Write an 8-10 page research paper in APA format, 7th edition (excluding the title page and reference pages) on your chosen topic. You are to create an analytical study to evaluate your recommendation, showing and demonstrating a measurable performance impact it would create for the organization. For example, if your intention and recommendation are to reduce turnover and improve performance, then you need to provide both hard and soft data to support your assertions and recommendation, and, in turn, anyone reviewing your report would draw the same conclusions. Whatever topic you choose, make sure that you connect it to “human resources” – whether it is the function, the department, or actual employees.
HR Final Project
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has broken down numerous old conventions and brought up new and accelerated trends. One such convention can be that nowadays tech employers do not ask for the employees’ degrees for the different job roles in the organizational premises. The trend that was the hot topic during the COVID-19 pandemic and currently is skill-based hiring. For many years, the degree held by the candidate decides which job position he or she will be allocated. However, with the rise of skill-based hiring, candidates are being hired based on their skills and not based on their degrees (Ark, 2021). According to the Mc Kinsey partner Byron Auguste, “Degrees are the bad proxy that might affect one’s critical skill.” Organizations are losing and missing out on their skill and talent because they require candidates with four years of the degree. Therefore it might prove to be bad for the employees and might affect the organization’s long-term growth and goals. Hiring industry-oriented skills has become the new normal and is valued as equivalent to the degree (India Today, 2022). The research report from LinkedIn says that the employment-oriented service platform had been boosted by 21% in terms of job posting, responsibilities, and advertising skills, instead of the qualifications and requirements from the past years. Meanwhile, the number of job roles which does not require a degree increased by 40% in the year 2020 as compared to the year 2019.
The pandemic has made around 140 million people with no jobs and work, therefore there is a massive pool of employees who are looking for some good opportunities in 2022. Therefore, for these applicants, skill-based hiring is one of the required solutions. An organization can implement skill-based hiring within its premises through skill assessment tests or job auditions. Many companies integrate the process of the skill assessment with the screening so that they can be sure that they are spending only on candidates who are uniquely qualified for their performance in the organizations (Heaslip, 2022). Skill-based hiring helps in overcoming several challenges of traditionally based hiring. With skill-based hiring, organizations can be able to make appropriate and right hiring for the job role. This process allows recruiters to access both soft and hard skills because both of these skills are highly valued across industries.
Implications of skill-based hiring
As the nature of the work is changing, it may have a significant impact on hiring and recruiting employees. Through research, it has been found that approximately 23% of the organizations are exploring hiring practices and actively participating in skill-based hiring over the candidates’ credentials and qualifications. One of the reasons for boosting skill-based hiring is that organizations require some new skills over experience and qualifications that past graduates might not have (Whiting, 2022). A new report published by McKinsey & Co. states that with skill-based hiring, organizations are trying to bridge the gap between talent and supply through skill-based hiring. It allows organizations to hire candidates based on their holistic skills and not judge them based on their industry experience. Skill-based hiring is very beneficial over traditional hiring as it helps in accessing fresh talent by thinking beyond their educational requirements, reducing unconscious bias in the process of recruitment, facilitating the internal premises to respond quickly to the demands, and more. According to Elisa Sheftic, the President and the managing partner of the Right executive search says that focusing on the specific skill set of a candidate helps in widening the talent pool potentially and also helps in shortening the recruitment and onboarding process of the organizations (Hunt Scanlon Media, 2022).
Accenture and Harvard Business Review have posted a report that encourages industry leaders to hire hidden workers. It means that organizations should hire those employees who are eager to work and develop the skills that employers are seeking in employees. Therefore the employers and the organization would be in a better place for hiring the people according to the skills they need for the job role and can diversify their workplace easily and quickly. When employers hire people based on their skills, then the organizations can be able to establish new opportunities for job roles, can be able to provide family sustainable wages for millions of people, and help the employees establish their careers. The majority of employers and high school graduates say that organizations should hire and recruit people from the non-degree pathways. The skill-based hiring is developing a model that can be called Skill First Learning (Jeff, 2022). It is an approach to learning and credentialing that focuses on what people know and what talent they hold after spending years in the classroom so that organizations and multinational companies hire them.
