KRD-2
Elance is an online staffing
platform based in Mountain View, California, United
States.
Elance was first launched in 1999, its name inspired
by a 1998 Harvard Business
Review article titled
"The Dawn of the E-Lance Economy". It
was initially developed as a technology for supporting virtual work. Two years
later Elance introduced a vendor management system (VMS) for contractors and
third-party services used by large enterprises. In 2006 Elance sold its enterprise
software division and developed instead its current web-based platform for
online, contingent work.
As of February 2013, Elance is used by approximately
500,000 businesses and 2 million registered freelance professionals, who have
collectively earned nearly $850 million to date.
A merger with oDesk, another online staffing platform,
was confirmed in December 2013. The deal was finalized in April 2014 and the
two companies will create a resource that consists of 8 million freelancers and
2 million businesses.
The Elance website allows businesses to post jobs, search for freelance
professionals, and solicit proposals. They can evaluate the contractors
applying for the job and, once a contractor is selected, communications and
files are exchanged through the Elance system. Payment for jobs, which can
either be hourly-rate or project-based jobs, is made by the client through
Elance's system, which deducts a percentage of the fee, 8.75%, as a
"commission." Elance's Work View tool provides an official
record of work completed. For project-based jobs statement of work or milestones are used to indicate progress
toward completion, and funds are held in escrow by Elance to ensure payment upon completion of the milestone.
Freelancers
Freelancers search Elance's website for jobs and can research clients'
buying histories on the system. Each freelancer can post a profile displaying
past jobs and feedback, a portfolio, and specific skill and
educational-background information. Registered free users are allowed to submit a limited number of
proposals each month while those on paid membership plans can submit additional
proposals. Elance offers payment guarantee once work is done using the Elance
system. A 2012 survey of freelancers conducted by Elance indicated that
freelancing was the "sole source of income" for 48% of respondents
and that 69% had at least a bachelor's degree.
Website: www.elance.com
No comments:
Post a Comment