Freelancers In Big Corporations: Insights From Airbus Defence And Space

May 15, 2024 10:00

Marco Wilde has worked in innovation management at Airbus Defence and Space for 15 years. At Freelance Unlocked in May 2024 he presents briefly and then discusses with the audience, many of them freelancers, how a large corporation deals with freelancers, speaking for himself only. His team needs digital skills it lacks in-house, but he says there is still no formal way to hire freelancers directly.

**What the talk covers**

- A chatbot case: a three-month proof of concept started about six years ago with an external freelancer. The chatbot went live company-wide only about two months before the talk, because it had to wait for a shared platform and IT security checks. He uses it to show how slow a large organisation moves.
- The obstacles, by his account: requests go through procurement, which asks three large providers, who may send people without the skills asked for. Employees avoid personal risk, since everyone completes compliance training twice a year, and many do not know when freelancers are allowed.
- What he wants: a formal and secure route, so that a team lead can pick a person by their original profile and does not wait months for training. He has started talks with a freelance platform and expects it to take time.
- Fit: he describes a model of mindsets in which IT service teams are structured and rule-bound, while many self-employed people are more driven and action-oriented. Freelancers who dislike structured organisations, he says, will not be happy there.
- Market outlook: because of rigid pay frameworks and competitors paying about 30 percent more, he believes the share of freelancers will rise.

**From the discussion**

A freelancer says recruiters seldom pass on the background of a role. He agrees that information should flow both ways, from company to freelancer too.

**Who it's for**

Freelancers who want to work with large companies and see procurement from the inside.