During the ‘Great Recession’, we’re seeing an increasing number of businesses shifting their approach to hiring in order to secure the best possible talent. And interestingly, one approach that many organisations are turning to is skills-based hiring, which is reported to have grown by 63% over the past 12 months alone.
But what is skills-based hiring, and how could it help you recruit with confidence?
What is Skills-Based Hiring
The skills-based approach to securing talent places focus on a candidate’s particular skills sets and overall competencies, rather than on qualifications or industry experience. Essentially, it’s about hiring based on whether or not a candidate is capable of doing the job, rather than being based on what course they took at university, or how many years they’ve been working in the industry.
Which, when you pause and think about it, makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?
Why is Skills-Based Hiring Growing?
The past few years especially have thrown a major spanner into the works. The world doesn’t work in the same way. People don’t act or behave in the same way. And as a result, we’re seeing a huge rise in a group known as ‘STARs’; people who are ‘Skilled Through Alternative Routes’, rather than through more traditional means.
For example, fewer young people are considering university, with the latest research suggesting that only 25% see further education in their future. Previously, there had been a push to see half of all school pupils round off their education at university.
Today, of course, individuals also have more resources available to them than ever before. Choosing not to go to university does not equate with choosing not to learn. From remote training courses to online classes, there are many ways for people to learn valuable professional skills without acquiring them in formal environments.
Benefits of Skills-Based Recruitment
At Bond Williams, we’re working closely with businesses embracing the skills-based approach to talent acquisition, and there are three notable benefits emerging:
- Removal of bias
Intentional or not, bias – to some extent – exists in all of us. You may be thinking ‘name, age, gender, ethnicity… none of that matters to me’ – great. But what if you received an application from a candidate who works in a very prestigious role at a competitor company, well known across the industry? Would bias play a role in hiring? For many, it would. We’d see this experience and reputation, and it would shape our approach to how we recruited for that position. However, it could mean we’re overlooking other amazing talent with skills that align with the particular role.
- Expansion of the talent pool
Today, many businesses are struggling to hire. The challenge is, in part, driven by growing skills gaps. And, in part, driven by the events of the past two years. But we can’t ignore the fact that companies are also restricting their own talent pools. Is there a difference between Person A – who has the skill to do the job, but has no degree – and Person B, who has the skill to do the job, and a qualification to prove it? In life experience, yes. In ability to carry out the tasks required by the role? No. And yet many introduce degree requirements that limit their access to top talent.
- Diversification of the workforce
Skills-based hiring is a way of bringing in people who can do the job, regardless of who they are or where they’ve come from. It means we’re not building offices full of people who all went to top universities or completed the same courses. We’re building teams full of people with different experiences and different perspectives. They all have the skills they need to get the job done yet can also challenge each other to see things from other angles, blend different ideas to innovate in new, powerful ways, and facilitate better, smarter ways of working for the organisation.
