In a new talent landscape driven by technology, knowledge is power. Talent technology is crucial to delivering the workforce and skills that enable business success. But to use these tools effectively, talent teams need to be able to speak fluent talent technology.Explore more of the talent world and the technology that powers it with AMS. Cut through the noise to demystify an ever-changing universe.

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Navigating Talent Technology

In a talent landscape powered by technology and AI, knowledge is power.

Talent technology is crucial to delivering the workforce and skills that enable business success. But to use these tools effectively, talent teams need to be able to speak fluent talent technology.

Explore more of the talent world and the technology that powers it with AMS. Cut through the noise to demystify an ever-changing universe.

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Talent technology translator

Learn the language of today’s talent tech landscape with this simple guide.

Discover talent tech terms

Artificial Intelligence in the talent world

Dive deep into the world of AI and how it will reshape tomorrow’s TA industry.

Read about AI in TA

Talking tech in talent

What do some of the leading lights of talent and tech think about the latest changes in RPO, AI and Skills?

View Talking Talent Tech

Finding the right HR Tech

Explore tips and trends on AMS Verified, a free digital resource helping leaders navigate the technology market.

Explore the tech

AMS is transforming global talent solutions using AI and technology. Watch the video to find out more about how we work.

AMS Catalyst article

Artificial Intelligence, ethics and the world of talent

The emergence of AI has the potential to radically transform talent acquisition and retention. From enhanced efficiency and improved candidate matching to smoother application journeys and predictive culture fits, up to 80% of American workplaces are already using AI in some form for employment decision making.

However, the implementation of any new technology comes with potential downsides. The use of AI in talent acquisition poses several ethical challenges, particularly around issues of bias and discrimination. While AI aims to minimize biases, it can actually amplify existing ones if not calibrated and monitored correctly.

In this article, AMS’ Head of Technology & Analytics Advisory, Annie Hammer, and RingCentral Chief Innovation Officer, Kira Makagon, explore the new ethical considerations brought on by the emergence of AI in talent technology, and how TA teams can be prepared for the change.

Read the full article

AMS expert insights

Candidate AI superpowers: a risk or opportunity?

For those of you who haven’t been aware of the risks and legal considerations around using Artificial Intelligence in the talent space (which I suspect are not many of you), there are three current risks to using AI in hiring.

Two of which have been frequent talking points at events and conferences worldwide – and these are the 1. DEI implications and 2. the violation of state and local laws. 

But there’s one other risk that is creeping into the HR hemisphere and we haven’t yet faced the tricky discussions around how we’re going to respond to it. This risk is that candidates are going to be armed with this AI technology as well. Yes, you’ve probably already seen or heard of it. And, it’s happening.

Read the full article

News and updates

The launch of
AMS One

AMS cements technology leadership position with launch of AMS One, the RPO Operating System to enable better, faster and fairer hiring.

Read about AMS One

Navigating the operationalization of AI

New insight from AMS defines three key steps to successfully operationalizing AI.

Learn about navigating AI

AMS Verified gains popularity and launches AI Index

The AMS owned talent technology marketplace has announced significant growth with the addition of several new enhancements.

Read more

Other topics of interest

Exploding Digital Myths in Talent Acquisition

We live in a world driven by technological transformation. New technologies have touched all industries and businesses. The talent landscape, too, has been propelled into the digital sphere.

As global competition for talent continues to heat up, those who fail to embrace a technology-enabled approach risk finding themselves unable to deliver the workforce they need and achieve their business goals.

But amid an ever evolving and rapidly growing talent technology market, it’s no surprise that industry leaders have found it difficult to adopt, implement and optimize new tools and ways of working.

 Our whitepaper, Exploding Digital Myths in Talent Acquisition, debunks some of the most common misconceptions surrounding talent technology. Split into five myths, the series explores how tech-enabled tools, when implemented and used correctly, can underpin a talent acquisition strategy – and deliver better, faster and more dynamic decisions.

Discover the complete series

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Tech Translated: What does Artificial Intelligence mean for the talent world?

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Tech Translated:
What does Artificial Intelligence mean for the talent world?

 

Artificial Intelligence, or ‘AI’ as it’s more commonly known, has come to prominence in public consciousness in recent months. It has sparked fierce debates around the future of work, the ethics of decision-making, and the role advanced technology may play in everyday life.

But AI is not a new phenomenon. Its origins go back to the work of war-time scientist Alan Turing. It was in the early 1950’s that Turing first proposed the question, “Can machines think?”. He set out to measure the rise of machine intelligence in what was then a truly analogue world.

Like the Internet before it, AI is changing how we think about virtually every task required, from the most basic of chat bots, to generating wholly realistic film footage and content. With governments and politicians globally now entering the debate, there is a very real sense of inevitability within the AI conversation. In many circles, there is optimism around what can be achieved with AI – how it can facilitate a return to the ‘human approach’, and the need to balance the requirements of both tech and touch.

For the world of Talent Acquisition (TA), these are very prescient conversations. In today’s challenging economic environment, the pressure to put the right people in the right roles is higher than ever. Quality of candidate and speed of hire have always been important. But in a tight market, with organizations striving to return to growth, these factors are gaining even greater significance. Understanding what tech can help drive these goals is critical.

But the pace of tech is fast. It is not a given that we have all had time to understand the key starting principles that are so fundamental to a successful talent tech strategy. Everyone is experimenting, but how do you create a strong foundation to enable change?

Before answering this question, it’s helpful to start with the basics.

What is AI?

In simple terms, AI is a machine’s ability to perform human-like capabilities.

Right now, most talent organizations are using what’s called ‘processing and machine learning’ AI. You don’t need to be an expert to explore these types of AI and bring them into your talent function. Anyone can do it with the right knowledge and support.

That’s why this approach has lent itself well to matching, prediction and recommendation engines – helping to automate some of the time-consuming tasks that TA teams have typically undertaken using data.

What’s gaining more traction as of late is ‘generative’ AI. This type of AI uses deep learning and neural networks, allowing users to ask questions so the AI can provide solutions. And it means a whole host of new tasks can be supported as the lines between bot and human intersect more and more.

How is AI currently used in TA?

