myBasePay is transforming what it means to be an agile workforce management technology platform. The Future of Work Exchange is excited to welcome the solution’s co-founder and Chief Business Officer, Angela Alberty, for an engaging discussion on the Future of Work, the evolution of the agile workforce, and more:
Christopher J. Dwyer: Thanks for joining us, Angela. It’s great to chat once again. Tell us a little bit about your background.
Angela Alberty: Thank you for coordinating, Chris, its an honor to be able to join, and congrats on the launch of FOWX! Well, my background is probably consistent with most in this space, meaning: I didn’t necessarily grow up wanting to be in the staffing / human capital space. But one year out of college I quickly found myself in a position at an agency and the rest has consisted of the last 10 years in the employer of record (EOR) space, with a specialization in the contingent workforce sector for some of the largest EOR providers out there. A year ago, I had the opportunity to partner with Cesar Jimenez and co-found myBasePay. With similar backgrounds, we launched in March of this year and its been exciting to see our brand grow into one of the new waves of the modern EOR platform, with an aligned mission in representing the advocacy for the temporary worker.
CJD: One thing that I’ve experienced thus far getting to know you and the myBasePay team is the camaraderie between your executive team. How important is that level of peer engagement when it comes to MBP’s level of success thus far?
AA: Its tremendously important and in terms of gauging it adequately, its been pragmatic on what I would consider our progress thus far. We each lend different areas of insight and have leveraged a team with the same level of conscious input and subject matter expertise. Adding to that is a layer of genuine companionship that has just organically seeped into the culture we’ve established amongst our staff. So I definitely feel that there is this positive, residual effect that our internal identity has benefited from as well.
CJD: You spent time in the staffing and contingent workforce industries before joining MBP. How does that expertise help the platform solve the problems it was designed to do?
AA: Well, I’ve been fortunate to see the contingent workforce ecosystem from many different angles: working with teams of general counsels to administer contracts, communicating with brokerages to establish risk management programs and portfolios of business, onboarding and processing payroll for hundreds of temporary workers under different verticals, working in and out of various VMS platforms for day-to-day procedures and running costs analysis to build and devise implementations for teams of contingent worker types while gaining fundamental concepts of HR and compliance oversight. These are all areas that are vital to a proper formation of an EOR business model, and coupled with the expertise our team brings to tie the technology behind the user and worker’s experience within our platform, are truly what we want to enable to solve these problems.
CJD: I very much admire the main goals of the myBasePay solution: provide EOR functionality, support contingent workforce management, and connect businesses with top-tier talent. How did the team develop this unique approach?
AA: You know, I think the best way to answer this question can probably apply to so many different areas of life in general: you live and experience the problems you eventually seek out to fix. I’ve mentioned this in prior presentations of our company but we’ve lived in the shoes of the independent contractor on 60-day payment terms, the temporary-waged worker trying to make ends meet during the holidays because they don’t qualify for PTO, the staffing agency owner reading through mounds of legal language to qualify as a supplier, the processor trying to gauge the risk threshold for a worker’s classification, and the enterprise customer dealing with a retention issue in their contingent workforce management (CWM) program because the benefits are subpar (or in some cases, non-existent). These experiences have been foundational in the creation of our goals.
CJD: One major strength is myBasePay’s support of the contractor, freelancer, and gig worker community (by offering the benefits that are normally out of reach). How will this help MBP continue its differentiated approach from others in the market?
AA: You said perfectly when you mentioned the “others” in the market. The EOR concept is nothing new; it has been around for decades, in fact. But we knew from day one our differentiator was going to begin with our prioritization around the worker. Market conditions are ever more poignant on the control that the candidate has in this current climate. But beyond that, what is the indirect benefit that an enhanced benefits structure can lend itself to in a more successful CWM program? That’s exactly the sort of analytical approach we take with each new opportunity. We firmly believe and have been able to showcase through various case studies that an enhanced benefits model can improve retention, increase productivity, and establish loyalty while offering a more aligned level of proper talent curation.
CJD: We’re entering yet another inflection point for the agile workforce, especially after eighteen months of a pandemic. Where does non-employee talent go from here?
AA: Simply put: UP! In fact, the pandemic has pressed the “fast-forward” button on an already increasing segment of the market. The full-time worker model is, dare I say, reaching antiquated levels. Tenure is dropping, the “Great Resignation” is here, generational impacts are shifting talent’s prioritization where increased skillsets, work-life balance and independence are more important than ever, and enterprise organizations are seeing the value of a more formalized CWM programs (hence the direct sourcing trend we see happening). Times are changing and many reports, including those found within Ardent Partners and FOWX, indicate more investment, participation, workforce market share, etc. being devoted to the non-employee talent segment and the formalization of the programs/departments that will need to grow in order to properly support it.
CJD: What does the Future of Work mean to you?
AA: I’ve asked and have been asked this dozens of times; it’s almost reached a level of philosophical surmise. I am simplistic on this approach: the Future of Work ends and begins with the worker and the technology that encapsulates this notion. The Future of Work is knowing that any person can go online and within seconds have dozens of opportunities waiting for them. How we enhance their working life thereafter with the technology that enterprises and third-party platforms invest in to create that optimum experience will be the ones at the top in the quest for talent. That, to me, is the essence of the Future of Work.