Uber introduces its industrial staffing service
Uber Technologies Inc. announced the rollout of its Uber Works industrial staffing app in a blog post. For now, Uber Works is operating only in Chicago, and the company is working with staffing firms TalentBurst and TrueBlue Inc. Workers are classified as employees of the staffing firms.
In order to get jobs, workers complete an I-9 form, undergo a background check and may be required to pass a skills assessment. Workers currently have a choice of two employers: TalentBurst or TrueBlue, and both staffing firms are able to list three reasons for workers to choose them.
The app connects workers with jobs in general labor, warehouses, customer service, cleaning, “front of house” (serving, bartending at restaurants and events) and “back of house” (cooks, dishwashers at restaurants). It will offer same-day pay. Employers post a job, then Uber Works dispatches a pre-qualified worker. The app also has a two-way rating system for employers and workers.
The staffing firms will employ and pay the workers as well as handle their benefits.
Tech takes toll on midskill jobs
Midskill jobs are declining in many industrialized countries as firms turn to automation, according to a report released by staffing firm Hays plc and Oxford Economics. “Rapid technological development has enabled machines and software to complete many routine and increasingly nonroutine tasks, according to the report. “As the cost of these machines and programs falls, they become increasingly close — and sometimes superior — substitutes for the humans who previously completed the tasks, leading to employment losses in vulnerable occupations.”
Midskill jobs include bookkeepers, paralegals and IT support among others. Technological advances in communication have also enabled further offshoring by industrialized counties, which impacts mid- and low-skill positions more than high-skill roles.
Online staffing platform RigUp raises $300 million
RigUp, an online staffing platform for the energy industry, announced it raised $300 million in a series D funding round. It brings total funding raised by the firm to $450 million.
Austin, Texas-based RigUp matches contact workers with energy companies in the upstream, renewables, midstream and downstream sectors, according to the company. Gross service volume is estimated to exceed $2 billion. The company was founded in 2014.
The latest funding round was led by Silicon Valley venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. The company’s investments have included Facebook and Lyft.
David George, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, will join RigUp’s board.
Bullhorn acquires software firm Erecruit
Staffing software company Bullhorn acquired Erecruit, a provider of applicant tracking and pay and bill solutions for the staffing and recruitment industry. Erecruit will operate as a business line under Bullhorn.
“We’re excited about the IP, the technology they build, and we’re excited about the talent,” said Art Papas, founder and CEO of Bullhorn.
Papas said Bullhorn announced its Bullhorn One middle-office product earlier and it generated much demand. At its end, Erecruit has developed a lot of intellectual property around the middle office — which includes processes from recruitment and sales to payroll and billing — and it has a team of people with expertise in the area. Given the synergy, the technology and people made this the right time for the acquisition, Papas said.
Erecruit’s four brands are Erecruit, Bond, TempBuddy and Innovantage. They came together in 2017 when Symphyony Technology Group acquired Erecruit and merged Bond and TempBuddy under the Erecruit umbrella. In addition, Erecruit’s portfolio includes eStaff365, an onboarding solution. Bullhorn plans to maintain and support Erecruit products moving forward and, in some cases, will make significant investments to grow several product lines. In addition, investment in Bullhorn’s own products will remain unchanged.
Erecruit’s management team — including founders Judd Hoffman and Danko Fatovic — will join Bullhorn. Bullhorn was founded 20 years ago and is based in Boston.