One of the most meaningful ways businesses are using AI is around candidate discovery and creating shortlists of candidates. Many different AI tools can identify prospective talent through matching skill sets for certain areas of the business. Ultimately, AI doesn’t usually make final hiring decisions; it only identifies who might be right from the candidate pool. A human lens is still very much required.

Another way AI creates efficiencies for talent professionals is through optimizing job postings or adverts. It spots opportunities to change the language and modifies postings to make them more inclusive, or to reach a larger audience.

AI also supports the development of training programmes, whether they are written or video, or different models or methodologies. Whatever is needed, AI can help talent teams to create content for a wide variety of training formats.

What’s more, AI allows task automation through decision engines. For example, it looks at tasks that can be programmed to say, “if X happens, we should take Y action”.

And it doesn’t stop there. Some of the more advanced tasks recruiters are using AI to perform include drafting content for candidate emails, visualizing analytics for better decision making, and developing virtual assistance or conversational interfaces to help with sourcing and candidate screening.

What does the future hold for AI and TA?

AI is constantly learning and adapting. With new technologies created each day, the possibilities for organizations continue to evolve.

Some of the more progressive businesses are now trialing AI to help with digital interviews and then analyzing the responses. It can take a transcription and summarize the key themes or the actions that were agreed on.

AI is also beginning to help with securing and growing talented employees. This technology allows businesses to identify roles that could be difficult to retain employees for. Before AI technology, TA teams would likely not have had oversight on this important information.

What’s more, there are increasing scenarios where AI can help with reskilling and upskilling – planning the right path for employees if they want to grow and to learn a new area of a business. Instead of a talent leader spending precious hours determining one individual’s specific career journey, AI is starting to map out a path for internal mobility in seconds.

As the technology advances, any area of a business that requires a large subset of data will benefit from AI. Historically, in talent, machine learning could calculate which candidates a recruiter should talk to. But as generative AI integrates more closely with day-to-day TA processes, recruiters will begin to see who they should talk to, as well as when, what they should say, and how they should say it.

Where to start with AI?

As the saying goes, you need to walk before you can run. Prior to implementing an AI tool or solution into the business, it’s important that talent teams understand AI and how it can work for them.

AI-readiness checklist

o Is the AI technology compliant with local laws and regulation?
o Who is helping our internal teams to implement the AI?
o Have I spent time selecting the right technology?
o Have we chosen the right people to lead this part of our business?
o Do we have a process in place that will work for this technology?
o Is our current operating systems set up to support the introduction of this technology?

As soon as you have identified what criteria you have prepared, you will be able to take the next step in defining the business problem you want to solve.

“Nearly half of talent leaders do not feel prepared for forthcoming AI regulations.”

AMS Survey: Talent Leaders’ Attitudes Towards AI

What are the business challenges AI can solve for?

Many large companies have already successfully welcomed AI into their HR departments. Large technology companies are converting interview notes into summaries. The logistics industry is automating screening and ranking processes. Financial, retail, and food and beverage industries are leveraging Virtual Assistance.

As talent teams explore new technology and begin to assemble the proper infrastructure to adopt AI, a strategic technique is outlining the top pain points or areas of inefficiency within the hiring operations.

Establishing a strategy for where and why to start implementing AI into a business is a vital step that can lead to the best results.

Some of the common pain points (but not all) that AI can create talent solutions for include:

o More applicants than your team has time to respond to

o Interactions with prospective talent that are mundane or not customized

o Internal processes that aren’t streamlined or often disorganized

o Candidate and hiring manager experiences that could benefit from tailoring

o Too many manual tasks across HR

Embracing the unknown in talent tech

One thing is for certain, organizations shouldn’t bury their heads in the sand when it comes to AI.

Businesses can start rethinking features and functionalities they are delivering today, but through the lens of AI. As time passes, AI will change. It’s advised that companies begin their journey now to stay ahead, rather than wait and delay gaining this advantage.

Every organization should have an AI roadmap for further evolution. Otherwise, adoption rates will decline. In the consumer world, AI is going to improve day-to-day experiences of using technology, so prospective talent is going to expect the same experience as employees and customers.

At the very least, talent teams should be researching and understanding its impact on their everyday processes. Despite risk-aversion, a business cannot afford to put AI to one side and forget about it. An understanding of where AI could be used, even if in a more limited way, should be explored to at least start the journey.

When we look at the changing digital landscape, and the ways companies are accelerating to adapt to new technologies, it is clear the talent industry will be no different. If HR teams can find the best new hires quickly, and if employees feel roles reflect their skillset and ambitions, harnessing AI will be the new reality.

Organizations need to stay educated as technology shifts in talent. AI might not be a silver bullet that can solve every recruitment problem, and human interaction will still be needed. But one thing is clear: it’s going to change the face of hiring – creating a smarter, more efficient, and re-imagined talent world. 

To learn more about how to successfully bring AI into your business, read our article on operationalizing AI technology.

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By 2024, a quarter of the USA’s workforce will be aged 55 or over, with a third of those older than 65, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Early careers – vital for business success

Contributors:

Kirsten Barnes

CEO, Bright Network

Susan Major

Global Managing Director, Early Careers and Campus, AMS

By 2024, a quarter of the USA’s workforce will be aged 55 or over, with a third of those older than 65, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

At the other end of the age spectrum will be Gen Z (those born between 1997-2012), who are expected to make up 27% of our workforce by 2025. With 3% of baby boomers taking retirement during the pandemic, early careers talent is vital to organizations looking to fill existing skills gaps and create a resilient, future proof workforce. But what does the next generation of employees want from work and how do we attract them?

“There has been a strong trend towards investing in early careers programs, with a massive focus on equality, diversity and inclusion in the past few years,” says Susan Major, Global Managing Director for Early Careers and Campus at AMS.
“Organizations have had to pledge to do even more in terms of diversity targets – and they have seen early careers as a way to do that,” adds Major.

In the US, this has meant a move away from recruiting at targeted schools and universities towards skills and potential. According to NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) statistics, employers who screen for GPA (Grade Point Average) have dropped from 73% in 2018-19 to 37% in 2022-23. This move away from screening for grades and academic achievement to potential and skills development brings more diverse candidates into an organization’s talent pool – as well as reflecting a wider trend towards skills-based hiring.

