A recent report by LinkedIn found talent pools expand nearly 10x when hiring managers adopt this approach. An impressive number to consider at a time where digitally skilled talent is in increasingly high demand.
Harvard Business School and Accenture also found 88% of recruiters agree they are filtering out highly skilled candidates simply because they don’t have traditional credentials like a past job title or university degree.
Despite the obvious benefits – expanded talent pools, increased diversity of thought, equity in opportunity – skills-first hiring practices are not the norm. And for those new to the concept, implementing a lasting and impactful skills-first strategy means more than just a shift in HR practices, it demands a broader, more considered change management program.
The first step in implementing a skills-first hiring process is to establish a mutually agreed, organisation-wide skills framework, standardising the capabilities needed in each role and across all levels. Using either your own framework or the globally recognised Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA), creating a skills taxonomy will enable you to see – with great clarity – the skills you have and the skills you need.
Once you’ve identified your skills gaps, it’s time to set about addressing them. Whether you’re looking to hire internally or going to market, a skills-first approach means forgoing traditional hiring mechanisms which focus on employment history and university qualifications. Instead, a job description is stripped down to the specific skills needed and at what level, definitions made possible by your new skills framework and alignment with SFIA competency levels. Candidates or existing employees can be matched to roles based on either their current skillset or natural aptitude to exceed in that area.
Administering psychometric and aptitude assessments – like those featured in WithYouWithMe’s Potential platform – will enable you to ‘get to know’ candidates without the inherent biases of CV-led hiring. Relying on these assessments to measure fit-to-role democratises access to opportunity for individuals from all backgrounds and enables repeatable hiring decisions based on data.
Potential also uses a unique Archetype model to categorise the personalities of your people and ensure you have the right mix of conscientiousness, creativity and agility in your teams. The ideal make-up of Archetypes will depend on task requirements, work environment and business maturity – and finding the right addition to compliment a team is essential for maintaining and increasing productivity.
If a candidate’s testing report demonstrates propensity for a role but they don’t yet have the skills, rapid upskilling programs can be put in place to achieve job readiness and fill critical gaps. Taking a skills-first approach is not only about bringing existing skills into your business, it's also about building and nurturing individuals to succeed in high-demand areas – and ultimately levelling up a broader workforce plagued with skills gaps.
With the increasing availability of high-quality online learning, certification programs, apprenticeships and other training opportunities, organisations can all contribute to building the skills society needs through inexpensive, accelerated internal programs.
Another finding from LinkedIn’s ‘Skills-First' report was workers who had made an internal move within their organisation at the two-year mark had a 75% chance of remaining with that organisation, compared to 56% for those who hadn’t.
Similarly, research shows organisations that excel in enabling internal mobility retain employees for an average of 5.4 years – nearly twice as long as organisations that don't, where the average retention time is 2.9 years.
Providing your workforce with opportunities to learn and grow is critical not only in preparing your business for the future but also ensuring employees remain engaged. A comprehensive skills framework and a skills-led approach creates clearer career pathways for individuals to transition across roles as the priorities of your organisation change.
The challenges organisations around the world are facing to address digital skills gaps and keep pace with changing technologies are challenges that will continue unless we change our approach to hiring and nurturing talent.
Organisations need to start filling critical gaps and putting effective plans in place to future-proof their workforces. The skills-first approach is the way forward, and we’re here to help you put your strategy in place.
