Are we entering the era of Skill-Based Hiring?

Skill-based hiring (aka talent-based hiring) is becoming an increasingly relevant way of hiring a talent today. But what is skill-based hiring? To begin with, it gives more importance to the knowledge, skills, and competencies of employees rather than their experience or educational background when considering hiring an individual. 

To further emphasize the relevance and value of skill-based hiring, we have included a skill-based hiring statistic. A study indicates that more than half of employers, 56%, utilize pre-employment tests to evaluate the knowledge, skills, and abilities of job candidates. So, companies give a major weightage to skills over other parameters while selecting a candidate.

If it is still fuzzy for you on the potential benefits of skill-based hiring, don’t worry – let’s explore. 

One of the major benefits of skill-based hiring is that it helps to level the playing field for job seekers; primarily because it is based on a candidate’s abilities rather than their background or societal advantages. In addition to this, it enables businesses to discover the suitable applicant for a position much faster and more precisely – decreasing the cost and time involved with recruitment.

Mentoring is becoming one of the most popular and productive ways of providing guidance to people. It unlocks the hidden potential of people by letting them speak their heart out. And since mentors are equipped with a network of resources, and are experts in directing people towards a right direction, they get to explore new possibilities that they can accomplish. 

This builds a productive ground for people who then explore job opportunities based on their skillset. This arises a need for companies since they get to shortlist talent based on their skill set rather than just experience or qualifications.

Let’s explore more about the trend of skill-based hiring in 2023, how companies are becoming a part of raising talented people and hiring them. 

Also Read: Are today’s job roles relevant for a new age skillset?

Understanding Experienced and Skill-Based Employees

In the course of hiring, companies tend to give preference to experienced employees or individuals possessing unique skills. Wondering why so? Experienced employees or veterans have a dab hand at various industrial intricate processes – they have been there and done all of that.

Skilled employees are recruited as they have special talents and expertise. From ground level, they have worked to excel in a particular skill which makes them highly eligible for the new age opportunities.

Many businesses consider that recruiting experienced employees can be a salubrious solution since they have the knack and ability to handle the tasks at hand. Nevertheless, enlisting experienced individuals can prove to be a relatively pricey endeavor since senior workers are generally paid more than their less senior colleagues. Also, they may be interested in acclimatizing themselves to the job process and the team before commencing work. 

With skilled employees, there’s no waiting; they can bestir themselves right away due to their understanding of the nuances of their job role. To elaborate, prior to being able to work efficiently within an organization, these individuals necessitate formal training. However, once trained, they turn into invaluable assets and gradually start tackling complex projects savvily. This is primarily due to their ingenious skill set – a distinguishable trait which may be missing in the most experienced staff members. Also since they handle a particular niche – not the entire field and they can be trained quickly. 

Importantly, professionals exhibit a high degree of suppleness in work and attitude that can be difficult to emulate by conventional recruits. They are acclaimed for a variety of skills and unique qualities – adroitness, ingenuity, technical acumen, and creative problem-solving capabilities to name a few. This allows organizations to deploy them in a wide range of roles and departments according to the changing needs of their business. 

Furthermore, such workforces have a profound intuitive grasp of developing trends and technology, which abets companies in staying one step ahead of the competition. Moreover, they are highly adept at multitasking, enabling companies to optimize operations at bearable costs.

Building a Skilled Workforce through Up-skilling

The up-skilling landscape is evolving at a staggering rate as many companies tend to invest in up-skilling and training programs. They understand that employees may have talents but further training will be required so that the hired individuals are in line with the requirements. Thus, many businesses worldwide have been spending millions to billions to enhance their employees’ knowledge through specialized training programs. For instance, JPMorgan Chase upped its up-skilling budget from $250 million to $350 million, while PwC will commit $3 billion in digital education and infrastructure to better serve its clients and communities. 

Having outlined this, many organizations may still find the up-skilling movement intriguing, questioning the rationale. But there is solid and merited reasoning for the same – a sensible remedy for an unthoughtful circumstance. The reason is when a company is faced with an unprecedented shortage of skills, re-skilling the current staff makes more sense than hurriedly employing a new employee. Thus, up-skilling or re-skilling employees turns out to be a more cost and time efficient option.

