As the gig economy grows, an important offshoot of this movement is gaining momentum: the flash organization. These pop-up shops come together for one purpose, such as developing and marketing an app. They include entire teams that work closely together, and when the project is complete, they disband.
Flash organizations are fueled by the gig economy because they are manned by freelancers. While the use of flash organizations is growing, they aren’t necessarily a new concept. The New York Times article, “The Pop-Up Employer: Build a Team, Do the Job, Say Goodbye,” points to Hollywood as the perfect example.
“Temporary organizations capable of taking on complicated projects have existed for decades, of course, perhaps nowhere more prominently than in Hollywood, where producers assemble teams of directors, writers, actors, costume and set designers and a variety of other craftsmen and technicians to execute projects …” the article states.
Not all business objectives have the multimillion dollar budgets associated with Hollywood, and that’s OK. A flash organization can be built around a variety of budget parameters. Technology has reduced the cost of outsourcing tasks to cohesive teams considerably, offering a unique level of flexibility and customization. What’s more, flash organizations are appropriate for a variety of industries and needs.
Consider a few examples:
- Gigster.com is a smart development service that brings freelancers together into software-building teams on demand at any time.
- Artella.com is perfect for creating complex animated features, offering teams of freelance animators, sound designers, and other talent at your beck and call.
- Two Stanford professors are working hard to bring the Foundry to life, which is a resource that makes it easy for any business to assemble flash teams fast.
How are flash organizations going to impact professionals? As the gig economy flourishes, flash organizations will likely become more commonplace. However, the downfalls of the gig economy are shared by flash organizations. For example, the worker is likely to be on their own for health care and other benefits. In the future, will these perks be offered in a meaningful way to freelance workers? We’ll have to just wait and see.
