oDesk Online Work Survey: Fall 2012 Global Results

Online Work Survey:Fall 2012 Global ResultsConducted by Genesis Research Associates

Methodology• Survey was conducted by independent research firm Genesis Research Associates and commissioned by oDesk• Objective: Understand the evolution of hiring and staffing on a global scale, among businesses hiring online• Fielded online in fall 2012 and released in October 2012• Audience: Businesses that recently hired online workers on oDesk• N = 2839 Global• Sampling error: +/- 1.8 points globally 2

Agenda• How important is talent to a business’ success, and how painful is it to access?• How does online hiring compare with traditional hiring?• What is the economic impact of online work?• What kinds of businesses use online workers?• What is the future of online work? 3

A quick primer on online work• Any skill that can be done on a computer • Tech, design, legal, admin, translation, etc.• Simulates working in an office • Except that work is done in an online workplace so it can be anytime, anywhere• Relationship-based, quality work • Directly managed, 1:1 work 4

How important is talent to abusiness’ success, and howpainful is it to access? 5

Businesses need talent, but say traditional hiring is painful 90% say access to talent 70% agree traditional is important hiring methods are painful 47% Very important Agree 42% Critical Agree strongly 43% 28% 10A) How much do you agree or disagree with each of9) How important to your business success is the ability the following statements?to hire people with the right skills when you need them? “Traditional methods of hiring and staffing are painful”Base (total respondents): 2839 Base (total respondents): 2839 6

Why is traditional hiring difficult? Talent scarcity is almost on par with cost Factors contributing to the difficulty of hiring on-premise (Distributed out of 100)Expense/cost “My animation project was 33% stalling because of the lack of talent in my city.” – U.S. Hard to find 30% talentTime it takes 20% “Its extremely difficult to find qualified, skilled people in Not flexible 17% the UK for our operation.” – UK 29D) Please distribute 100 points across this set of 4 issues to indicate how much each one contributes to the difficulty of hiring on-premise workers. Base (total respondents): 2839 7

They already believed traditional methods weren’t working Actively looking for a new way to hire when they found out about online work No 36% Yes 64%11) At the time when you first found out about online workplaces (like oDesk), were you actively seeking a new way tohire?Base (total respondents): 2839 8

How does online hiring comparewith traditional hiring? 9

76% say online work helps solve the talent availability dilemma Online Workplaces Enable Businesses to Choose the Best Talent Instead of Settling for What’s Available Locally 42% 34% 15% 8% 1% Agree strongly Agree Neutral/No Disagree Disagree opinion strongly10C) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? “Online workplaces (like oDesk) enable meto choose the very best talent for my needs instead of having to settle for whatever talent is available locally”Base (total respondents): 2839 10

Online Hiring is MUCH faster“There is a great ease of Median Days to Hirehiring an online worker vs.in-person. Not only is thetime to interview 23.9lessened, you can try outthe services quickly anddetermine if there is a fit forthe position quickly.” – U.S. 2.8 Online worker On-Premise worker18) How long does it typically take to hire an online worker? Please estimate how much time usually passes betweenwhen you first start looking for someone to hire and when the new worker is officially hired and under contract.Base (total respondents): 283929A) How long does it typically take to hire an on-premise worker? Please estimate how much time usually passesbetween when you first start looking for someone to hire and when the worker is on-board and starting to work.Base (total respondents who have hired on-premise workers): 1286 11

Online is “easier” and “less stressful” than on-premise 82% say online hiring is easier 53% 29%68% say on-premise hiring is more 40% 28% stressful Much more Somewhat more30) In general, how would you compare hiring on-premise workers versus hiring online workers?Base (total respondents who have hired on-premise workers): 128631) In general, how would you compare hiring on-premise workers versus hiring online workers?Base (total respondents who have hired on-premise workers): 1286 12

Online work helps overcome traditional hiring challenges Importance in Decision to Hire Online Workers 72% say provides more flexible staffing (scalable for variances in business… 19% 53% 72% say faster hiring 18% 54% 67% say allows me (or my in-house staff) to focus on higher-level skills 20% 47% 62% say can find specific skills that would be difficult to find locally 22% 40% Very important Important14) How important were each of the following in your decision to hire online workers?Bases (total respondents): More flexible (2056), Faster (2041), Higher-Level Skills (1907), Find Specific Skills (1760) 13

A bold prediction: By 2020… the majority of contract workers will be working online (86%)*33) Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with the following statement about business.Base (total respondents who had an opinion): 2142* Percentage corresponds to those who agree out of respondents who had an opinion 14

What is the economic impactof online work? 15

Online work expands the labor market:Only 17% would have hired locally What Would Have Done if No Appropriate Online Worker Worked extra 37% hours Hired on- premise Delayed/cance 21% worker led project 17% Something else Done 83% something 16% else Not sure 10%20) Thinking about the most recent time that you hired an online worker, if you had not found an appropriate onlineworker, which of the following best describes what you most likely would have done?Base (total respondents): 2839 16

Hiring workers from anywhere is seen asgood for their own country’s economy “By hiring workers abroad we are able to create new projects and products that in turn help our economy out. We have grown to be able to pay 72% employees locally as well.” – U.S. 28% Agree Disagree10K) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? “The fact that businesses like mine havethe ability to hire workers from anywhere in the world is good for my countrys economy.” Results shown among thosewho have an opinion.Base (total respondents who had an opinion): 1953 17

