To celebrate International Women's Day, our CEO Lorna Davidson spoke to Dawn Paine, as part of her Creativity Reframed series where they discussed female leadership in crisis. 

When I think of the words ‘industrial’ and ‘revolution’,  I think of Victorian steam trains hissing through the countryside, or the shouting of crowds during the 1789 storming of the French bastille.

I don’t really think of 21st century me, sitting at my #wfh desk underneath the living room window as industrious or revolutionary. But they’re labels I can now weave into the fabric of my life, even in a small way, along with marketer, Netflix watcher, northerner…

The 4^th Industrial Revolution is one each and every one of us is a part of.

Disrupting businesses, pushing boundaries in home entertainment – it’s already affecting and improving the quality of daily activities as we move increasingly quickly towards a life integrated with technology.

If the revolution was already hurtling fast towards us, then Covid-19 shocked it firmly into the here and now. Casual conversations musing over what the future world of work would look like in years to come were jet propelled forward by the pandemic’s unforgiving flipping upside down of the world as we knew it.

Along with that propulsion a gap has emerged – a digital skills gap. News reports of children unable to home school due to lack of equipment and the enormous physical shift of employees emptying offices all over the UK to work from home made headlines.

For us, the pandemic saw an increase in the number of people registering on our platform to find flexible work; searching for new streams of income after having hours reduced or being made redundant. Their backgrounds are varied; air hostess, financial advisor, a bespoke tailor. Skilled people already, in the position of having to make change into the unknown.

As a pioneer of flexible working, we’re already fusing digital technology with on-the-ground opportunities to work and earn better, but now there’s a new, more urgent desire to improve their digital knowledge.

We asked our wigwammers how many of them were looking for new opportunities to upskill. The response was overwhelming.

82% responded saying they had a need to feel better equipped for the new post-pandemic world.

Maybe it’s time to think about what to call this desire for new digital skills.

I know, let me call it SuperPowering Up .

Elena, 23, from London lost her job as Covid-19 sent unemployment shockwaves through the events industry. Knowing she wanted flexibility, Elena joined our redwigwam community to find a new way to work and earn, allowing her to take time to study and prepare for a post-pandemic workplace. 

Last month, redwigwam won Best Innovation in Online Recruitment at this year’s National Online Recruitment Awards.

Now in their 20th year, the annual awards recognise and acclaim the very best examples of online recruitment in the UK.

Our CEO Lorna Davidson spoke to Stephen O'Donnell on NORA's webcast series. They discussed Lorna's entrepreneurial background - and how it resulted in the creation of redwigwam, and how 2020 has shown just how important a more flexible future is for everyone.

You can watch their interesting conversation below.

It's the most wonderful time of the year... And while 2020 has been anything BUT normal, it's nice to have a sense of the usual with the welcome return of Christmas TV ads to our screens over the last few days.

Here's our faves so far....

As we hurtle towards what will undoubtably be a Christmas like no other, can we be of assistance to help you overcome some of the challenges your brand is facing at the moment? 

As we hurtle towards what will undoubtably be a Christmas like no other, can we be of assistance to help you overcome some of the challenges your clients are facing?

This year, perhaps more than ever, businesses all over the UK have become reliant on a more flexible workforce.

COVID-19 has provided many challenges to workers all around the UK.

As a recent graduate, wigwammer Ross struggled to find work post-university due to the pandemic.

We spoke to him about some of the challenges he faced, and how finding part-time work with logistics giant easyStorage has made his future look even more flexible. 

As businesses have to re-evaluate costs and overheads, the ability to turn staff levels on and off becomes crucial - and having access to a flexible team allows you to do just that.
 

COVID-19 has provided many challenges to businesses all over the world. 

We spoke to Wils Jennings and Jo Harwood of heritage brand Burton's Biscuits (home to Maryland Cookies & Jammie Dodgers) about how they use flexible workers to overcome some of the challenges they have faced recently - and why the future looks even more flexible. 

As businesses have to re-evaluate costs and overheads, the ability to turn staff levels on and off becomes crucial - and having access to a flexible team allows you to do just that.