The post-secondary education pathways: Perception of employers and Gen Z students surveyed the employers and high school students to post their perceptions about postsecondary education pathways. The survey will provide insight into opportunities and barriers to acceptance of the non-degree and different models of the postsecondary education pathways. Of the employers who participated in the survey, 81% of them said that organizations should hire employees on skill-based degrees and qualifications (Jeff, 2022). On the other hand, 74% of the high school students who participated in the survey show a keen interest in learning the skills that will prepare them for jobs and interviews. Meanwhile, 68% of employers and 58% of employers also agree that the candidates need to be hired solely on their skill base.
US President, Joe Biden had committed to expanding the skill-based hiring within the country to support millions of American workers who do not have a well-qualified degree and education. During his leadership, he announced that under his administration the federal funds will be mostly used to hire employees based on their skills. The US budget of 2022 which was released in late March commits the federal government that most of the organizational hiring from now on will be made through skill-based rather than educational qualifications. The federal government and agencies will implement various hiring practices which will be included in the applicant assessment method which shortlists those candidates who have the skills to perform and accomplish the particular job, with or without any educational degree. Skill-based hiring offers organizations an opportunity to anonymize the candidate’s applications, therefore only the candidate’s skills, talents, and ability speak over his experience and degree (Caccavole, 2022). Anonymizing might not be the requirement of skill-based hiring, however, it is one of the best practices that will tend to boost diversity in the organization and find the best possible talent.
Organizations switching to skill-based hiring
If the organization needs to switch to skill-based hiring, then it requires an adequate investment of time on the front end. It simply signifies that organizations need to deconstruct the different roles and organize in based on the skills required to get the job done. In an organization, skill-based hiring can be started by developing digital credentials, starting with the small recruitment process, crafting the input and language of the job based on skills, and checking out various online sources (Credly, 2022). With different skill sets, organizations consider the employees as their major asset and not only the employee. The trend is changing, and so is the organizational hiring process too. As organizations are growing and progressing amidst the advent use of AI, ML, deep learning, and blockchain, they are demanding and desiring that the employees are adaptable, flexible, and always ready to accept and witness the new challenges. Hence skill-based hiring is the only solution.
The employees hired on the basis of skills are capable of solving real-world complexities and hurdles in order to come up with new products and services to grab more and more customers. Earlier when people and organizations were not aware of skill-based hiring, organizations majorly all hire based upon 3 methods either through their earned degree, people’s sources, and their experience. However, with the dynamic changes and technologies, organizations and employees came to know the importance of these skills. Therefore, now instead of focusing on the degree and qualifications earned, they focus on demonstrating and learning new skills. Employees are now changing their mindset and understanding how important it is for them to learn new skills and talents, therefore they are running towards learning those skill sets which prove to be rewarding for them. On the other hand, organizations have now looked into the constrained labor market to find those people who are perfect for the various organizational job roles. The reports from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development revealed that highly skilled jobs had been boosted by 25% over 20 years, therefore, there is no value in earning the highest qualification if the employee holds no skills or lacks various necessary skills. It also finds out that the managers who are hiring employees based on skills are 60% more likely to find the successful and right candidate for the job role instead of those who are hiring based on degree and using traditional proxies.
If the organization decides to shift from the traditional requirements to preferred ones, then the managers can be able to expand the talent pool of their organization so that more and more people may have the chance to transition into better-paying jobs by showcasing the relevant skills they have regardless of their degree and qualification. Many reports also revealed that nowadays employees tend to be attracted to those organizations that offer learning and growth opportunities within their premises and they also consider it to be a rewarding work culture. Most employees say that learning within the organization makes them ready to build a successful career (Shappley, 2022). The US federal government is trying to increase skill-based employment or hiring by employing about a total of 3% of the US workforce. Meanwhile, if combining both the US state and local governments, then a total of 16% of candidates have been employed till now. Therefore, this move by the US government increased the topic of skill-based hiring in the whole nation.
Skill-based hiring practices
Articulating the skill demanded by various jobs
In the first process, the organization’s recruitment manager and HR need to find out the skills required for the job roles. Then they need to divide the skills that the candidate must have and which the candidate can get on the job. It further includes all the soft and hard skills such as work ethic, empathy, teamwork, communication, and more. After finalizing the skills, consider how they can be grasped through certifications and tests.
Writing job descriptions that focus on the competencies
To get the right candidates for filling out the job posts, the hiring manager or HR professional needs to write job descriptions. In the job descriptions, the organization’s hiring manager needs to list out all the skills required for the job role. Moreover, if certifications and licenses are required then mentioning them is also crucial.
