The innovations in technology have increased the number of employees needed with job-specific skills. AI will continue to help employers create the workforce they need. In some cases, innovations in AI will take over jobs that some employees are currently being paid for. However, AI cannot replace connecting skills like resilience, creativity, and communication that every organization needs to stay competitive.
There is a growing awareness of the benefits of skills-based hiring to enhance the benefits that AI is bringing to the workforce. A skilled-based approach can open opportunities for potential hires who may not have traditional degrees but have the necessary skills and experience your organization needs. It means more of a focus on skills and then pays employees according to those skills rather than based on a job description, degrees, or certifications. A degree does not guarantee expertise or experience.
When posting for a new position, it’s important to review whether or not a four-year degree is required. By that standard, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates would never have been considered for a position. If a potential hire has the experience and skills, why would an organization pick someone who has the degree, but not the right experience, over someone who has deep knowledge and experience, but not a four-year degree? Leaders also need to consider why they would pay someone a higher salary because of a degree versus someone with the skills the company needs. Skills-based hiring and skills-based salary levels can mean better results and access to a wider pool of talent.
Skills-based hiring also includes more of a focus on what have been labeled "soft skills." It includes thinking about the attributes needed in a particular role or within a particular team.
When hiring we all have our own biases. It is human nature to hire someone who may have a similar background and be someone we would choose to spend time with. Often this happens unconsciously. But it can get in the way of skilled-based hiring. One approach to addressing this bias is by having very focused questions during the hiring process. An example would be “Tell me about a time when you demonstrated resilience through a difficult work challenge.” This allows the potential hire to share specifics about both experience and soft skills.
There is another benefit to a focus on skilled-based hiring. It can create a more inclusive workforce and economy. This focus on skills versus degrees means that more people from diverse backgrounds have more opportunities to be valued. The hard reality is that higher education continues to become more and more expensive, which disproportionally impacts people of color. That doesn’t mean they don’t have the same or more experience than their counterpart with the degree. If a job posting makes that 4-year degree a requirement, your company may be losing out on a potential needed hire.
There is also an internal approach that organizations can take to fill positions. There may be current employees who don’t necessarily have a linear view of career development. More employees are open to trying out different roles at different times in their careers. This not only benefits your company, it also is a clear signal to your workforce that there are opportunities for a more flexible approach to their career development.
Where organizations can get stuck is in reviewing hundreds or thousands of roles, with lots of underlying jobs to be done, that are at different levels with lots of underlying skills. Trying to address all of these at once can be overwhelming. It can mean losing sight of the real solutions.
Organizations that are having more success are looking at specific skills-based pathways they already have where they are seeing the best results and the most employees moving from one area to another. It could be a non-digital area into a digital area; maybe it’s moving from sales into marketing. Focusing on where there is already success in your organization and building on that can help HR get better results instead of trying to be everything to every part of the company. Taking the time to evaluate whether the job postings and hiring process are truly skills-based can also make a positive impact on attracting and retaining the skilled workforce you need.
AI will be changing how work gets done and impact what jobs are taken over by AI versus those that are human-centered. Having more of a focus on skills-based hiring can help your company be better prepared for the changes ahead.