Crowdsourcing is set to transform the market for in-home and business services carried out by technicians over the next five years, claims Roamler Tech UK Commercial Director Pete Gilbert.
The business model leverages a crowd of on-demand certified independent technicians based across the country; and tasks are allocated via a mobile app following a match with crowd members according to their skill set, certifications, experience and location.
“Professionals can accept tasks according to their availability, perform on-site visits and submit related information and photos for a quality check performed by a team of reviewers,” explained Gilbert.
He aims to replicate the scale of the company’s European crowdsourcing model in the UK and is piloting its gig economy approach with a number of service providers including TalkTalk.
In the Netherlands, where the model was initially piloted and launched in 2016, the company serves top national brands including KPN.
“Since the start of the pandemic telco companies saw a strong increase in demand for Internet and online services while facing a much lower availability of their own fixed workforce,” added Gilbert.
“Largely driven by Covid-19, sickness and absenteeism rates spiked at 25%, leading to a backlog of on-site visits performed by technicians.
“This crowd-supported approach allows businesses to be fully flexible in responding to the needs of the market, both in terms of footprint and volume, while cutting overheads and fixed costs.”