Skills-Based Hiring With Job Descriptions

It’s no secret that attracting and retaining top talent is challenging for businesses of all sizes and industries. However, many companies understand the value of having exceptional employees and prioritize it during their recruitment efforts.

In the ever-tightening labor market, business owners have to shift their hiring strategies away from traditional efforts to remain competitive. Traditional hiring processes often lean on degree requirements and limit the number of eligible applicants. While you may attract talent that has technically met your company standards, they may still lack the relevant experience to be successful in the role. Only 53.7% of the US workforce has some college background, meaning traditional job requirements weed out nearly half the workforce from the start.

Many companies have adopted skills-based hiring strategies to combat this issue and cast a broader net of workers. Factors contributing to this shift include:

1. Structural change: In the last decade, the perpetual demand for a skilled workforce has outpaced the availability of talent. In response, employers have had to reevaluate the significance of traditional degree requirements. The focus has pivoted towards identifying individuals with the specific skill sets needed to excel in roles, irrespective of any degrees they may or may not hold.
2. Cyclical reset: The unprecedented upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the embrace of skills-based hiring practices. The abrupt urgency to secure adept professionals prompted many companies to temporarily set aside stringent degree requirements and acknowledge that practical expertise often trumps theoretical education, particularly in times of rapid change.

What Is Skills-Based Hiring?

Skills-based hiring removes previously standard hiring benchmarks, such as college majors and degrees, from the screening process to focus on a candidate’s specific skills and competencies. In the past, the hiring process revolved around education qualifications, specific credentials, and prior experience to evaluate candidates. The concept of skills-based hiring has gained significant traction, particularly for entry-level and mid-career positions.

So, what sets skills-based hiring apart? To put it simply, it embraces a fresh perspective on career progression. Skills-based hiring shifts the focus from more generalized and often arbitrary markers to a more nuanced candidate evaluation.

It recognizes that a candidate’s potential exceeds traditional qualification confines and values the specific capabilities and proficiencies they can bring to the table. This hiring method enables you, as an employer, to make more informed hiring decisions based on your company’s particular needs. As a result, this approach widens the pool of capable prospects and opens opportunities for individuals who are traditionally overlooked due to their unconventional career paths.

Advantages Of Skills-Based Hiring

Recruiting new talent comes with a hefty price tag. In addition to the time and money you invest in the hiring process, when your team is short-staffed, the workload on existing employees increases, creating significant stress that can impact productivity. Though it’s tempting to rush through the hiring process, it’s important to note that however costly the process is, a bad hire will cost you significantly more in the long term. The average cost of a bad hire is nearly 30% of the employee’s salary. Additionally, a bad hire can be detrimental to your company’s culture, staff morale, and productivity. Take the time to find the right candidate for your company’s needs.

Skills-based hiring allows you to attract more quality candidates and significantly reduce mis-hire rates. Companies that have adopted skills-based hiring report that their mis-hire rates decreased by nearly 25%. In addition to the improved quality of your candidates and reduced number of mis-hires, a skills-based approach can:

• Reduce hiring costs: Opting for skills-focused hiring can expedite the recruitment timeline. This decreases the overall hiring timeline and translates to substantial cost savings for your organization. Moreover, adopting this approach draws in candidates with the necessary expertise to be successful contributors. They’ll require little-to-no training and a significantly shorter onboarding process, saving you time and money.
• Increase employee performance and productivity: Companies prioritizing skills-based recruitment are better positioned to discover employees who consistently aim for excellence across all their responsibilities. A skills-based workforce tends to surpass performance benchmarks by proactively seeking avenues for enhancement.
• Diversify your staff: College is becoming increasingly more expensive. In the last ten years alone, the price has increased by nearly 25%. Additionally, people from historically marginalized groups are less likely to have college degrees. A skills-based approach lowers the barrier of entry while still attracting qualified candidates.
• Assist with retention: Workers in positions that match their skills and credentials tend to find greater satisfaction in their roles. Skills-based hires stay at companies more than 34% longer than employees with traditional degrees and career paths.

Writing A Skills-Based Job Description

Steering clear of conventional job descriptions and prerequisites might appear daunting at first. However, there are effective ways to draw competent and high-caliber candidates without relying on these customary filtering methods. Embracing a skills-based approach doesn’t mean discarding requirements altogether, rather, a shift in perspective. Through a skills-based job description, you can emphasize both hard and soft skills, industry or position-specific expertise, and much more.

Writing a skills-based job description should:

1. Prioritize specific needs: Begin by clearly defining what the position demands. Provide an outline of the expectations and daily responsibilities the new hire will handle. This involves pinpointing hard skills (such as technical expertise or programming skills) and soft skills (such as problem-solving and communication). By concentrating on your desired outcomes, you can craft a job description that spotlights the essential skills and proficiencies, going beyond a four-year degree, which may or may not be directly related to the role.
2. Relax your language: Instead of fixating on “requirements,” lean towards “responsibilities.” In the United States, positions that emphasize responsibilities instead of strict requirements witness a 14% increase in applicants.
3. Keep it short and to the point: Time is of the essence; candidates spend a mere 14 seconds scanning a job post before deciding whether or not they will apply. Optimize this window by arranging the most crucial and captivating details first. Keep your message brief, between 300-700 words, and utilize bullet points wherever possible.
4. Avoid clichés: Unless your business utilizes quirky phrases regularly, steer clear of using worn-out terms such as “rockstar,” “shining star,” or “ninja.” Seasoned experts seek clarity about your company’s identity and the role’s expectations, and the presence of clichés can swiftly disengage potential candidates.
5. Be as straightforward as possible: Though being concise is crucial, make it a priority to embrace clarity. Be as specific and detailed as possible. Ambiguity or omitting critical information about your company or the position is the best way to attract a bad hire.
6. Specify the location: As the job market evolves to encompass remote, hybrid, and in-person roles, it’s imperative to outline your organization’s preferences within the job description. This will quickly weed out candidates who don’t align with the position’s needs.

By embracing these strategies, you can attract a wider talent pool and engage potential candidates more effectively, ensuring your workforce remains successful.

Let Us Help

Recruiting, training, and retaining employees has never been more challenging for small and mid-sized businesses. Creating a job ad, finding the right candidate, and providing opportunities for employee development are significant expenses.

Partnering with a professional employer organization (PEO) like GMS can take the administrative burden out of recruiting and hiring so you can focus on other aspects of your business. With our employee training and recruiting services, we can streamline the hiring process. Our applicant tracking system tracks every part of the hiring process so you know what platforms candidates are coming from and how long the process takes for your organization. Contact us today, and let us help you find your next hire.