However, Major cautions that it’s one thing to attract diverse talent, but another to retain and develop them.

“Moving away from GPA means that organizations are pulling in more diverse candidates, but are they set up to support these candidates when they arrive? Almost every survey I look at tells me that young people don’t feel ready for the world of work and that is even worse for those from diverse backgrounds,” says Major.

Having a post-offer communication strategy can help limit reneges, while dedicated coaching and mentoring schemes can help new recruits settle in and allow them to optimize their potential.

What Gen Z wants

While hiring may have eased off after the frenzy of the post-pandemic years, the jobs market remains a candidate-driven one. In the US, there are 1.6 job openings for every unemployed worker, according to government statistics. Attracting early careers talent can be just as challenging.

Kirsten Barnes is CEO at the UK based digital platform Bright Network. Its annual What do Graduates Want? report surveys 14,000 students about their future job prospects and how employers can best engage with them, with the latest edition finding that 84% of students believe that the cost of living crisis will impact their career prospects. Job security, salary and development opportunities are key.

“Graduates understand that they are new to the world of work and are looking for employers to upskill them. They want to see what training, development and support is available to them,” says Barnes.

This provides an opportunity for employers to engage with early careers talent. Networking is a particular skill that young people want to develop, so employers should be creating – and shouting about – opportunities for young people to meet with them in person. Other priority areas for development include commercial awareness, coding and expectations in a professional environment, according to Bright Network’s survey.

“Corporate social responsibility, from sustainability to equality, diversity and inclusion, are important elements when students and graduates are researching employers. They want to see what work is being done in this area, but it’s important to be authentic. It’s OK to be on a journey to be more diverse and graduate talent would rather hear and understand this than be met with misrepresentative claims,” she adds.

Re-engaging to avoid reneging

A by product of Gen Z’s desire for better job security and better salaries is a marked increase in the number of those reneging on offers.

“Candidates seem much more willing to hold multiple offers and not feel bad about reneging,” says Major.
“During the pandemic, everything became virtual. While some of the techniques we use to attract talent has gone back to in-person, a lot of organizations have kept assessment virtual rather than asking people to make travel arrangements. From a diversity point of view this should allow more people to apply, but some of the dialogue we’re having suggests people aren’t as engaged as the process is remote,” she adds.

Barnes agrees that employers need to do more to keep candidates engaged between offering a role and starting a job.

“Our members shared that if they held competing job offers, factors such as the length of commute, salary and flexible working conditions would help drive their decision. 40% of those surveyed are significantly concerned about the uncertain economic environment having an impact on their job prospects, so salary and job security are key. In addition, clearly communicated, strong L&D offerings for once they have joined will also reduce the likelihood of reneging,” says Barnes.

Building loyalty through effective recruitment marketing can reduce the risk of reneges. This could be as obvious as providing a positive application experience and giving those with an offer access to groups where they can communicate. However, it could also be about face-to-face interactions where you give back to the student community, such as insight days or meeting students on campus. It could even involve helping new recruits with finding accommodation or introducing them to your benefits providers.

Whatever engagement strategy an organization chooses to use, the tension between what Gen Z wants from the new world of work and how best to provide them with workplace skills remains.

“There is an interesting trend emerging with candidates wanting to work flexibly post-pandemic. Young talent wants work/life balance and flexibility, but they also say they feel isolated and stressed, with many preferring face-to-face training. How organizations deal with that in their development programs will be important going forward,” says Major.

written by the Catalyst Editorial Board

with contribution from:

Kirsten Barnes

CEO, Bright Network

Susan Major

Global Managing Director, Early Careers and Campus, AMS

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A data-driven report exploring the scale of savings possible when employers actively innovate with internal mobility and internal hiring.

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Internal Hiring

An Untapped Lever in Today’s Talent Climate

Today, only about 25% of roles are filled internally worldwide. With global talent shortages in most sectors, and a scarcity of skills still holding many organizations back, a lack of focus on Internal Hiring risks hindering productivity and growth. 

In association with The Josh Bersin Company, the Internal Hiring Factbook digs into the current trends around Internal Hiring, and how it can be an effective path to rapidly filling positions and creating a culture of growth in an organization.

Read the full report

Webinar

Internal Mobility:
A Bright Spot in the Storm

Time-to-hire is increasing. Internal Hiring rates are falling. In this challenging talent climate, progressive TA leaders must find new and innovative ways to acquire and retain people. 

Internal mobility offers a bright spot in this stormy period. But how can organizations set themselves up for success in this space? 

Join experts from AMS and The Josh Bersin Company for a special webinar event, as they share data from the second Talent Climate research series entry – the Internal Hiring Factbook – and discuss the importance of focused internal mobility efforts to talent retention.

Speakers: 
– Janet Mertens, SVP of Research, The Josh Bersin Company
– Jim Sykes, Global Managing Director, Client Operations, AMS
– Teresa Beach, HR Chief Operating Officer, Marsh McLennan
– Michael Durrant, Senior HR Manager, Santander

Watch the webinar

Case study

How Internal Hiring Transformed Santander’s Talent Strategy

“Internal mobility is critical to Santander’s overall talent strategy. The omnipresent demand for new skills is becoming the standard, so any organization who wants to thrive needs to be agile in this space and support internal career mobility. Simply giving employees career path options based on past achievements or projects is no longer enough.”

Michael Durrant, Senior HR Manager

Read the full case study

“Organizations that want to succeed in this post-industrial era, where talent is scarce and hiring times are extended, have no choice but to think laterally about approaches to hiring, and career pathways.

Now, more than ever, there needs to be a culture of movement inside the company, whether those moves are part time, project based or full time. The potential cost savings, the prospect of cutting the time to hire by up to two weeks, and the direct impact on the employee experience and on long-term retention are all huge reasons to revisit and elevate internal hiring and internal mobility strategies.”

