Crowdsourcing has been doing rounds since quite some time now. Crowdsourcing is perceived to move audiences if leveraged at the right place and under the right circumstances. The term is quite popular in the business and entrepreneur sphere however, still many people have little or no idea about this powerful term. Therefore, let us take a glance at what it is, and why businesses are practising it to enhance operations.
What is Crowdsourcing?
Crowdsourcing, as the word defines itself to a certain extent, utilises the knowledge of a crowd, more particularly a group of people for a common goal. Its benefits are best leveraged when attempting to solve complex problems innovatively or to declutter intricate processes.
Although crowdsourcing has existed for centuries however, it was only in 2006 that Jeff Howe in his article coined the term and expounded the practice in more detail. The practice rose to popularity in the early 21st century owing to the advancement of e-commerce, social media and smartphone culture.
The proliferation of connectivity among the people across the globe is deemed to be the biggest promoter of increasing interest in this practice. It has an uncanny resemblance to brainstorming however, it emphasises on finding solutions to more complex issues.
How Does Crowdsourcing Work?
An important tool for businesses across the globe, crowdsourcing can be leveraged in a variety of areas, including data processing, finding solutions to operational hiccups and other general issues. It is a prevalent practice in many fortune 500 companies now and accounts for a significant part of decision making as well. Talking about smaller companies, it has able to merge progressive minds, resulting in a more unprecedented rate of success for the firms.
The practice can be manifested in various ways, depending on the aims of the business.
For a business to crowdsource successfully, there is a need to break larger, more intricate tasks into smaller fragments. The business can then assign these smaller tasks to a group of people to work upon and brainstorming solutions for the task, reach a collective decision and measure the scope of it.
It is well understood that a business operating in a different industry, can leverage crowdsourcing in a, particularly different way, than any other business. There is no need for the ‘crowd’ to be present physically in a room to execute it; availability through digital means can be registered.
Benefits of Crowd Sourcing
- Increases Scalability – Companies can scale quickly by amalgamating remote workforces to work on a particular task.
- Fills Knowledge Gaps – Crowdsourcing helps the company to bring together able minds to work together and help and enlighten others.
- Reduces Operational Cost – When a group of people connect remotely to work upon a task, a business can bypass a significant amount of costs typically associated with operations.
