“零工經濟”的興起造就了一批價值數十億美元的公司，他們渴望利用智能手機的增長和無處不在的互聯互通。共享汽車公司Lyft和優步，食品配送企業Postmates，點對點住宿市場服務商Airbnb（愛彼迎），以及自由職業者平臺Fiverr都已於2019年上市或準備上市。

預計到2020年，自由職業者，合同工和“臨時用工”將佔美國勞動力的43％左右，高於2016年的34％，這意味著美國將繼續從傳統的就業模式轉向新的就業模式。但是，靈活用工群體的管理和溝通會帶來具體的挑戰，這就是為什麼一些創業公司已經開始嘗試更好地將僱主與非僱員聯繫起來的原因。

近日，總部位於舊金山的合同工/靈活用工敬業度和溝通平臺Sense宣佈已在Alphabet旗下的GV領投的一系列B輪融資中籌集了1,350萬美元，由Accel參投。除了資金外，Sense還公開了一款名為Messaging的新產品，這是一種雙向的短信工具，可以使招聘人員通過基於桌面的集中界面與候選人和工作人員進行交流。

據悉，Sense Messaging已在正式發佈之前的幾個月進行了測試，招聘人員可以進行雙向溝通，工作人員也可以提出問題並回復消息。招聘人員可以通過網絡應用訪問類似電子郵件的收件箱，從中發送和管理所有郵件。

雖然所有基於文本的移動通信都以短信開頭，但承包商可以選擇通過單擊鏈接來將對話轉移到WhatsApp，以驗證他們的WhatsApp帳戶。在招聘人員的最後，通過WhatsApp發送的消息仍然存在於集中的Sense Messaging平臺中。

Sense此前已經獲得了由GV和Accel於2017年共同領投的1,000萬美元的A輪融資。另外還有1350萬美元的銀行貸款，Sense計劃在研發和銷售方面加倍投資。

GV leads $13.5 million investment in contractor engagement platform Sense

The rise of the “gig economy” has created a slew of billion-dollar companies eager to capitalize on the growth of smartphones and ubiquitous connectivity. Ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber, food delivery network Postmates, peer-to-peer lodging marketplace Airbnb, and freelancer platform Fiverr have all either gone public, or intend to do so, in 2019.

Freelancers, contractors, and “contingent workers” are expected to represent around 43% of the U.S. workforce alone by 2020, up from 34% in 2016, signalling a continued shift away from the traditional employment model. But managing and communicating with a transient workforce poses specific challenges, which is why a number of startups have arrived to better connect employers with their non-employees.

One of these companies is Sense, a contractor engagement and communication platform that today announced it has raised $13.5 million in a series B round of funding led by Alphabet’s GV, with participation from Accel. Alongside the funding, the San Francisco-based company also lifted the lid on a new product unambiguously called Messaging, a two-way SMS tool that enables recruiters to communicate with candidates and workers from a centralized desktop-based interface.

With Sense Messaging, which had been in testing for the few months leading up to today’s official launch, recruiters can now engage in two-way communication, with the worker able to ask questions and respond to messages. And recruiters can access an email-like inbox through a web app, from which they can send and manage all their messages.

While all text-based mobile communications begin as an SMS, contractors can elect to shift the conversation to WhatsApp by clicking on a link to authenticate their WhatsApp account. On the recruiters’ end, messages sent via WhatsApp still live inside the centralized Sense Messaging platform.

Sense had previously raised a $10 million series A round that was co-led by GV and Accel back in 2017. With another $13.5 million in the bank, Sense plans to double down on its investment across R&D and sales.