Josh Bersin, Global HR Research Analyst and CEO of The Josh Bersin Company

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Time-to-Hire

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Time-to-Hire

Today’s Talent Climate:
Hiring Remains Harder Than Ever

Even with economic uncertainty, finding the right talent is still a challenge. Unemployment rates are low. Job-seekers are more picky. And the level of skills needed is constantly evolving.

In association with The Josh Bersin Company, the Time-to-Hire Factbook makes sense of these seismic changes, and provides insight on how organizations need to break the boundaries of traditional talent acquisition.

Read the full report

Read a short excerpt of the Time-to-Hire report below.

Despite the economic slowdown, it’s still hard to find good people. As you’ll read in this research, time-to-hire rates are higher, and in some cases getting worse. This means employers have to work even harder to find just the right candidate in most positions.

Why, in this time of slowing growth, is the job market so competitive? To answer that question, we need to look at three major drivers, which are happening all at once.

First
The unemployment rate is low. Thanks to the low birth rate and the exit of many baby boomers from the workforce, the actual working population in most countries is stagnant or decreasing. And demographic forecasts show that almost every developed economy will see a shrinking working-age population in the future. Therefore, the raw number of people looking for work is not increasing, and this, of course, gives job-seekers more power.

Second
Job-seekers are more picky. Despite some layoffs in certain industries, research shows that many workers are looking for better pay and job-seekers now expect or demand flexible work. Companies have lavished benefits on their employees during the pandemic, and most job-seekers expect a wide range of such benefits, leave options, insurance, and competitive pay.

Third
Technology, IT, supply chain, and finance are quickly demanding new skills. New technologies, new tools, and new business models are changing the nature of most jobs, forcing employers to look far beyond experience to find the right candidate. Most well-paying jobs are “skills-centric” positions, where employers are looking for cutting-edge skills, competing with peers for strong candidates.

Our forecast
The combination of demographic changes, empowered workers, and a rapid need for emerging skills is here to stay. Prepare yourself for a complex hiring environment, and look at systemic HR solutions to keep your company growing in this time of change.

Download the full report

Time-to-Hire Getting Longer?
6 Ways to Reduce it.

Time-to-hire is getting progressively longer. Finding the right talent for the right roles has never been so challenging. So how can business thrive in this new landscape, and attract, source and hire the people they need? It’s time to look at things from a new perspective.

Read our recent article and discover six practical steps your business can implement to hire the right talent at speed. 

Read the article

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Freelancers and contingent workers form an increasingly important part of an organization’s workforce. According to Staffing Industry Analysts, there were 51.5 million contingent workers in the US in 2021, representing more than a third of the region’s workforce and generating $1.3tn in revenue.

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Integrating contingent labor into strategic talent planning

Contributors:

Dustin Talley
Founder & CEO, Talent Simplified

Mark Jones
Executive Vice President, AMS

Laurie Padua
Managing Director, Talent Advisory Services, AMS

Freelancers and contingent workers form an increasingly important part of an organization’s workforce. According to Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA), there were 51.5 million contingent workers in the US in 2021, representing more than a third (35%) of the region’s workforce and generating $1.3tn in revenue.

This number is almost certain to grow. Companies have weathered an unprecedented level of chaos over recent years, from the impact of the Great Resignation and skills gaps to rising interest rates and heightened production and supply chain costs. At the same time, demand for talent remains high, with 1.9 jobs available for every unemployed person in the US in January, according to data from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.

The consequence of this state of flux is that companies are increasingly attracted to the flexibility provided by contingent workers. The ability to access experienced, readily available talent at the right variable cost offers employers the agility to meet current talent requirements without the cost of full-time employees. It is also the perfect marriage with more and more workers wanting flexibility in the post pandemic age.

“After the 2008 financial crisis, we saw heavy utilization of contract workers. At that time, it was driven by necessity, but not strategic in most cases. This time around is proving to be different. The organizations that get it right will find ways to use budget wisely in place of headcount. Instead of just filling roles reactively, companies are taking proactive measures like building talent pools and equipping their teams with access to on-demand resources,” says Dustin Talley, CEO and founder of Talent Simplified.

However, if done without proper thought, the growth in contingent hiring also brings challenges for organizations – not least in terms of reputational risk and potential damage to existing employees’ engagement.

Skills not silos

One of the main challenges with contingent hiring is that it is often run in a silo, separate from other talent functions. In the US, contingent hiring is often the remit of the procurement department with permanent recruitment run by human resources. The reality is that these two functions often operate individually and with little interaction, making the integration of contingent hiring into strategic workforce planning difficult.

“The operational reality shows that the idea of total talent management is still theoretical,” says Mark Jones, Executive Vice President at AMS.

“One of the challenges of contingent labor is that it is by default a tactical solution to find people quickly. When you do that, you use a staffing agency. It is ingrained in how supply chains including internally and externally run MSP’s operate. So, this whole concept of brand and loyalty is nice in theory but will only work if talent acquisition leaders genuinely change how resources are procured.” He goes on to add: “It requires an extra layer of thought, joined up planning and thinking which until recently, often is simply put into the nice to have, but not now category.”

Progress may be slow, but the move towards a more innovative approach to contingent hiring is undeniable. The growth in skills-based approaches to hiring – which puts an individual’s skills profile above employment method, experience and location – is furthering this trend.

“A lot of this is about undoing an existing mindset of needing to hire someone versus needing to get something done. As we enter the skills-based economy, work is about getting a project done rather than completing a 40-hour working week,” says Talley.

According to a SIA report released in May, while only 28% of organizations currently have a strategy for contingent workforce planning as part of their corporate strategy, more than half (55%) are exploring it. The same study indicated that 27% of organizations have a talent pool of some description in place to source contingent workers but 46% were considering it.

“Skills-based companies will win in the future. It will be slow, but it will play out. I see mid-sized companies gaining market share as they’re being smarter around talent and tagging the skills so they know what they have. They are the ones competing and winning, as they’re quick to respond to both clients’ needs and their own internal talent requirements,” adds Talley.

“We’re in the first innings of a nine innings game and skills-based hiring is a part of that,” agrees Jones.

“However, the best time to outsource is in an environment like today, where organizations are coming off all-time highs in hiring. There is a reduction in open roles and all our clients are hiring less, which means there is more capacity in the contingent market,” he adds.

