Blockchain technology powers the #FutureofWork with Nodal Labs

Nodal Labs, the world’s first blockchain-powered freelance marketplace, launches to bring new trust and transparency to recruitment

Nodal Labs, the blockchain-powered freelance marketplace, launches today (29 Apr) in the UK to reinvent the recruitment process for businesses and freelancers.

The platform launches with 20,000 pre-validated sign-ups and a £250 million recruitment contract to bring fairness to the freelancer/employer relationship.

It gives employers instant access to a talent pool of freelancers, with skills verified by others in the industry to bring peace of mind that candidates have the experience they claim.

For freelancers, the platform allows them to shine, regardless of the size of their personal network, and then uses a system of smart contracts to put an end to the persistent and damaging issue of late payment and unfair scope creep which has become an endemic problem in the freelance community.

As work and skills are continuously validated and recorded each time an action is performed, the platform creates a trust-building positive feedback loop, bringing transparency and fairness to the relationship between employer and freelancer, and giving each party the opportunity to tap into a network far wider than their own.

Nodal will initially serve the Creative & VFX, and construction, property & engineering sectors, where the challenges of skills verification and late payment are most severe. Minstrell is  amongst the first customers signed up to the platform after Nodal secured a £250 million deal with the specialist recruiter. Nodal has been working to develop the platform alongside internationally renowned architectural design firm Foster & Partners, creative studio Access VFX, and award-winning VFX company Union VFX.

Nodal offers businesses of all sizes an end-to-end recruitment solution, with a single view of all processes from talent identification through to on-boarding, timesheets, invoicing and payment. The custom blockchain technology records, verifies and automates traditionally slow and cumbersome processes.

Guaranteed verification of skills means that employers can divert their focus to ensuring the right cultural fit for their business, slashing the wasted time and expense associated with a wrong hire.

With timesheets instantly recognised against invoices, and payroll on-boarding time reduced, Nodal allows HR professionals to get on with what they do best – the human part of human resources.

Nodal guarantees that freelancers can be confident that they will be paid regularly, accurately, and for the work they have delivered. This is achieved through a system of smart contracts, the terms of which are automated once placed onto the blockchain.

Commenting on the launch of the platform, Nodal’s CEO & Founder, Oliver Hibbs-Brockway, said:

“Recruitment shouldn’t be about who you know, it should be about what you know. Hiring the right people is critical for businesses, yet recruitment remains inefficient – it’s lost any sense of trust.  We built Nodal to cut wasted time and energy out of the recruitment process, streamlining it to ensure that everyone involved can get on with the job in hand. We must put employers and freelancers on an equal footing, to build relationships that start well and flourish – the freelance economy is here to stay.”

Tory Wire – Head of People at Union VFX, added:

“Our industry needs an easy to navigate bespoke hub with up to date availability and references to find the very best talent.  Nodal provides just that, a platform that is intuitive to use, with industry peer ratings, date availability and the ability to speak to the talent all within Nodal – saving time, resources and money and providing an instant and reliable source of reference – something we all need and want when looking for our artists and production crews.”

Simon Devereux – Group Head of Learning and Development at The Mill and Founder of Access VFX, said:

“The team at Nodal are solving a real challenge we come up against in our industry that artists secure work based on friendships and networks rather than merit and raw talent. We’re excited that this initiative is working to address this imbalance, level the playing field and introduce studios to a wider pool of diverse talent and fresh, exciting perspectives!”

Gamma Basra – Partner and Head of Visualisation at Foster and Partners, said:

“There is a real issue sourcing creative talent quickly with the correct skill set and a platform like Nodal can help both artist and employers to connect.”