Indeed: 51% of hiring managers believe that skills-based hiring is more important than degrees, job titles, or years of experience

More than two thirds (67%) of job seekers and more than half (51%) of hiring managers believe that skills, or rather, on-the-job experience, carries more weight than degrees, job titles, or years of experience. 

This is according to new global data from hiring platform Indeed. 

In an exclusive interview with Matt Burney, Senior Strategic Advisor at Indeed, UNLEASH explores what HR leaders should take from this research.

Businesses must understand and embrace skills-based hiring

The workplace is clearly seeing the value in skills-based hiring, with more employees and hiring managers noting its importance. 

However, Indeed’s report found there is still much confusion around what skills-based hiring involves, with 55% of those polled expressing a lack of understanding and 52% still showing unwavering trust for degrees as a proxy for quality. 

Despite promising signs that employers are more aware of skills-first hiring strategies, our research shows that many are still relying on degrees and education requirements to make hiring decisions,” Burney explains. 

“This trust proxy is limiting employers’ pool of talent and ruling out candidates who are qualified for open vacancies based on their skills, but may not have the right education requirements or qualifications.”

However, Indeed’s research found that businesses that hire based on a skills-first approach have a critical barrier to adoption; more than a quarter of employers lack the right evaluation tools to hire based on skills.

Of businesses that do have a defined skills-first strategy, only 13% have removed degree requirements, and 13% have reduced the number of years of experience needed.

In contrast, Burney offers his advice for employers eager to better-embrace skills-based hiring: “For employers who don’t know where to start with implementing skills-first hiring, rethinking job requirements is a great first step. 

“Clarifying the skills needed for roles and highlighting them clearly in job postings will allow candidates to apply based on the skills they know they possess, regardless of where the skills were acquired. 

“AI and technology can help craft effective job descriptions, draft screener questions and find potential applicants based on relevant skills.”

Of the skills that candidates can possess, transferable skills, such as the ability to work well with different people (90%), the ability to think critically and problem solve (90%), and the ability to learn the job quickly (89%), were found to be the most popular.

The data also found that skills-first hiring was more likely to lead to candidate success, with much fewer miss-hires – improving employee retention, expanding the talent pool and saving the business money.

Additionally, 57% of job seekers stated that they would rather have a role with a less competitive salary if it offered better learning and development opportunities.

Sharing his concluding thoughts, Burney notes: “With labour markets remaining tight across most economies, a move to skills-first hiring may be a wise move for employers needing to extend candidate pools, increase retention and reduce employee turnover. 

“For candidates, those who can effectively demonstrate their adaptability and relevant skills, alongside willingness to learn, will find themselves at an advantage when it comes to securing their next role.”