Getting the job descriptions in front of good talent
After writing down the job description, it’s important to post it on the right site so that the organization may get the right pool of talent. Therefore, posting the job description on the organization’s website, social media handles, free job posting platforms, etc. is not enough. The hiring manager needs to access the job boards through the Application tracking system which provides built-in posting services.
Leveraging technology and ranking the employees based on skill
At this point, many organizational managers think that the job descriptions may have attracted many candidates and their emails are filled with applications and resumes. However, this may happen if the organization makes use of the ATS application. Using the ATS for assessing the resumes and applications will make this process much faster than the manual process.
Conducting skill-based assessments
Until now, organizations might have shortlisted many candidates, however, the organizations should conduct the assessment with the candidate’s skills and qualifications. In a report, it’s been found that 25% of organizations nowadays conduct the assessment before interviews so that they may get only fruitful employees. Not necessarily required for skill-based hiring, it also required even hiring with degrees and qualifications. Moreover, around 10% of organizations are ready to hire college-based graduates for their job roles.
Quantifying the interview feedback process
The organization should structure its interview feedback process, therefore the feedback might be measurable. In order to hire the proper candidate for the job role, the feedback for the interviews needs to be collected so that the choice becomes easy and simple. Using ATS, this process can be done easily and the candidates can be able to review it and agree with the organizational terms.
Developing sustainability for skill-based hiring
In skill-based hiring, sustainability plays a crucial role and the organization needs to take active steps to ensure that the employees are getting the right skills to make the organizational targets achievable and growing (Workforce, 2022). Along with that, the managers need to make sure that organizations are working on their interpersonal skills and goals as well so that they can be able to grow financially and interpersonally too.
With that various big and small companies nowadays run a skill-build program to initiate and enhance skill-based hiring. Under this program, the US’s various organizations have hired 15% of new and skilled employees who were judged and evaluated based on their talents and skills and not on education held by them. Therefore it proves that even though not getting any degree, with valuable skills and talents candidates can shine and make their careers.
Ark, T.V. (2021). The Rise Of Skills-Based Hiring And What It Means For Education. Retrieved on 13th August 2022, from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanderark/2021/06/29/the-rise-of-skills-based-hiring-and-what-it-means-for-education/
Caccavole, J. (2022). Skills-Based Hiring: The Essential Guide. Retrieved on 17th August 2022, from: https://www.beapplied.com/post/skills-based-hiring
Credly (2022). Making the Switch to Skills-Based Hiring: Why It’s Important, How to Do It, and Why Verifiable Skills are Key. Retrieved on 18th August 2022, from: https://learn.credly.com/blog/making-the-switch-to-skills-based-hiring-why-its-important-how-to-do-it-and-why-verifiable-skills-are-key
Heaslip, E. (2022). How Skills-Based Hiring Can Transform Your Organization? Retrieved on 13th August 2022, from: https://vervoe.com/skills-based-hiring/
Hunt Scanlon Media (2022). Why Organizations are Hiring for Skills Over Experience? Retrieved on 16th August 2022, from: https://huntscanlon.com/why-organizations-are-hiring-for-skills-over-experience/
India today (2022). The shift to skill-based hiring instead of degree-based hiring is finally happening! Here’s why. Retrieved on 13th August 2022, from: https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/jobs-and-careers/story/the-shift-to-skill-based-hiring-instead-of-degree-based-hiring-is-finally-happening-1915492-2022-02-20
Jeff (2022). Skills-Based Hiring Requires Skills-First Learning. Retrieved on 16th August 2022, from: https://www.jff.org/points-of-view/skills-based-hiring-requires-skills-first-learning/
Shappley, J. (2022). The secret to hiring is skill-based. Retrieved on 18th August 2022, from: https://www.fastcompany.com/90766649/the-secret-to-hiring-is-skills-based
Whiting, G. (2022). Introduction to Skills-Based Hiring. Retrieved on 16th August 2022, from: https://www.hrci.org/community/blogs-and-announcements/hr-leads-business-blog/hr-leads-business/2022/02/14/introduction-to-skills-based-hiring
Workforce (2021). 7 Skills-Based Hiring Best Practices: Hire for Skills, Not Just Degrees. Retrieved on 18th August 2022, from: https://www.workforcehub.com/blog/7-skills-based-hiring-best-practices-hire-for-skills-not-degrees/
