Talent disrupted: Opportunities and threats for Human Resource Development (HRD) strategy and practice in the gig economy through the critical HRD lens

Abstract

This chapter addresses calls for research exploring the implications of Human Resource Development (HRD) and its likely role in the gig economy (Scully-Russ and Torraco, The changing nature and organisation of work: An integrative review of the literature. Human Resource Development Review, 19(1), pp. 66-93, 2019). This chapter reflects on a case study of a 'new law' digital platform firm that sought to implement an HRD strategy for its highly diverse and gig-based workforce. At a time when HRD has seen its role move from specialist to distributed, demonstrating ongoing relevance and contribution to global, real-world issues becomes paramount. The amorphous, often hidden and fast-changing nature of the gig economy presents renewed challenges for scholarship and practice in Human Resource Development (HRD). This chapter proposes how a critical HRD lens can reassert HRD as a key discipline in supporting a broader range of interests and needs in the gig economy. The critical HRD lens contributes to understanding the nature of precarious work in the gig economy by exposing localities of power and disadvantage but also practical solutions for leveraging equality, capability development and knowledge transfer in the gig economy.