Expert Quotes

More and more people are experiencing data breaches due to cyberattacks, according to the "Data Breach Report 2021" from The Personal Data Authority (AP). The number of reports increased 88 percent in 2021 compared to the previous year.

Earlier, CBS also reported that by 2021, 17% of Dutch people aged 15 and older - nearly 2.5 million people - will have been victims of online crime, CBS reported. Reports of hacking (7%) and purchase fraud (10%) were the most common. People aged 15 to 25 were the most frequent victims of account or device hacking, followed by those aged 25 to 45.

Minimizing risks

For an assignment, highly skilled independent professionals perform many activities online on a computer, laptop or phone. As a result, they are at greater risk of becoming victims of online crime. To prevent sensitive information from falling into the hands of other parties, it is important to minimize the risk of being hacked as much as possible. For example, regularly backing up critical data, running monthly software updates and using two- or multi-factor authentication for access to e-mail and remote access.

Unfortunately, it is not always possible to completely shut out online crime. Fortunately, there is cyber risk insurance for this purpose. This helps in case of a security breach, cyber attack, cyber deception, cyber fraud or hacking. It also covers digital liability and costs such as further damage limitation, restoration of lost data, software, reputation and lost revenue. Thanks to our collaboration with insurance partner Alicia Benefits, we can facilitate the self-employed with such insurance. So they can keep their focus on entrepreneurship and work carefree.

Collective discounts on various insurances, including cyber risks, is one of the benefits of the Select Professionals & Partners services, HeadFirst Group's platform. In addition to the opportunity to acquire challenging assignments through HeadFirst Group, freelancers and suppliers of professionals can use the services for administrative support, accelerated payment of invoices and benefits in the field of personal development, among others, as they wish.

NS currently has about 1,100 job openings. For on the train, but also for IT or in the office. One reason: tightness in the labor market. Not only is permanent staff scarce, but the limits for the flexible labor market have been reached. The number of offers on assignments for highly skilled work has plummeted and secondment agencies are selling out.

To recruit, engage and retain talent in this day and age, it is necessary for organizations to pull out all the stops. It forces them to look at the entire workforce in an integral way. The form of contract is less relevant; bringing in the right talent comes first. Weak employer branding is currently compensated by organizations by hiring hordes of recruiters. While the answer lies in data-driven recruitment methods and approaching alternative target groups, such as talent abroad or with a distance to the labor market.

Anyone who temporarily needs someone to test an application can be helped out very well by hiring a professional with autism externally. To this end, for example, we have collaborations with secondment agencies specializing in assisting autistic people with their work. We see it as our social responsibility as an HR service provider to create an inclusive and equal environment for professionals.

For several months now, working people have been able to take advantage of a STAP subsidy. Budget - up to € 1,000 per year - to follow a training, education or course. A very desirable development, according to the high demand. Both the first and second tranches were sold out in no time. Being able to decide on one's own career development is important because jobs are disappearing, processes are being automated and digitized. As a result, the skills required are changing rapidly.

It requires employed people to continuously invest in the targeted development of knowledge and skills in order to continuously add value to a work or client. However, self-employed workers who consciously choose entrepreneurship spend significantly fewer hours on training and development - compared to permanent employees.

Developing 'on the job'

Highly skilled self-employed workers are intrinsically motivated to develop themselves, but base this primarily on existing professional knowledge and experience. They have extensive work experience that they apply to clients' projects. Development 'on the job' is what they do every day, that is where the basis is formed, but supplementing knowledge with education and training is necessary.

That is why we facilitate personal development and continuous learning for the self-employed with our training platform Select Academy. Of course, the entrepreneur remains in charge - he or she became an entrepreneur for a reason - but we consider it our duty to make continuous learning as attractive as possible in order to steer professionals forward to their next dream role.

