Listen now on: YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts Edward Vanhoutte is the Founder and Managing Partner of Beam®, where he helps companies strengthen their HR teams through experienced freelance leaders and interim experts. Enjoyed this episode?Subscribe now on YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcast 📩 Download the full transcript 📩 Key takeaways Start with...
Berlin, June 2026. Two days. One iconic venue. 850 freelancers, contractors, and independent professionals — all asking versions of the same questions: How do I grow in a market that keeps shifting? Where does AI fit in my work without erasing what makes me good at it? And when will the politics finally catch up to how people actually work...
Listen now on: YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts Rich Parker’s father worked for the same company for 35 years. That was the expectation. Stability was the social contract, and most people honoured it without question. One generation later, Rich himself worked across four companies. The generation after him entered the workforce during a...
Most freelance engagements start the same way: there’s a gap, a deadline, and a quick search for someone who can help. But what if that approach is exactly the problem? In this episode, we’re joined by Matthew Knight, an award-winning independent strategist and Chief Freelance Officer at The Independency Co., and we unpack why reactive hiring...
For decades, growth meant hiring more full-time employees and expanding internal departments. But in today’s fast-moving markets, many organisations are realising that traditional hiring alone can slow them down. In a recent conversation with industry expert Katherine Steiner-Dicks on The Independent Workforce podcast, we explored how companies...
For decades, companies have defaulted to one solution for almost every business challenge: hire someone full-time. New market expansion? Hire.Digital transformation? Hire.System implementation? Hire. But what if the issue isn’t a lack of talent — it’s the hiring model itself? In this episode of The Independent Workforce, Jamie Jacobs, at Gig...
Freelancing is evolving fast. Between 2023 and 2025, the overall freelance market slowed by over 20%, but demand for specialised roles soared, with some categories growing by more than 270%. In 2026, freelancers with the right skills can still secure high-paying, future-proof projects — if they know where to look. Companies increasingly hire...
Listen now on: YouTube Spotify Apple Podcasts The European work landscape is undergoing a fundamental shift, and the Czech Republic sits at the forefront of this transformation. In this podcast episode, we explore how the Czech freelance market has evolved from informal arrangements into a sophisticated talent ecosystem with Klara Hrubá, CEO of...
The challenging economic climate has left its mark in 2025, affecting both companies and freelancers. But which sectors are bearing the brunt? Our latest data from the Freelancer Compass 2026 reveals the three industries experiencing the most significant decline in projects in the DACH region. Key takeaways Top 3 industries losing demand...
In today’s rapidly shifting world of work, flexibility isn’t a trend — it’s survival. But while many companies fear the idea of working with freelancers, contractors, or fractional experts, others are building entire engines of innovation powered by independent talent. One of the pioneers of this new operating system is Nuri Demirci...