Degree requirements remain a persistent decision-making factor for hiring. Having a prestigious institution on your resume has long been considered a golden ticket to job security. But recently, more HR departments have been opting for skill and competency over education and pedigree. Besides broadening the applicant pool, setting aside traditional beliefs about education level allows often overlooked candidates to prove themselves and establish successful careers.
Kara Yarnot, vice president, strategic consulting at HireClix, a global recruitment marketing agency for HR executives, has seen this shift firsthand. She shares how HR leaders can best navigate this and other emerging trends, from AI to employee engagement.
What strategies do you recommend for HR departments considering a shift toward skills-based hiring over traditional college degree requirements?
The first step in a shift towards skills-based hiring is a true job analysis to evaluate the actual skills required for a position. Encourage leaders to set aside the traditional beliefs about degree requirements and look at the specific skills needed to be successful in a particular role. Educate those leaders about the various ways an individual may acquire those skills outside of a college degree.
To help HR departments navigate this shift and to ensure a candidate has the skills necessary to excel in a role, I recommend adding assessments to the selection process. Assessments allow candidates to demonstrate their skills and remove factors like how candidates perform in an interview setting. Both of which can increase the diversity of your applicant pool by helping those who may be overlooked, such as members of the neurodiverse community.
Another strategy I recommend is comprehensive interview training for hiring managers. Interviewing is a skill that must be taught and practiced. If you are now hiring based on skill and competency versus education and pedigree, your hiring team must be skilled at interviewing and selecting candidates based on these criteria.
How can HR leaders adapt their benefits offerings to reflect the evolving expectations of employees?
The modern workplace has undergone extreme changes, largely influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic. New paths and different angles took people to different places. The pandemic taught us not to have plans, redefined a new version of normal and in turn, had people reassessing what was actually important to them—especially when it comes to benefits.
For example, flexibility, continued education programs and career progression are just some of the non-monetary benefits employees are looking for, also known as emotional salary. Understanding these new expectations is the key to adapting dynamics and retaining top talent. HR leaders should look to provide benefit plans that offer choices to employees to select the programs that fit their life and are most important to them. There is no longer a “one size fits all” approach to benefits.
In what ways is AI streamlining HR functions?
With the rise of AI, many fear it may replace or diminish the need for certain jobs, such as HR. However, AI is not a threat to HR roles at companies, but instead a valuable tool that frees up these professionals to focus on more strategic and human-centered tasks.
Tasks that AI streamlines for HR teams include scanning resumes, scheduling interviews and prompting recruiters to follow up with candidates and hiring managers. AI is also being used to automate performance evaluations and provides managers with data-driven insights to pinpoint areas where employees may need improvement, further training or coaching and upskilling.
Additionally, AI plays a crucial role in promoting diversity and inclusion by identifying unconscious biases in the selection and promotion processes, ultimately contributing to a more diverse and inclusive workforce.
How can companies expand their talent pool and better engage prospective employees?
Moving to skills-based hiring expands the talent pool by removing traditional barriers for underrepresented groups. Companies can further expand their talent pool by looking beyond the typical race and gender groups when targeting outreach efforts. The disability community and older workers are both traditionally underemployed demographics who can expand your talent pools. Both groups offer rich pools of skills and capabilities that can add depth to your talent pools.
In my experience, companies often overlook a wealth of talent by solely focusing on job boards such as Indeed, LinkedIn and ZipRecruiter. To truly broaden their talent pool and engage potential employees effectively, companies need to engage with candidates where they spend most of their time—online. While job seekers are accustomed to seeing job postings on platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook, there’s a significant opportunity for employers to connect with candidates on the platforms they frequent the most. By doing so, companies not only expand their reach to a larger audience of more passive job seekers, but also provide a transparent window into their employer brand and company culture.
An ideal way to better engage prospective employees is to have a well-researched and articulated employee value proposition that explains why the ideal candidate would want to work for your organization. Your EVP should be woven through your job ads, your social media posts, your marketing materials and your career site. It should both attract the best-fit candidates to your opportunities and help those who would not be successful in your organization to self-select away by using the authentic voice of your employees to tell your story.