Interestingly, supporting this, employees stay eager to learn, as evidenced by a finding! Employees are increasingly seeking opportunities to learn new skills to improvise in their roles – As per the Glint Report. Furthermore, they want opportunities to imbibe new knowledge and adapt to fill a role. Solidifying the notion of up-skilling, LinkedIn Leading with Learning – June 2020 release – noted an increase of 130% in time spent learning among employees. 

In agreement, up-skilling augurs well for employees in one way, but does it go further? Of course, yes! Envisage this, employees no longer need to switch companies instead being an employee with a go-for-it attitude will get them a higher salary and a blend of profiles. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? More to it, handling multiple responsibilities simultaneously opens up new doors for career growth and possibilities of promotion. 

Workforce with Micro-Credentials – A Pool Of Skilled Employees

Micro-credentials are shorter, more focused credentials used to up-skill and demonstrate mastery of a specific skill or body of information. Meant for undergraduates and new joiners, they aptly fit in present-day job market demands. They help junior employees grow into highly specialized professionals in sync with workplace trends. So you as an organization can opt for hiring fresh grads with micro-credentials or ask new joiners to go for micro-credentials so that they can become skilled employees.

Benefits of Micro-Credential for Employees

Obtainable in less time and at a lower cost, they are generally more accessible to a wider range of people than university degree programs. Importantly, they are perfect for those preferring alternative up-skilling certifications but not possessing vast experience or higher-end education. In line with this, 77% of survey respondents concur with opting for alternative certifications relevant to the workplace as they would improve their job prospects. Importantly, micro-certifications are widely recognized and highly prized by employers: on average, 76% of companies prefer to recruit individuals who possess them. 

Benefits of Micro-Credential for Employers

You as an organization can skip traditional training processes for those having micro-credentials. Reason – they are up-skilled and thus, can efficiently execute your plans. And, upon meeting your expectations, give them recognition and advancement opportunities. What’s more, a study points out that employees associating learning opportunities with growth are more likely (2.9 times) to be engaged in a workplace, compared to those who do not. 

Also Read: How can universities benefit from micro-credentials and mentoring?

Making the Move That Matters The Most – Mentoring

Mentoring further enhances up-skilling when used in conjunction with micro-credentials and training. Let us dig deeper to understand mentors’ pivotal role for both employees and employers. Mentors can help to identify micro-credentials necessary for junior employees; assisting them in up-skilling and turning them into skilled employees. Not just this – mentors can recommend which training would be most advantageous, and supportive for employees.

Mentoring in a workplace improves employee engagement and talent retention. According to a Randstad case study, workforce who were a part of a mentoring program were 49% less likely to quit; saved the organization $3,000 per employee- annually. Role of a mentor isn’t limited to professional development, they boost confidence and amplify personal growth. 

Also Read: Mentoring In The Workplace: Importance & Benefits

Conclusion

Skill-based hiring isn’t just about what the professional trend says, it’s also about what’s more relevant to today’s learning environment. People like to learn, learn and learn, so that it makes them best in that particular area of interest. Therefore skill-based hiring is going to help organizations invest in the best talent. 

To encourage it further, organizations should have a mentoring program which can help keep the growth part in continuation, even when the skill-based talent is hired. Let’s walk you through the relevant mentoring platform – Mentoring Complete so that there’s no block in between. Or just talk to us!

Want to make your workplace mentoring programs successful? We’re happy to help you!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What best defines skill-based hiring?

Skill-based hiring is a practical approach to focussing on the skills and abilities of potential employees rather than their resumes or degrees.

Q. What benefits do skill-based hiring offer?

Skill-based recruiting enables organizations to hire the most qualified and competent candidates, broadening their workforce to build a talented team.

Q. How can mentoring build a skilled workforce?

Mentors can provide requisite directions so as to assist the workforce to develop specialized skills used in niche areas, thereby helping them to reach their professional goals too.