Part of the challenge in integrating contingent hiring into a more holistic approach to talent management is the need for change management. Moving away from a historic way of working with staffing agencies to a direct sourcing strategy requires a different approach across the talent acquisition supply chain. This is where strong leadership and a fully thought out workforce planning strategy is needed.

Data-led decision making

Laurie Padua is managing director of Talent Advisory Services at AMS. She believes that companies need to be more strategic about the talent they attract and employ.

“What we do at advisory is think about the skills and capabilities that an organization needs to drive the end goal it’s trying to achieve, rather than just filling job roles. The worker type is almost irrelevant – it’s about focusing on what your organization needs from a talent perspective, then using data to learn more about the skills and capabilities you are trying to attract,” she says.

“For example, can you get the people you need permanently? Where do they need to be located? Do you need to bring in cohorts of individuals with the skills you need and upskill other employees? We take a holistic, thoughtful approach to talent solutions and contingent hiring is certainly part of that conversation, particularly with the agility and scalability it gives businesses when it comes to costs,” adds Padua.

It’s fine for operational processes and technology to vary between contingent and permanent hiring, says Padua, but your overall strategy must align. Communication is key, otherwise companies can end up in a situation where the contingent hiring team is trying to recruit for the same role as the permanent team.

“The reason some organizations are resistant to change is that they don’t know where to start. Our advisory service can provide expertise on the transformational change journey and get them to the starting point,” says Padua.

Ultimately, change management is a difficult process to go through, but corporations should focus on the benefits of direct sourcing within contingent labor.

“Building contingent recruitment into your holistic talent strategy creates cost savings, allows you to access talent faster and without intermediaries and puts control of talent back into your own hands,” says Padua.

AMS’s own figures back up data around direct sourcing of contingent labor. In the US, AMS clients are achieving in excess of 10% cost savings, with improved candidate quality and quicker submission. Some clients are seeing talent pools in excess of 20,000 contractors after 12-24 months adoption, with other areas of the business using these candidates as part of their emerging skills-based hiring strategy.

“Right now, the traditional routes to market are working. However, our thesis is that things are going to continue to change, the labor market will tighten and that these types of strategies will allow companies to leverage their brand loyalty to make cost savings and generate more hiring options than they currently have,” says Jones.

written by the Catalyst Editorial Board

with contribution from:

Dustin Talley

Founder & CEO, Talent Simplified

Mark Jones

Executive Vice President, AMS

Laurie Padua

Managing Director, Talent Advisory Services, AMS

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key findings

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Conclusion

and key findings

When we started this whitepaper, its overarching premise was to debunk commonly held digital myths in talent acquisition by talking to thought leaders and practitioners in the industry. It’s clear that the change that has occurred across industry in the intervening period has been seismic. AI has exploded into the market and is touching every facet of the talent industry. 

In conjunction with this now, far more accessible technology, the temperature of the Talent Climate continues to rise, with pain points such as time to hire, and skills shortages in certain sectors still front and center for many industries. Alongside this the ‘noise surrounding talent technology can at times be deafening.  Indeed, in the talent acquisition industry the speed of technological development continues to transform the world of work. This, coupled with current global macro-economic tightening, a new technology to understand in AI, the increasing need for tech skilling of the talent pool, and fierce competition for companies to stay at the top, all means talent professionals are under huge pressure.

The industry is at the foothills of revolution in how we attract and retain talent. And like most industries, technology and digital transformation is at the heart of this change. Companies are looking to technology, yet their teams need to stay on top of these advances.

That’s not to say that robots are replacing people. Instead, the best performing companies are leaning-in to the responsible use of AI, with focus given to technology that considers its wider impact and how it helps talent professionals re-think recruitment in a digital environment from automating the mundane and innovating the challenges, to allowing people to lead and strategize, thus allowing technology to act and process.

Ultimately, technology will allow talent professionals to build longer-term relationships with candidates, matching skills to future job requirements.

Technology is an enabler, not a replacement.
The future is a mix of tech and touch.

Our key findings

Technology needs to support employees, not replace them

Business leaders believe that technology will make employees more efficient, but employees don’t necessarily agree, fearing the ‘robots’ will replace them. Getting employees onboard is key to successful tech implementation.

Have a plan beyond simply launching your new tool

Too many businesses focus on launching new technology tools and then leave users to get on with it. Plan how use of the tool will adapt over 30 days, six months and two years to get the most value.

Talent tech is in its infancy, so long-term vendor relationships are key

We’re just at the start of the impact of technology on talent acquisition. Choose your tech vendors based on long-term strategy, not short-term aims.

In chapter two, we examined why technology projects fail – and how to avoid doing so. Talent technology isn’t something you implement and then simply leave to its own devices. Instead, successful technology implementations involve including users in the decision-making process, understanding the specific use cases you want the technology to intervene on, and planning for post-launch adoption and training.

Above all, adopting technology into talent processes is about meticulous planning, ongoing training and understanding how use of the technology can evolve. It’s about thinking beyond launch and planning for the future.

Digital overload weakens the impact of technology

Technology without user led implementation and a eye to simplification, leads to poor adoption and slows down processes, frustrating users. Only implement technology where it can have a strategic impact.

Traditional hiring routes won’t meet demand for talent

Wage inflation, headhunting from competitors and hiring job-ready candidates isn’t going to be enough to meet the huge appetite for tech talent – so it’s time to think outside the box.

Hire for attitude, train for skill

The complexity of technology means skills need continuously updating. In most cases, hiring someone who is adaptable, agile and has a willingness to learn is better than someone with one set of technical skills.

Technology will change both how a candidate applies for and engages with a job role, and how talent professionals source, assess and onboard new hires. It will also offer both parties more data and information about roles and people, allowing for better profile fits, more engaged employees – and less attrition.

Talent tech should be part of a wider strategy to meet the challenges of digital transformation

COVID-19 has proved a catalyst for digital transformation. As hiring tightens, talent professionals are at the forefront of this shift and need to be strategic partners to business.

Candidates expect a consumer experience

It’s not just employees who need to get used to talent tech. Candidates now expect a quick, frictionless hiring process, with easy to use and actionable technology. Fail to stay ahead of the tech curve and your future talent needs fail too.

