Guilds, Free Agents and the Hollywood Model
If you'd like a sneak preview of what might be the future of work, then stay tuned to the current labor dramas in Hollywood. This week has been marked by the tense negotiations between Hollywood studios and the Writers Guild of America. At the end of June, the studios must also negotiate a new agreement with the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), which has a history of solidarity with the writers guild.
What does any of this have to do with the "real work" that's done outside of Tinseltown? Potentially a lot, if you buy into the idea that future work will be organized along the lines of what Charles Grantham calls "the Hollywood model." In his book The Future of Work, he argues that a combination of new technologies and new ideas about employment flexibility are pulling us in the direction of more collaborative types of work. At the same time, companies are becoming "virtual" (via outsourcing, alliances, etc.) and more project-oriented. In short, they're becoming more like the movie industry, where organizational structures have shifted from large, vertically integrated production organizations to today's "more loosely connected functional networks of independent actors, production companies, and distributors."
Two hallmarks of Hollywood are free agents and guilds. These days, outside of Hollywood there's a growing market for skilled contingent workers, increasingly known as free agents. The Internet greatly facilitates the ability of these people to find jobs, work from remote locations, and collaborate with others on projects. In fact, today there are a number of Internet-based companies that help free agents locate and bid on work projects. Prof. Thomas Malone of MIT's Sloan School of Management calls electronically connected free agents "e-lancers." He notes, "They work together on project teams for a day, a week, a month, or longer – and then disperse and recombine to work on other projects."
Malone believes that tomorrow's skilled free agents will increasingly need guilds, much like the ones already operating in Hollywood. In Fast Company magazine, he states, "Guilds are organizations that provide a wide range of services for mobile workers, the kinds of services that employers have traditionally provided. For example, SAG contracts stipulate that producers pay a surcharge into the guild's benefits fund – an amount that can be as much as 30% of an actor's base pay." Guilds could also do things such as develop skills-accreditation standards, salary guidelines, and industry-wide job descriptions.
New guilds or their equivalents may emerge from unexpected sources. Malone argues that staffing agencies could eventually evolve into guilds. In some cases, staffing firms already offer health insurance, training, sick pay, and other benefits normally associated with traditional, full-time work. Some even offer extensive career assistance. Other entities that may take on guild-like characteristics include Internet-based job-matching services and college alumni associations.
Of course, new guilds may also emerge from the most expected source: today's labor unions. However, unions will need to learn some new tricks if they're to build successful guilds. "I'd say unions need to evolve to meet the new reality," states MIT research associate Robert Laubacher. "Collective bargaining works well when industries are stable. But when firms reconfigure and skills are obsolete every few years, who do you bargain with, and over what?"
One thing that they may bargain over is intellectual capital, particularly intellectual property rights. Many business experts have proclaimed that intellectual capital will be the key resource of the 21st century, and the ownership of this capital may become a critical issue for guild members. Again, Hollywood serves as an example. One of the major points of contention between the Writers Guild of America and the studios is related to residuals, the amount of money paid to writers for the reuse of their work after its initial broadcast. But pride seems just as important as money. The writers have also called for more control over script revisions and more access to film sets. And they want to keep directors from getting "A Film By" credit when the directors haven't worked on the script. It wouldn't be too surprising if, as in medieval times, professional pride becomes a predominant feature of future guilds.
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For an article on the future of guilds, see
http://www.i4cp.com/huuIpj
For a positive look at the free agency idea, see
http://www.i4cp.com/ekWbme
For a report on some of the negative effects of contingent work, see "When Good Jobs Go Bad" at
http://www.i4cp.com/cRd5af
Below are some Web firms that offer job matching for free agents:
http://www.i4cp.com/oxQN5W
http://www.i4cp.com/mnV25D?
