In unprecedented times of business where complexitly and ambiguity are the order of the day, talent management and keeping people glued with the organisation is the biggest challenge for HR and business leaders. The process starts from hiring. Time is changed so the quiet transition in hiring is also happening. Organisations have started moving towards skill-based hiring instead of sticking to job descriptions only. This is a shift beyond the traditional hiring that was placed around mere educational and job specifics.
The gradual increasing trend of skill-based hiring instead of mere educational and experience based should not be construed that job experience and educational qualifications have lost their relevance completely. While recruiting, it is a matter of preference only because it has been indicated in studies that skill-based hiring improves retention, reduces unconscious biases, and increases diversity. It is no more an academic discussion. It has travelled beyond and is practiced which is resulting into win-win situation for both-organistion and job aspirants.
Skill based hiring can be initiated by simply reworking on job descriptions and highlighting the crucial skills required to perform that job and then assessing those skills during hiring process. HR can also gain understanding from managers and performers as to what skills they need to get the job done successfully. This can help you in decoding the expertise into skills. If a parson is having desired skills required to perform that function, he should not be discarded merely because he does not have educational degree or prespecified work experience. Work experience alone does not give guarantee of a person having acquired specific skills. For example, if you are looking for a management faculty to teach marketing to executives, which would you prefer- A doctoral faculty having hefty papers to his credit on marketing with no exposure to industry practices or prevailing marketing practices or a senior marketing professional having long industry experience in building brands and marketing products who may be not having a doctoral degree? The point is that one must focus on skills the role truly needs to deliver.
It is also required that along with skill set, personality traits, values, thought process of person and alignment of these values with organisation culture should not be lost sight of. It should be a combination of both – Hard as well as soft skills.
The cover story of this edition is an attempt to understand and explore the nuances of this transition, underline the benefits and challenges of skill-based recruitment practice by Industry experts.
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