Artificial intelligence is a game changer for strategic talent acquisition…

By 2025, 75% of organizations will shift from piloting artificial intelligence tools to operationalizing – one of the biggest data and analytics trends of the near future.

…but remember to implement change management

The efficiency of artificial intelligence means roles change and headcount can drop. Make sure you upskill your people and offer a real focus on development opportunities and develop an inclusive environment to grow and retain talent.  In summary, powerful AI is already here but we need to use it responsibly and ethically in order to mitigate bias, thus allowing the wider economy to thrive.

The future is a balance of tech and touch…

Of course, meeting the evolving challenges of talent technology is easier said than done. That’s why AMS provides a number of solutions that help organizations deal with the complex issues brought about by technological change. From how to choose a technology provider to building digital skills in your organization, chatbots to remote hiring – here’s what you need to know.

As mentioned earlier, the temperature of the Talent Climate continues to rise and the noise surrounding talent technology can at times seem deafening. As we climb the foothills of this digital revolution and reach for the uplands, we need the right solutions to cater for our needs and at AMS, our digital solutions help our clients succeed in a new world of work. Finding the right way to get the right people at the right time, on the right terms is what AMS does. We are proud to offer focused and relevant solutions that will make a difference to your world of work.
Talent is our world.

AMS One

AMS One  is a digital platform built to optimize the delivery of RPO talent solutions for AMS clients. With a focus on client, hiring manager and candidate experience, this new platform has benefitted from AMS’ deep understanding of best practice processes, harnessing the power of 27 years of delivering RPO talent solutions.

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AMS Verified

Is talent technology a puzzle you’re yet to solve?

Partnering with trusted vendors and evaluating their solutions through a rigorous vetting process, AMS Verified turns complexity into clarity. Our unique online platform cuts through the noise of the talent technology market with expert insights.
Make confident tech decisions, understand specific products, and stay up to date on the latest innovations.

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AMS Talent Lab

Hiring isn’t the only way to fill the skills gaps. Sometimes, it’s more efficient and cost-effective to help established employees develop niche capabilities. Or finding new, fresh talent and equipping them with the skillsets you need. The possibilities are as varied as your talent challenges. 

AMS Talent Lab can help clients meet their ever growing and demanding skills challenges while focusing on two distinct offerings provided by AMS Talent Lab. 
– Recruiter skilling:  enabling clients to grow the recruitment talent they need.
– Tech skilling:  helping clients to close the tech skills gap.

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The coming months are likely to be challenging for all businesses. A global economic slowdown has seen job cuts and hiring pauses forecast – perhaps as a correction to post-pandemic hiring spikes.

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Challenging times?
Employer brand is the hidden secret to commercial success

Contributors:

Vangie Sison
Head of Employer Brand Advisory Americas, AMS

The coming months are likely to be challenging for all businesses. A global economic slowdown has seen job cuts and hiring pauses forecast – perhaps as a correction to post-pandemic hiring spikes.

At the same time, changing workforce demographics has seen some portions of the talent market drop away. In fact, the percentage of people retiring younger than 65 has grown from 44.5% to 46.7% between 2020-21. Globally, women lost 64 million jobs in 2020, according to the International Labor Organization; more than 7.2 million men of prime working age (25-54) are not in work or even looking for work and women’s labor force participation in the US sits at just 58.1% compared with 70.4% for men.

The Great Resignation, the talent crunch, the ever-widening skills gap – whatever you call it, it’s increasingly difficult for organizations to fill roles and build skills, particularly in heavy growth areas like digital and technology.

Add in the impact of ‘COVID clarity’, where employees are reevaluating the role work plays in their lives, what level of remote or hybrid working is acceptable to them and the desire for more purposeful work, and the relationship between employer and employee is becoming more complex.

As businesses look to navigate economic slowdowns and talent shortages, it can be easy for organizations to turn to layoffs and reduced investment in internal and external employer branding to save money. But are these truly the right tactics to leave their businesses well placed for future success?

Evidence suggests not and according to Harvard Business School professor Sandra J Sucher and research associate Marilyn Morgan Westner short-term savings can have a long-term negative effect.

“Companies continue to cling to the idea that reducing staff will provide the best, fastest, or easiest solution to financial problems,” they write in this Harvard Business Review article.

“I’ve studied layoffs since 2009… the short-term cost savings provided by a layoff are overshadowed by bad publicity, loss of knowledge, weakened engagement, higher voluntary turnover and lower innovation – all of which hurt profits in the long run,” they continue. 

What we’re seeing is potential candidates and existing employees evaluating organizations not just as companies they work for, but more holistically as brands that they might buy from or interact with. Consequently, it has become more important than ever that these organizations communicate effectively with their target audiences across different platforms and mediums. And that means thinking about your employer brand.

Segment your branding

Research shows that three quarters of candidates will research a company’s reputation before applying for a job, with half refusing to work for a company with a bad reputation, regardless of salary increases. Conversely, 87% of candidates will join an organization purely on culture fit.

“The one thing we’ve consistently heard from clients over the past few years is that there has been a significant shift in how candidates think about where work fits into their lives,” says Vangie Sison, head of employer brand advisory Americas at AMS.

“Do I need to go into an office? Should I look for something that puts more importance on family than work itself? I think it’s just the jarring conclusion of the pandemic. But employers need to think about how to best present their brand story to candidates in this new reality. These are very important topics for the value employers provide to candidates and employees, but it’s not resonating with them,” she adds.

Sison says AMS is seeing lots of organizations refreshing their brand stories and thinking about the value propositions they offer to employees. While the external economic environment may be challenging, there is a huge opportunity for employers to focus on development opportunities in the near future. Part of this is creating an authentic and inclusive culture which creates growth opportunities for all talent.

Achieving this requires businesses to personalize development, reward and growth opportunities to different talent populations.

“One thing that has come out of recent years is the importance of a talent segment proposition. For example, take a pharmaceutical company that wants to hire 100 data scientists. That company might not be a brand technology candidates think of at first. But, by tailoring their value proposition to that talent segment, that pharmaceutical company can show future data scientists that there is a place for them in their company, ultimately making them more competitive in the market,” says Sison.

