And the Work Goes On
The last 18 months have been tough. As noted by MarketWatch, the workers’ market of the post-pandemic is “long over[i].” Layoffs have hit the technology and financial services sectors especially hard. In some cases, entire departments have been let go or drastically downsized. Perusing LinkedIn can be triggering, and chances are you or someone you know well has had a green “open to work” flag. You hear about improving labor reports for some sectors, but there is also a sense that between COVID and AI, things have evolved. Many workers are asking themselves, what does my career future look like?
For many fortunate to have kept their jobs in these most-affected areas, the workload may have increased due to fewer resources. Employers, who may be experiencing more than usual uncertainty, are not as quick to hire full-time employees to ease the load. Some employees are now doing the job of two or three people. Daniel Zhao, lead economist at Glassdoor, notes that there is a prevalent weak employee sentiment perhaps as a result of an “overwhelming sense of burnout after the 2021-2022 labor shortages era being followed by layoffs and sluggish hiring in 2023 and 2024[ii].”
For both workers and employers in an uncertain environment, the consulting path provides a new option for both sides. For workers, it is an opportunity to choose work on a project basis, offer their experience and expertise, and build a career portfolio. For employers and companies, it is the ability to bring on what they need, when they need it — someone to come in, pull up a virtual chair, and say, “Tell me what you need, and I’ll take care of it.”
Companies want the flexibility of engaging professional services consultants and developing their full-time employees. Employees want the opportunity to focus on their success, growth, and development. Workers choosing the consulting path are seeking means to build their careers in ways that offer choice, flexibility, and broad experience.
This is where we come in. Collabry is a consulting and communications collective that delivers results with empathetic expertise. Founded 10 years ago (under the name of Blu Pagoda), Collabry has more than 50 consultants around the country who specialize in strategy, execution, and management. These individuals have chosen the consulting life and have walked miles in the shoes of clients — as employees and leaders at corporations. We are known for becoming an extension of the teams we support, without ego or aspirations to climb the corporate ladder.
We are not a traditional consulting firm that shows up with an army of briefcases. And we aren’t a staffing agency with a vending machine approach of treating workers as commodities. We are a consulting and communications collective brimming with seasoned talent and committed leadership. Understanding a Master Service Agreement? No problem. Carrying multimillion dollars in insurance coverage? Check. Do we speak Ariba? Yes, in addition to any other procurement and billing platform. Women-owned and powered by diversity? Yes, so glad you asked. Committed to DEIB, in word and deed? Absolutely.
While a consultancy business model is not new (far from it), we believe our approach is innovative — deeply collaborative, with a focus on growth and flourishing for all.
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[i]https://www.marketwatch.com/story/american-workers-havent-been-this-worried-about-losing-their-jobs-in-a-decade-ac0665f0
[ii]https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/glassdoor-employee-confidence-index-july-2024/