http://www.i4cp.com/zseIw2
http://www.i4cp.com/iuFSsD
Working Today, a national nonprofit membership organization, states that it promotes the interests of independent workers at
http://www.i4cp.com/Z2pPH4
For an article on the pride of Hollywood writers, see
http://www.i4cp.com/6A5a2O
Below are links to organizations involved in recent Hollywood labor negotiations:
http://www.i4cp.com/V7yTPY
http://www.i4cp.com/6yjArp
http://www.i4cp.com/HFhpgs
Here is an article on "e-lancers":
http://www.i4cp.com/HwRTsV
What does any of this have to do with the "real work" that's done outside of Tinseltown? Potentially a lot, if you buy into the idea that future work will be organized along the lines of what Charles Grantham calls "the Hollywood model." In his book The Future of Work, he argues that a combination of new technologies and new ideas about employment flexibility are pulling us in the direction of more collaborative types of work. At the same time, companies are becoming "virtual" (via outsourcing, alliances, etc.) and more project-oriented. In short, they're becoming more like the movie industry, where organizational structures have shifted from large, vertically integrated production organizations to today's "more loosely connected functional networks of independent actors, production companies, and distributors."
Two hallmarks of Hollywood are free agents and guilds. These days, outside of Hollywood there's a growing market for skilled contingent workers, increasingly known as free agents. The Internet greatly facilitates the ability of these people to find jobs, work from remote locations, and collaborate with others on projects. In fact, today there are a number of Internet-based companies that help free agents locate and bid on work projects. Prof. Thomas Malone of MIT's Sloan School of Management calls electronically connected free agents "e-lancers." He notes, "They work together on project teams for a day, a week, a month, or longer – and then disperse and recombine to work on other projects."
Malone believes that tomorrow's skilled free agents will increasingly need guilds, much like the ones already operating in Hollywood. In Fast Company magazine, he states, "Guilds are organizations that provide a wide range of services for mobile workers, the kinds of services that employers have traditionally provided. For example, SAG contracts stipulate that producers pay a surcharge into the guild's benefits fund – an amount that can be as much as 30% of an actor's base pay." Guilds could also do things such as develop skills-accreditation standards, salary guidelines, and industry-wide job descriptions.
New guilds or their equivalents may emerge from unexpected sources. Malone argues that staffing agencies could eventually evolve into guilds. In some cases, staffing firms already offer health insurance, training, sick pay, and other benefits normally associated with traditional, full-time work. Some even offer extensive career assistance. Other entities that may take on guild-like characteristics include Internet-based job-matching services and college alumni associations.
Of course, new guilds may also emerge from the most expected source: today's labor unions. However, unions will need to learn some new tricks if they're to build successful guilds. "I'd say unions need to evolve to meet the new reality," states MIT research associate Robert Laubacher. "Collective bargaining works well when industries are stable. But when firms reconfigure and skills are obsolete every few years, who do you bargain with, and over what?"
One thing that they may bargain over is intellectual capital, particularly intellectual property rights. Many business experts have proclaimed that intellectual capital will be the key resource of the 21st century, and the ownership of this capital may become a critical issue for guild members. Again, Hollywood serves as an example. One of the major points of contention between the Writers Guild of America and the studios is related to residuals, the amount of money paid to writers for the reuse of their work after its initial broadcast. But pride seems just as important as money. The writers have also called for more control over script revisions and more access to film sets. And they want to keep directors from getting "A Film By" credit when the directors haven't worked on the script. It wouldn't be too surprising if, as in medieval times, professional pride becomes a predominant feature of future guilds.
====================================================
For an article on the future of guilds, see
http://www.i4cp.com/huuIpj
For a positive look at the free agency idea, see
http://www.i4cp.com/ekWbme
For a report on some of the negative effects of contingent work, see "When Good Jobs Go Bad" at
http://www.i4cp.com/cRd5af
Below are some Web firms that offer job matching for free agents:
http://www.i4cp.com/oxQN5W
http://www.i4cp.com/mnV25D?
http://www.i4cp.com/zseIw2
http://www.i4cp.com/iuFSsD
Working Today, a national nonprofit membership organization, states that it promotes the interests of independent workers at
http://www.i4cp.com/Z2pPH4
For an article on the pride of Hollywood writers, see
http://www.i4cp.com/6A5a2O
Below are links to organizations involved in recent Hollywood labor negotiations:
http://www.i4cp.com/V7yTPY
http://www.i4cp.com/6yjArp
http://www.i4cp.com/HFhpgs
Here is an article on "e-lancers":
http://www.i4cp.com/HwRTsV