Pokémon, like most crazes, has come along like a hurricane and changed mobile apps into forces of nature. In a constantly-changing world, trends like these really highlight how people and societies are evolving.
Pokémon and the Gig Economy
The gig economy is one of those evolutions that, while not sudden, is changing how we interact, work, and function. It may seem that we’re making a tenuous link here, but the reality is that digital technology, apps, connectivity, and the economy are changing the way we work and the way we play, and Pokémon is just one of many manifestations of this.
Managing your contingent workers should carry the tagline ‘Gotta catch ’em all!’. This is why:
(Thanks to Quartz for their Ultimate Guide to Pokémon Go).
“The game is deceptively complex. At first, it seems like all you do is wander around, catching random fake animals. But unlike many mobile games, Pokémon Go leaves most of its complexity unexplained. Much like in life itself, you are dropped into a world that you must master at the same time as you figure out how it works.”
- It is deceptively simple. Wander around. Catch the Pokémon. Start a business. Hire freelance workers. The devil is in the details, and ensuring that you’re doing everything you should be is something that comes from a long line of failures and missteps.
You will always have failures, and you will always be learning. Starting off with a good understanding of how to manage your teams (or gyms) will help you in the long run. In business, getting up to speed quickly with the right partner helps you to avoid the pitfalls of non-compliance, and saves you time and money in the long run.
- Catching them all: In Pokémon, this happens because there is strength in numbers. In business, we have the same mantra. Ensuring you know where your Pokémon are and co-ordinating them effectively gives you strength.
Knowing who your team is, and the resources you have at hand is critical.
Keeping on top of your employee roster improves your business strength.
- Engagement: Since the Pokémon GO phenomenon landed, we’ve seen engagement of a whole new kind. The app has changed interaction patterns, encouraging meeting and sharing both online and off. It’s also incredibly flexible – anywhere, anytime. Like freelance work opportunities, Pokémon seems to be going a long way toward improving peoples’ daily lives.
Engaging with your network is key.
Investigating your environments is important.
Knowing your capabilities and sharing the load helps.
- Improving stats, powering up, evolving, and training your Pokémon is a huge feature of the game. It helps you to turn
this:
into this:
The same applies to business in the new age. Constantly refreshing your talent pools, improving your workforce skills, and hiring people who are experts in their field can help you take your business from strength to strength.
Managing them to get there? That’s where the gig economy support system comes in.
The gig-economy support structure: It’s a Pokédex. But bigger.
This is a Pokédex:
It’s designed to hold, keep track of, and manage your Pokémon. If that sounds familiar, it might be because it’s the HR, finance department, contingent workforce, and procurement agency of Pokémon Go.
What you have:
Business can create a similar tool by engaging with HR services, and compliance professionals specialising in international expansion and contractor management outsourcing who coordinate, track, and vet their employees. In fact, if it even happens in games these days, it should definitely be happening in your business.
Key Business Takeaways from Pokémon:
- Don’t be afraid of the constant changes in technology and business. Embrace them, and use them to your advantage.
- If you can use a technology or trend to improve your processes, boost your marketing, or engage your employees better, do it.
- Make your processes and interactions follow a set path, with clear goals.
- Keep your resources up-to-date, and ensure you have a method of managing them that allows you to level up consistently.
If financial compliance is one of the things you need to get ahead of the game on, give CXC Corporate Services a call.
Words by Alison Krumm