Online workers are considered long-term team members Role of Online Workers in Respondents’ Companies Staff/tea Long- Short- m Outsider term term 69% 31% 84% 16% “One of my online workers has proven to be so knowledgeable and skilled that I deputised her to run my staffing requirements including hiring, coaching and training. She lives 10,000 miles away and I have never met her!” - UK 28) Do you try to build long-term relationships with27) Do you consider online workers part of your individual online workers, or do you just hire whoever isstaff/team or are they outsiders? available at the time to fill your short-term needs?Base (total respondents): 2839 Base (total respondents): 2839 18

In choosing workers, quality trumps cost Importance in Choice of Which Online Worker To Hire 82% say past work… 32% 50% 78% say star ratings 26% 52% 72% say pay rate 21% 51% 70% say portfolio 25% 45% 66% say references 19% 47% 49% say skills test scores 11% 38% 33% say education 6% 27% Very important Important15) And, how important are each of the following issues to you when you choose which online worker to hire?Base (total respondents): 2839 19

What kinds of businessesuse online workers? 20

About half are suburban or rural Company Location 52% 37% 11% Urban area Suburban area Rural area “I was living in a small community at the time with a limited talent pool. Commuting from a city was possible, but would have consumed too much time. So using remote workers was very desirable.” – US (Bay Area)39) Which best describes your companys primary location?Base (total respondents): 2839 21

Most say they are “start-ups” Start-up Not a start-up 58% 42% “Quite simply Ive been able to realise my dream and vision for a startup company. Without [online work] this wouldnt have been possible.” - UK41) Do you consider your company a start-up?Base (total respondents): 2839 22

Almost 90% see online workers as a competitive edge “…made my business possible to function and compete with large corporations.” – U.S. 88% say "Online workers make 40% 48% me more competitive in general" 76% say "Online workplaces let 34% 42% me choose the best talent" Strongly agree Agree10E) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? “Access to online workers makes mycompany more competitive in general”Base (total respondents): 283810C) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements? “Online workplaces (like oDesk) enableme to choose the very best talent for my needs instead of having to settle for whatever talent is available locally”Base (total respondents): 2839 23

Online work grows businesses faster 85% say "Online workplaces 40% 45% help launch products faster" 80% say "Online workplaces help businesses grow revenues 33% 47% faster" Without my contractors I would not have been able Strongly agree Agree to grow my business so quickly - UK10I) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?“Online workplaces (like oDesk) are helping businesses like mine to launch products orservices faster”Base (total respondents): 283910H) How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?“Online workplaces (like oDesk) are helping businesses like mine to grow theirrevenues faster”Base (total respondents): 2839 24

Online workers seen as a long-term business strategy Long-term Temporary “Its the old adage, work strategy solution smarter not harder. I 84% 16% noticed my business grow exponentially when I hired others to do work.” - UK26) Which of the following best describes how you feel about the role of online workers in your business?Base (total respondents): 2839 25

What is the future of onlinework? 26

Businesses are hiring about 3 online workers per year average Total Hired Past 12 Months 31% 22% 17% 16% 14% 1 2-3 4-5 6-10 >103) In total, how many online workers have you hired in the past 12 months (either through oDesk or any otherway)?Base (total respondents): 2839 27

What do they need help with? Skills Most Difficult to Find Locally Web development 37% Software development 32% Design or multimedia 24% Writing or translation 17% Sales or marketing 13% Tech Networking/IS 9% Non-tech Administrative/clerical 8% Professional services 5% Customer service 5%32) Which types of workers do you think are most difficult to find in your local area?Base (total respondents): 2839 28

Rapid adoption: 2/3rds hired for more than one skill, 2/3rds within 3 months Online Hire History How Long After 1st Hire to Hiring Different Skill >1 yr 9% 6-12 mos 10% >1 3-6 mos 15% 1 Type Type 32% 68% 1-3 mos 26% 1-4 wks 28% <1 wk 11% 17A) About how long after you hired your very first online worker17) Have you hired online workers with different types of did you first hire an online worker with a different skill set?skills, or have you only hired one type of online worker? Base (total respondents who have hired more than 1 type ofBase (total respondents): 2839 online worker): 1928 29

High demand: 95% plan to increase or maintain online hiring Next Year vs. Last Year – Number of Online Hires Same number 32% Fewer 5% More 63%19A) Do you expect that you will hire more or fewer online workers in the next year than you did in the pastyear?Base (total respondents): 2628 30

Most expect to increase spend on online workers in the next year 94% say they’ll spend the Of those spending more, 58% same or more say they’ll spend at least twice as much Less Same >2x 33% 6% amount 23% 2x 25% 50%-75% more 28% More 71% About 25% more 13%19B) In total, do you expect that you will spend more or less on online workers in the next year than you did in the past year?Base (total respondents): 262819C) As compared to your spending in the past year, how much more do you think you will spend on online workers in thenext year?Base (total respondents who will spend more in the next year on online workers): 1868 31

By 2015, most expect at least 50% of their workforce to be online Percent who say at least half their workforce will be online in 2015 24% 24% 19% 16% 16% 1% More than 75%About 75% About 50% About 25% Less than 25% None19D) In 2015, what percent of your companys workforce do you estimate will be online workers?Base (total respondents): 2628 32

Predictions • “In the future, hiring will be more dependent on having the right skills than on location” (95%) • “In 10 years, most businesses will have blended teams” (94%) • “In the future, new employees will bring online workers as part of their own work teams” (91%)*33) Please indicate how much you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about business.Base (respondents who had an opinion): Right skills (2507), Blended Teams (2407), Bring Online Workers(2096)* Percentages on this slide correspond to those who agree, out of those who had an opinion 33

oDesk Online Work Survey: Fall 2012 Global Results

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