Some employers across industries are removing college degree requirements from their job postings. And that’s not the only common requirement they are “softening” as the quest to find and hire great new employees gets tougher and tougher. Are these companies lowering their standards? No! They are empowering themselves to focus on what really matters – the ability to do a job really well. For that, they’re focusing on skills-based hiring.
The goal of any hiring is to Get Things Done so your enterprise can grow and prosper. As employers have found it increasingly difficult to recruit ideal candidates, they have had to re-consider hiring perspectives and priorities. It turns out that the skills and traits we used to think of as secondary to “essentials” such as a college (or graduate) degree or X minimum years of specific experience are, in fact, fundamental to a person’s on-the-job success. Maybe even more important.
After all, you want employees who are not only knowledgeable but adaptable. Your company cannot thrive without them. These are the people who are best at considering a variety of problem-solving approaches and handling the inevitable, rapid changes that are the new normal for businesses -- the people who make diversity work for your company.
Experience has real power
But real experience isn’t about time spent, it’s about results. So skills-based hiring looks at what a candidate has accomplished – a real-life exploration of what they’re doing now and what they have done in the past. Not a list of responsibilities put down on paper, but evidence they have actually put out the effort to achieve bottom-line results in generating new revenue, boosting productivity, solving problems, saving money by instituting greater efficiencies, etc.
Therefore, skills-based interviewing evaluates performance.
For example, Candidate A may have your requisite 3 years’ experience, but in a low-pressure environment where it was relatively easy to shine. Candidate B, however, did a 6-month stint in a dynamic high-growth environment where they accomplished notable results. Which one would be the better fit in your own busy or high-pressure environment?
Another example: Candidate C applied for a position with a staffing firm, even though her background was in real estate sales and other positions. Would you have interviewed her? The savvy, skills-centric HR manager at the firm in question recognized this woman’s eminently transferrable entrepreneurial and outstanding people skills and knew C, and what a great match it has turned out to be!
Tapping into “hidden” workers and those transferable skills through alternative routes (STARs) enables employers to “improve hiring practices to uncover missed talent pools, close skills gaps, and improve diversity,” according to a report issued by Harvard Business School and Accenture. Who knows? You, too, might be blown away by a talented candidate you would have overlooked.
Creating a skills-based job description
Attracting the best talent isn’t simply a matter of eliminating your degree requirement. The key is to think hard about what is truly essential. Considering the “why” behind each of your position requirements reveals the knowledge and hard or soft skills you’re actually searching for to fill tech or other positions. In reality, many of these skills are transferable. That said, in some cases a degree or other credentials may be vital. In tech fields, hands-on experience with certain technologies may be absolutely critical. Those are your must-have requirements – the science side of hiring.
Everything else is an opportunity to be flexible and see what else top talent can bring your way – the artistic side of hiring that focuses on potential. Who is the kind of person we need? Do they have the soft skills and personality to fit positively into our corporate culture and collaborate successfully with teammates (or communicate well with customers)? Workplace matters greatly to top talent, so describe (sell!) your unique value proposition as a must-have opportunity for them to contribute and flourish.
At Power-4, we sift and discover
The unique value we bring clients and candidates is our deep understanding of what each entity needs. Internally, companies spend around 5-10% of HR time hiring talent and the rest of the time managing them. At Power-4, we spend 100% of our time on recruiting top talent, effectively building networks on behalf of HR and TA teams.
We don’t source resumes, we source people – top candidates who know their stuff – and then we get to know them as 360o individuals. What’s important to them at work, their goals and desires. Who are they as a person? That way, we know right away who will be best-skilled in every way for a particular position. Whether you need help hiring difficult-to-fill FTE positions or you’re looking for contingent worker expertise that can step in right now, our team has the power to deliver the skills you need.