Secondly, companies need to think about where best to tell these stories. What are the channels your candidates use to consume media and interact with each other?

“Everybody’s media consumption has changed. We’re seeing more people using streaming channels and on-demand media. You need to be aware of where your talent segment is interacting and how you can reach them,” says Sison.

 
Growth of branding

The term employer brand was first defined by management consultant Simon Barrow in a 1996 paper in the Journal of Brand Management. In this podcast with Link Humans, he explains how the term has changed over the years.

“In 1985, tangible assets like plant, machinery, buildings and cash formed 56% of corporate assets. Today, that is just 20% of value. So 80% of value is in intangibles, what used to be called ‘good will’. It’s your ability to attract, engage, retain and motivate great people. That’s critical, and it’s what is driving the importance of employer brand thinking,” says Barrow.

He argues that there are three key components of effective employer brand management. First, is to focus on the employment experience itself. How do you rate each touchpoint employees have with your organization? What can be improved?

Second, is to have a board-level sponsor, so that senior management are bought into – and lead on – employer branding strategy.

Employer brand is not brand management

Thirdly, Barrow argues that a distinction needs to be made between employer branding and brand management. Employer branding fails if the reality of the experience doesn’t match the promise. As Barrow says, “you can’t spin your way to an employer brand”.

Sison agrees that authenticity is the key to an effective employer brand.

“As marketers, we can tell a good story. We can sell it. But, if you don’t deliver from an experience perspective, it’s not credible,” she says.

For Sison, the experience a candidate has with a company starts before they even apply for a job. Precise targeting means you’ll already be offering potential hires the right information in the right channels before they see a job advertisement.

From there, it’s about a consistent experience. If the job application page doesn’t provide the experience they want, they won’t finish the application. If their interview with a hiring manager isn’t consistent with the application, they might not take the job. And if their onboarding experience and subsequent job role doesn’t live up to what was promised, they won’t become brand ambassadors – or they might even leave the job.

“The same messaging needs to continue throughout the candidate and employee journey. We can make a brand as sexy as possible, but if the candidate has a bad experience, they will leave,” warns Sison.

Rebuilding and transforming employer brand at LHC Group.

Positive impact included:

  • New career website
  • Employer brand and recruiter toolkit
  • Brand lift

To find out more, read our LHC success story

Read case study

Healthcare is the largest industry in the US, with almost 14% of the workforce serving this industry. Registered nurses are among the most sought-after talent in the US, and as a result the industry has become creative at finding ways to recruit and train nurses.

Leading healthcare services company LHC Group wanted to redefine itself as the ‘destination of choice’ for healthcare workers, attracting talent who would stay for the long term. It worked with AMS to craft a specialized narrative that spoke directly to the talent they sought in an authentic, relevant way.

AMS helped to hone LHC Group’s brand story by identifying core pillars that supported a new EVP story, alongside a new career website, branding and recruitment toolkit and content marketing strategy. Crucially, AMS helped LHC Group identify the top seven personas of their priority hires, allowing them to target these different segments in personalized ways.

The results include:

  • a 7% increase in social metrics like engagement rates and impressions
  • a 67% increase in Google Ad clicks
  • and lowering cost-per application by 33%

‘‘Thanks to our collaboration with AMS, we have developed a robust EVP strategy that has helped us establish LHC Group as the employer of choice in the healthcare industry,”

Tina Slattery, VP of Talent Acquisition at LHC Group.

written by the Catalyst Editorial Board

with contribution from:

Vangie Sison
Head of Employer Brand Advisory Americas, AMS

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How Talent Acquisition Teams can be a Catalyst for Change

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Everyone’s Talking about Skills-based Organizations

How Talent Acquisition Teams can be a Catalyst for Change

The period of massive technical advancement we know as the Industrial Revolution took off over 250 years ago. So, it’s extraordinary to think that the way we organize work has not really changed in all that time. Many of today’s organizations still evaluate and perform work along strict role-fulfilment lines. That’s just the way it has always been done.

Today, the global scarcity of talent is propelling urgent change. Technological upheaval, economic uncertainty, ageing populations, and dwindling birth rates are creating the conditions for creative solutions. Some business leaders and industry experts are working with a new operating model as a result: one that focuses on skills.

Deloitte estimates around 15-30% of organizations are currently disrupting workforce and talent structures in this way.1

But switching to a new way of working after centuries of established hiring patterns is no easy feat. Talent Acquisition teams are in a unique position to be a catalyst for change but enabling a skills-based transition has major implications for hiring practices and the organizational structures they’re embedded in.

So, how can this transformation be achieved?

Sculpted around skills.

There’s no harm in summarizing what we mean by skills-based organizations for the purposes of this article.

Under the standard, legacy structure, work is organized by roles in a functional hierarchy with a clear scope, remit, and accountabilities. A skills-based approach dismantles this and packages work around the skills needed, opening up opportunities for professionals to transcend the organizational silos of roles and tasks. Work is broken into meaningful chunks and employees with the relevant skills and capabilities are used to fulfil it in a fluid and agile way.

People feel empowered to unlock their potential, helping organizations grow the skills they need to stay competitive.

But moving to a skills-based requires seismic change. And while some businesses have begun to introduce elements of this model into their day-to-day processes (either in defining skills ontologies or within distinct talent practices, such as workforce planning, or performance management and learning and development) this approach is far from widespread. 

Ultimately, the journey towards building a skills-based organization will need pilots like these in certain business functions before such a significant business-wide change can be achieved.

The case for change.

Organizations that have taken steps towards being skills-based are reporting positive outcomes. According to Deloitte organizations are:

•52% more likely to innovate •57% more likely to anticipate change and respond effectively •107% more likely to place talent effectively

•98% are more likely to have a reputation as a place to grow and develop •98% are more likely to retain high performers

Here are some of the reasons businesses are seeing benefits:

1.   Increased match between talent and business needs. Selecting workers based on skills rather than prior job experience and education has helped organizations better ensure that they have the right talent to meet their business needs – not just for “right now”, but for the future, too.

