks and reviews the matching information and swiftly narrows it down to only show the best freelancer matches

• To ensure the most accurate matching, we use a custom, small language model built on internal historical data that performs both lexical matching (exact keyword matching) and semantic matching (contextual and idea-based understanding). This enables users to get tailored freelancer profile recommendations in real-time, without the hassle of sifting through hundreds of profiles.

3. A skills-first approach to hiring 

AI literacy is rapidly becoming a core skill for businesses and freelancers alike. A recent Microsoft and LinkedIn study found that 71% of leaders prefer candidates with AI skills, even if they have less experience. This skills-based preference has a trickle effect on hiring strategies with companies prioritizing adaptability and AI proficiency over traditional resume qualifications. Hiring managers are reconsidering which skills they consider dire and which they are flexible to trade-off.

Freelancers, known for their adaptability and early adoption of new technologies, are well-positioned to become AI experts and guide companies through this technological transformation. By sharing their expertise in AI tools and best practices, they help companies enhance their knowledge base and push the boundaries of what's possible. In a highly competitive market, the only scalable solution to ensuring companies solve real problems, test innovative ideas, and stay ahead is by hiring AI-expert freelancers. With the increasing integration of AI into various industries, companies who can effectively leverage and understand how to implement impactful AI in meaningful ways will have a vital advantage.

We started the first freelancing revolution nearly eleven years ago and we couldn’t be more excited about where the future of work is headed. Since then, we’ve seen more highly skilled and seasoned professionals making the leap to freelancing with ninety percent of freelancers not actively looking for an in-house employee position (Freelancing in Europe 2024).

More than ever, hiring teams need the right tools embedded directly where they spend most of their time, making their workflow more intuitive and efficient. With over 420,000 projects and 800,000 freelancers and counting, we’re determined to keep pushing the boundaries–not just of what’s possible, but of what’s needed to evolve how companies source, hire, and manage talent at a scale.

As companies reshape how they source and scale teams with new technology, they also need to tap into forming their very own Superteams. Creating a dynamic, talent-rich ecosystem where AI, freelancers, and businesses work together is imperative to define what’s next. Check out how Malt’s new  AI Search is powering up companies’ ability to build their own Superteams at a scale in just a few clicks.