Gigwalk, a mobile app that allows users to get assigned basic “gigs” or jobs from companies via their location, is unveiling a new suite of tools to allow companies to manage local work via the phone.
Gigwalk, which launched last year, basically allows companies to tap into a mobile workforce for simple tasks. Users simply download the app, enter PayPal information and get assigned entry-level “gigs” or jobs that may take just a few minutes at a time in a particular location. For example, TomTom uses Gigwalk’s workforce to snap pictures to verify certain navigation points, such as one-way streets, etc. These workers simply snap a picture, email them in and receive a few dollars for the easy task.
Gigwalk is making it easier for companies to communicate with workers. Ad co-founder Ariel Seidman tells me, the company is focused on giving businesses the tools and controls it need to collaborate with workers and get work done efficiently. New Mobile Work Groups give companies a way to maintain a network of people they have worked with in the past and want to work with in the future. Companies can post their jobs specifically to their groups, more broadly to the Gigwalk network, or to both.
Currently, Gigwalk has around 130,000 workers in its network to help businesses find the right workers for the right jobs. When evaluating a candidate, businesses can see the number of Gigs each applicant has completed, the applicant’s highest level of education, his or her current occupation, and his or her on-time rate.
In order to help companies communicate with workers in real-time while they are completing tasks, Gigwalk has added instant messaging to its app. Businesses receive an email whenever there is a communication through the platform, such as when they’ve received a message from a worker, when an application to a Gig has been received, or when work has been submitted and is ready for review. Businesses can respond directly through the Gigwalk platform, and messages are sent to workers’ mobile phones.
The app also now includes a survey guide, a notepad, and a photo library to enable workers to more efficiently document and collect information in the field.
Seidman says that some people using Gigwalk are earning $6,000 per month for work. Since launch, over 180,000 jobs have been completed through the platform for companies like eBay, Microsoft, Chegg, and BMW. The company also now has workers in all 50 states in the U.S.
