How to Implement Skills-Based Hiring in 2024

There are many Future of Work buzzwords, but one gaining significant traction is skills-based hiring.  Skills-based hiring is emerging as a potentially transformative approach to talent acquisition and talent management. Skills-based hiring prioritises an individual’s skills and abilities over traditional indicators like degrees or career backgrounds. With the rise of internal and open talent marketplaces, such as Gigged.AI, this shift is not just a distant future trend but something that can be piloted immediately.

What is Skills-Based Hiring?

Skills-based hiring refers to the practice of evaluating potential hires primarily based on their skills, competencies, and capabilities, rather than traditional metrics such as educational background, degrees, or even previous job titles. This method focuses on what candidates can do and how they can contribute to the organisation, rather than where they have been.

The Shift in Perspective

Historically, employers have relied heavily on academic qualifications and work history as proxies for a candidate’s ability. However, this approach often overlooks talented individuals who may not have traditional credentials but possess the necessary skills and potential. Skills-based hiring aims to bridge this gap by offering a more inclusive and pragmatic approach to talent acquisition.

The Role of Talent Marketplaces

The concept of skills-based hiring is gaining traction thanks to the development of talent marketplaces. These platforms can quickly improve how organisations identify, assess, and hire talent.

Internal Talent Marketplaces

Internal talent marketplaces represent a shift within organisations towards a more fluid workforce model. These platforms allow employees to showcase their skills and seek new opportunities within their current organisation, facilitating internal mobility.

Advantages

• Employee Retention: By providing opportunities for career development and progression internally, organisations can significantly enhance employee satisfaction and retention.
• Cost-Effectiveness: It’s often more cost-effective to fill roles internally, reducing the need for external recruitment processes.
• Skill Utilisation: These marketplaces help in better aligning employees’ skills with organisational needs, ensuring that talent is utilised effectively.

Internal Mobility at a Large Tech Company

A large technology outsourcer implemented an internal talent marketplace to facilitate skills-based internal mobility. An employee from the marketing department, skilled in data analysis, transitioned to a project in the data science team, applying her skills in a new context. This not only provided the employee with career development opportunities but also helped the firm utilise existing talent effectively.

Open Talent Marketplaces 

Open talent marketplaces, such as Gigged.AI, extend the concept of skills-based hiring beyond the confines of a single organisation. These platforms connect businesses with a global pool of freelance talent, focusing on matching skills with specific project needs.

Advantages

• Access to a Wider Talent Pool: Companies can tap into a diverse range of skills and expertise, not limited by geographical or organisational boundaries.
• Flexibility: These marketplaces offer flexibility to businesses, allowing them to scale their workforce up or down based on project requirements.
• Outcome-Based Task Matching: By breaking down jobs into specific tasks or outcomes, these platforms ensure that the right skills are matched to the right projects, enhancing efficiency and productivity.

The Real-World Application

Case Study: A Tech Startup

A tech startup, looking to develop a new app feature, used an open talent marketplace to find a UX designer. Instead of hiring a full-time employee, they outlined the specific outcomes they needed – a user-friendly interface design and a prototype within a month. The marketplace matched them with a freelance UX designer who had the exact skills for the task. The project was completed efficiently, and the startup could leverage top-notch talent without the overheads of a full-time hire.

Breaking Jobs into Outcome-Based Tasks

A key feature of skills-based hiring, particularly in open and internal talent marketplaces, is the emphasis on outcome-based tasks. Companies can delineate specific tasks or projects, clearly defining the expected outcomes.

How It Works

• Task Definition: Jobs are broken down into specific, outcome-based tasks.
• Skill Matching: Talents are matched based on their skills and ability to deliver the defined outcomes.
• Flexibility: This approach offers flexibility to both employers and talent, focusing on deliverables rather than fixed job roles.

The Benefits of Skills-Based Hiring

• Increased Diversity and Inclusion: By focusing on skills rather than degrees or pedigrees, organisations can tap into a more diverse talent pool.
• Higher Efficiency and Productivity: Skills-based hiring ensures that the right people are working on the right tasks, leading to increased efficiency and better outcomes.
• Enhanced Employee Engagement: Employees feel more valued and motivated when their skills and interests align with their roles.
• Cost Savings: Reduces the cost associated with traditional hiring processes and minimises the risks of bad hires.

Conclusion

Skills-based hiring doesn’t need to be an aspirational destination to get to in the next 5 years. It  can be piloted in small teams facilitated by platforms like internal talent marketplaces and open talent marketplaces like Gigged.AI.

About Gigged.AI

Gigged.AI is on a mission to solve the tech skills shortage in the UK. Its proprietary AI-powered talent platforms provide businesses with dependable solutions to tech skill shortages. The Open Talent Platform gives instant access to verified, on-demand tech talent to accelerate digital projects. Its Internal Talent Marketplace captures the skills within a workforce and matches them to the right project, reducing the need for lengthy and expensive recruitment, and improving retention. Gigged.AI has 18,000 highly skilled tech professionals on its platform, covering 500+ skills in 43 locations globally. Find out more at Gigged.AI.