How Independent Talent Enable Singularity to Seize Marketing Opportunities Faster

The digital age demands marketers react faster than teams have the bandwidth to handle

Speed is paramount in the digital age. Being the first to jump on a trending hashtag can launch your brand as a market leader, but coming in second can have no impact, or worse, reflect negatively on your organization. Despite this, the marketing team at Singularity University couldn’t jump on opportunities fast enough as team members either couldn’t pull themselves from other work, or they didn’t have the specialized skills needed. That’s when former VP of Marketing, Adam Hofmann, sought a cost-effective way to extend their capabilities.

Upwork enables teams to move fast and remain in control

Upwork’s work marketplace is designed to connect teams with the talent they need, when they need it. Each team member gained access to the platform, which “empowered them to work faster.”  Then Hofmann balanced speed with effectiveness by creating processes for reducing errors and managing spend. For example, the team could contract talent in as little as 24 hours, but he prefers they spend 2-3 days interviewing talent to “find someone we all feel good about.”

From a single dashboard, Hofmann maintains visibility over total talent usage, approves time cards, pays talent with a couple of clicks, and ensures all onboarding and offboarding processes are met as usage scales.

Employees gain more than an extra hand

Having wide access to skilled, on-demand professionals allows the team to rapidly test ideas and execute on the winners. Plus, the team processes leads two times faster and has raised output by 30%. An added bonus: When employees work with external specialists, it naturally brings about learning opportunities that enhance employees’ skills and increases their creativity. Hofmann set out to identify and act on winning ideas faster. What he showed was a better way to get work done.