Adopting a Skills-First Hiring Practice to Futureproof your Business

In a competitive and complex talent landscape which is rapidly evolving, businesses need to ensure they have a hiring and talent attraction strategy which ensures they have the skillsets to drive their business forward. Recruiting and retaining top talent is key to business success and growth. Not only is the hiring process a key part in embedding skills first hiring strategies, but it’s essential for business leaders to facilitate a skills first culture, focused on skills-based performance and ongoing development to continually enhance skills and competencies of employees. 

At CSG Talent, we’re seeing more and more businesses adapt a skills first approach and tap into wider talent pools and skillsets by doing this. For those businesses who are less open to employing talent from other industries and placing sole emphasis on industry related experience, huge challenges are being encountered with their ability to attract the right talent to contribute to business success. 

What is skills first hiring? 

Skills first hiring is an approach where hiring managers focus on the skills and attributes a candidate has, and the value these skills can bring to an organisation. Skills first hiring places less emphasis on academic qualifications and industry specific experience and focuses on the strengths of skills and competencies of a candidate.  

Pete Benefer, Associate Director in Architecture Recruitment at CSG Talent has seen the market evolve over time and witnessed businesses adopt their approach to a more skills focused hiring approach. “By prioritising candidates with transferable skills, businesses can more effectively navigate challenges and changes. These individuals possess the versatility to adapt to evolving demands, regardless of their specific industry experience."  

What are the benefits of skills first hiring?

A skills first hiring approach can bring with it many benefits from both a business and employee perspective, we highlight the core benefits skills first hiring can bring: 

For Businesses

Wider talent pools – Businesses see greater talent acquisition by adopting skills first hiring strategies as it allows businesses to tap into wider talent pools, focusing on skillsets, rather than industry or academic qualifications as a priority. 

According to LinkedIn, the pool of potential candidates can increase on average by 10x when using a skills first approach.  

Diversity and Inclusion – Skills first hiring approaches and cultures allow barriers to be broken down for those that may not have strong academic backgrounds, specific credentials or strong backgrounds within an industry.  

Increased productivity – If candidates/employees have the right, and most relevant skills, they are more likely to perform in a role and demonstrate greater productivity and efficiencies, having a positive impact on business activity.  

A report by Deloitte suggests that organisations building a skills-first culture are 63% more likely to achieve results in 11 key business areas, including meeting or exceeding financial targets.  

Enhanced innovation and creativity – Having wider and more diverse talent pools opens up opportunities for more ideas, approaches, creativity and innovation. 

For Candidates

Opportunity for career development and opportunities – Without businesses considering skills first approaches, many candidates would be overlooked for opportunities. By a adopting skills first hiring approach, candidates can be considered for roles that may not have been presented to them through more traditional hiring approaches so it can open up career paths and directions previously out of reach. 

Increased job satisfaction and engagement – If an employee feels valued and their skills and competencies are recognised, they will feel a greater sense of job satisfaction, understanding the part they play in contributing to business activities and success. 

Enhances personal marketability – When skills are a focus, and ongoing development enables individuals continual development and career advancement, those highly sought after skills can be hugely attractive to other employers, making those individuals more appealing to potential employers.  

How can a business adopt a skills first hiring strategy successfully?

It’s clear that a skills first hiring strategy can offer many benefits to a business, candidates and employees, but how can leaders and hiring managers adopt a skills first hiring strategy? 

At CSG Talent, we work closely with businesses across the globe, many of which have adopted skills first hiring practices and shifted their approach from more traditional methods. To do so, businesses need to take the following steps: 

1. Define business needs and establish which skills are essential for roles within the business and re-define job specifications across the business 

2. Establish how you can measure skills capabilities as part of the hiring process and leverage technology that can facilitate this 

3. Educate and train hiring managers so they are open to alternative approaches and can successfully assess candidates based on skills 

4. Develop a culture focused on development and ongoing learning to encourage employees to continue development of skills 

5. Assess the effectiveness of skills first hiring by tracking success, evaluating processes and other metrics that can provide value  

Across the breath of industries we operate in at CSG Talent, there are many who are adopting a skills first approach, however there are many who are missing out on talent in core areas due to lack of adoption.  

Henry Shackleton, Associate Director at CSG Talent, specialises in Data Center recruitment, he shares advice to clients in his network of the benefits of skills first hiring in order to combat skills gaps - "To address the significant skills gap in the data centre market, hiring managers should prioritise transferable skills rather than solely focusing on industry experience. By focusing on candidates that have the right skills, we can fill critical roles and avoid overlooking talented individuals, who can positively contribute to business success." 

Whether you’re keen to learn more on the benefits and value a skills first hiring approach can bring to your business, or you have specific hiring needs you’re keen to discuss with a recruitment expert, our team can offer advice, market insights and successful hiring approaches. Alternatively, if you’re a senior level professional seeking a new opportunity, please explore our latest job vacancies here, or contact the recruitment team here.