Shareconomy - What the buzzword of 2013 means for business

Khalid Razouki, Recruitment Consultant at Sanderson, defines the latest buzzword 'shareconomy' and what relevance it holds for recruiters in 2013.


‘Cloud Technology’. ‘Managing Trust’. You’re no doubt familiar with the buzz words of the past two years, but what about ‘shareconomy’, the term of the moment used to describe the societal shift from owning to sharing? If you’re not using it yet, you will be soon according to Frank Pörschmann, CEO of CeBit, as ‘shareconomy’ is evident in several dimensions: "First, shareconomy is profoundly influencing enterprise processes, because social media tools will become more and more popular. Second, the Internet is the place for teamwork, both in and outside the company. Partners, consultants, suppliers and customers will be more closely integrated as part of a networked process. The borders separating companies and organizations will become ever more transparent. Therefore, employees and managers must rethink and be prepared to share know-how, contacts and assets."


For Sanderson Recruitment, the importance of sharing information is paramount to our success. From a resourcing perspective, it’s essential to have a deep and insightful understanding of the current market; what companies are hiring? What projects are on the horizon? Are there any companies merging? What are the current market rates for a skill set and how are they changing? Knowing this information is essential in ensuring we deliver the best service to both our candidates and clients. We have achieved this by having a company culture of “shareconomy” where sharing market, company and client information - as well as working collaboratively amongst consultants, managers and directors - is now a natural and every day occurrence.

In the not too distant future, blogs, wikis, polls and other software solutions will dynamically change our working world. Software solutions will be used even more as required; they must be customized, targeted and application-specific. The trend is moving from a complete package solution to shared solutions like SaaS (Software as a Service), PaaS (Platform as a Service) and IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service). As Pörschmann notes, ‘it's about the Facebooking of the global economy. Whoever wants to be successful must actively network."

The underpinning theme in the concept of “shareconomy” is collaboration and the benefits of this, in terms of information and knowledge, will include improved experiences (for both clients and candidates through increased effectiveness), efficiency and reduced costs to name but a few. In 2013, ‘shareconomy’ is the one buzzword that recruiters cannot afford to ignore.