About Select Academy
The training environment, realized by HeadFirst Group in exclusive cooperation with the continuous learning platform MyCademy, offers professional training from 'world leading' providers in the fields of IT, management and finance, among others. Professionals can at any time, unlimited online training, virtual labs and knowledge sessions. The Select Academy subscription is one of the benefits of the Select Professionals & Partners services, HeadFirst Group's platform.

In addition to the opportunity to acquire challenging assignments through HeadFirst Group, zp'ers and suppliers of professionals can take advantage of services such as administrative support, accelerated payment of invoices, group discounts on various insurances and benefits in the area of personal development as they wish.

Unemployment in the euro zone - countries whose currency is the euro - reached its lowest level since 1998 last December, figures from statistics agency Eurostat show. Still, the labor market tightness is becoming more acute, fixed and flex.

Flex in high demand (again)

While the labor market for permanent staff has been scarce for some time, the limits for the flexible labor market are now almost reached as well. The number of offers on assignments for highly skilled work has plummeted: it is now five times lower than five quarters ago. Secondment agencies have sold out and are trying to supplement their supply by recruiting new staff, but are running into the wall. In addition, the sourcing pressure on highly skilled freelancers is skyrocketing: nearly 7 out of 10 are approached at least once a quarter for an assignment.

Finding & engaging talent

This hyper scarcity in the flex market is new in the Netherlands. In order to recruit, bind and retain talent in these times, it is necessary for clients to pull out all the stops. It requires creativity and forces organizations to look at the entire workforce in an integral way. The form of contract is less relevant; bringing in the right talent comes first.

If organizations do not have their employer branding and corporate social responsibility in order, they will miss the boat. Embedding them in the business is required, especially to attract and retain millennials - the growing group of workers. Weak employer branding is currently being compensated by organizations by hiring hordes of recruiters. While the answer lies in two areas; data-driven recruiting methods and targeting alternative audiences in the job market.

In the Talent Monitor "Hyper Scarcity in the Labor Market," we provide unique insights based on Intelligence Group's recruitment data and HeadFirst Group's hiring data. The report is free to download from our hfgroup.headfirst.group website.

In the first corona year, there were 130,000 more employed people than in 2019 whose labor income dropped at least 10 percent. In particular, flexible workers and the self-employed experienced lagging growth in labor income, reports NU.nl following the CPB study "Development of labor income during corona. An important nuance: this does not apply to all self-employed workers.

Impact COVID-19 on external hiring
The impact of corona on highly skilled self-employed workers in 2020 was minimal. Naturally, in principle, we saw a setback in new hiring requests and hours worked. Fortunately, the positive trend gently set in from May. The number of professionals whose assignments were specifically terminated also remained very limited.

Three reasons underlie this; 1) highly skilled freelancers can perform work at clients largely remotely, 2) they are often employed in mission-critical processes of organizations, with the result that these projects just kept going, and 3) government organizations make extensive use of externals, they proved to be a stable hiring force at the time of the corona crisis.

Importance of reforms
According to CPB, the published figures show that it is important to reform the labor market, central to which can be the reduction of the distinction between permanent and flexible work and the promotion of economic independence. To make the right choices in this regard, facts and properly interpreted figures are indispensable. An example: the distribution of wealth among the self-employed is greater than among employees, for example in terms of annual income and financial buffer. The self-employed are overrepresented both in the lower income brackets (less than €20,000 per year) and in the higher income brackets (more than €50,000 per year).

Do care for vulnerable self-employed
HeadFirst Group embraces the plans to protect (forced) self-employed with lower hourly rates and small financial buffers, for example against the consequences of disability and unemployment. At the same time, legislation should not have a negative impact on the growing group of highly skilled professionals, who sell their own labor to clients and consciously choose self-employment. Customization is thus essential to protect vulnerable self-employed professionals while facilitating innovation and entrepreneurship.

In the report "The self-employed do exist. Facts about the self-employed without personnel.' - prepared by independent knowledge platform ZiPconomy - HeadFirst Group lists valuable facts, figures and insights about the self-employed. It is free to download via the hfgroup.headfirst.group website.