Why Freelancers Will Be Holland's Future Innovators

flickr/hillary the mammal

At one time, the phrase "going freelance" might have been something that you would have heard from a disgruntled colleague who had just been let go and was secretly plotting to take all of her ex-boss's best clients. Now, freelancing is a regular phenomenon, no matter in what part of the world you live. (Check out this infographic.) What was once a synonym for being unemployed is now a valid occupation. In a place like the Netherlands, where the national discussion is searching for ways to stimulate innovation in the economy, this is a good thing. Just how can the Dutch business climate foster entrepreneurship and innovation? A good answer is: hire more freelancers.

A recent report, published last month by the European Commission, found that compared to the rest of the EU member states, the Netherlands finished as an "Innovation Follower", in fifth place overall. The Netherlands trailed behind the pack of "Innovation Leaders" but led other Innovation Followers Luxemburg, Belgium and the United Kingdom. The Nordic member states dominated the Innovation Leaders bracket, with Sweden, Denmark and Finland taking the first, third and fourth spots, respectively, with Germany coming in second. 

European Commission

The Netherlands' high ranking within the followers group is a result of its strong research system. The Dutch spend generously on public research and development programs, attract foreign doctoral students and produce internationally co-authored scientific publications. Nonetheless, what kept the Dutch from reaching the top spots in the ranking was dwindling investment in research and development within the private sector. In addition, hi-tech product and service introductions and sales showed weak figures in the analysis.

The European Commission study used 24 factors to determine the innovation score for each country. Among the metrics were: the education level of the population, scientific publications that were a result of an international collaboration, research and development spending in the public sector, investments in the private sector, SME research and development activity and collaboration and patent applications. Existing data, covering the period between 2004 to 2011, was gathered from Eurostat, Scopus, Thomson Reuters and other databanks in order to make the analysis.

So, according to the European Commission, the Dutch need to regrow investment in private industry's R&D projects and get hi-tech products and knowledge-intensive services engaged in their economy. Firm investments in the business sector as a percentage of the GDP declined in the Netherlands, for the period 2007-2011. Equally important, the presence of hi-tech companies in the Netherlands has not made a strong impact to employment, trade or GDP. The Dutch need to implement the right strategy to strengthen its knowledge sector's economic impact.

Tax incentives and subsidies aside, which depend on lengthy political discussions, what can change in Dutch business culture right now? Well, hiring a more flexible workforce will foster entrepreneurship, says one report. The study, conducted by ABN AMRO, the Dutch financial institution, found that the number of self-employed people will go up in the near future, and it's something that employers can leverage in order to make their businesses more innovative. 

Stagnating employment numbers and reduced fixed costs at companies will reduce the amount of fixed employees working in the office, reports ABN AMRO. However, they say, companies can utilize flexible resources to meet their business needs. That's where freelancers come in. Not only are they available now, but companies will have more to choose from in the future. (Embracing this trend so much, ABN AMRO has even made an app that freelancers can use to keep track of their daily costs.) 

More of these flexible workers leads to more innovation, they say. Based on interviews that were conducted in cooperation with FastFlex, a human resources staffing and services company, ABN AMRO found that freelancers tended to bring added value to its client. Self-employed professionals were often specialists in their field, having accumulated a mine of experiences with several different clients. They are creative and can work outside of the company's culture. Hiring them is key to bringing Dutch innovation outside of a lab book and into the marketplace.