2.    Organizational agility. When organizations understand the skills necessary to deliver work now and, in the future, and are aligned on the skills their workforce has, they can more quickly assess and move skills that are based on business priorities.

3.    Improved workforce performance and productivity. With a skills-based approach, organizations can better tap into all the skills a worker has – not just those they currently use in a specific job.

What’s more, businesses can better nurture and develop in-demand skills, and move talent with the right skills to where they are needed most.

4.    A sense of belonging. When work is structured around skills, employees can put their specific skillsets, strengths and interests to use around the organization, bringing them closer to business strategy. This can help breed a strong sense of belonging and loyalty. 

5.    Built-in diversity. A skills-based setup means DEI is more than a catchphrase. It allows organizations to make more equitable decisions based on an employee’s full range of skills, rather than their job description. Shifting the focus to value skills more than experience, education, or previous workplace, helps to avoid biases against certain talent groups – for example, candidates or employees who did not attend university.

If we can shift our focus, or broaden our lens, from jobs to skills, we’ll find workers have more in common than we think.

Nicole Brender a Brandis
Head of Strategy Consulting, Talent Advisory, Americas, AMS

Deep knowledge of the skills that make people successful across a broad range of strategic work, as well as understanding adjacent skills, opens doors to new talent pools and ultimately leads to a better match between talent and business needs.

Kirstin Schulz
Head of Strategy Consulting, EMEA, AMS

A journey, not a switch, for TA teams.

Until now, leadership and development teams have been leading the charge when it comes to skills-based approaches. But talent acquisition teams have an opportunity to move the journey to the next level because of their unique position as gatekeepers for candidates at the start of their journey.

Forward thinking TA teams are already starting to embrace skills-based hiring. According to LinkedIn, recruiting professionals are 25% more likely to search by skills than they were 3 years ago and 75% predict skills-based hiring will be a priority for their company in the next 18 months.

Having said that, only 64% feel they can accurately assess candidates’ skills today. So, there is still some way to go for some organizations.2

To implement skills-based hiring effectively, day-to-day TA work itself needs to undergo a transformation. Of course, this level of organization change doesn’t happen overnight. Key pillars of TA teams’ processes (such as job descriptions, for example) cannot simply be removed with no alternative in place. But steps can be taken to move TA teams along the journey towards a skills-based approach. Rethinking how they source, interview and ultimately think about talent is the key.

Nicole Brender a Brandis
Head of Strategy Consulting, Talent Advisory, Americas

TA teams have a fundamental part to play in building the blocks to a skills-based future. They can help this come alive at an organizational level by influencing the conversation and shifting the business to a skills-based mindset.

Kirstin Schulz
Head of Strategy Consulting, EMEA

Recruiters are the shop window to the external market. But it’s the infrastructure that sits behind them that needs to enable the recruiters to be able to hire for skills.

Shared missions and definitions.

Organizations should begin their journey by pinpointing what the strategic and critical skills are within the organization. This is no easy task. Ask three people to define a critical skill and you’ll get three different answers. Most managers think their roles or skills they are hiring for are the most important.

So, businesses must work out a shared framework, language and understanding of skills together. It means thinking through the skills that make key business strategies happen, those that disproportionately affect performance, and the skills that are hardest to attract, hire, and retain. It’s vital everyone is on the same page before critical skills are cascaded into ways of working and conversations with candidates and clients.

Skills-based hiring success.

Working in conjunction with this crucial mindset change, there are a multitude of levers that can broaden TA’s approach to skills-based hiring. From building a skills-driven model for sourcing and attraction to creating ‘strategic skills teams’ that purely focus on sourcing and engaging talent with business-critical skills.

One of the most impactful actions that TA leaders can take is to train recruiters to better understand adjacent skills and shared skillsets across different role types or functions and really break down siloed ways of engaging talent. This puts TA in the driving seat to completely shift the conversations with Hiring Mangers – away from experience towards skills, challenging long-held assumptions about what makes a strong hire.

12 levers to broaden TA’s approach to skills-based hiring

1. Have versus Learn
Determine which skills can be learned and evaluate the learning aptitude of potential applicants

2. Adjacent Skills
Source and screen based on skills, and train TA team to look for ‘adjacent skills

3. Identify Roles
Identify roles that have a shorter “shelf life” with rapidly changing skills (i.e. software developer) where agility is particularly critical

4. Reconstruct Job Descriptions
Re-construct JDs and job ads to highlight skills and capabilities over experience and education

5. Bench Hiring
For critical skills, sourcing and hiring outside of specific open requisitions

6. Organization Structure
Set up the TA org to align to skills rather than function or geo’s (e.g. dedicated ‘strategic skills’ sourcing team)

7. Drive data collection
Amplify skills data collection on internal and external candidates

8. Technology
Use AI-driven technologies for skills-matching, candidate identification and shortlisting

9. Adjust Assessments
Amplify skills in assessment & interviewing methods

10. Talent Pools
Curate skills-based talent pools

11. Campaign
Run sourcing & attraction campaigns for skills rather than roles

12. Expand
Expand the roles that fall under the skills-based hiring framework

Nicole Brender a Brandis
Head of Strategy Consulting, Talent Advisory, Americas

In an incredibly tight labor market, your chances of getting a 100% fit are virtually non-existent. A candidate may not have A skill, but they have B skill, and their application of B is very similar in what you need to bring to this role to be successful. You may need to start thinking about talent with a slightly different lens – harnessing transferrable and adjacent skills.

Kirstin Schulz
Head of Strategy Consulting, EMEA

Train TA teams to be change agents within the business. Think broadly about what is underlining this capability, what skills are required for the role, and what adjacent skillsets with some training can be developed?

Recruitment Leader (Global)

Case study: Shifting to a skills-based structure

Here’s an example of how one TA team restructured to align to a skills-based approach by creating a ringfenced team for sourcing strategic skills

Making this change has enabled the organization to proactively build the talent pipeline for critical skills without interrupting the day-to-day work of regional teams and CoE functions.

Recruiting Delivery Leaders
(Regional or Division/Business Unit)

  • Primary contact to Regional or Division/Business Unit leaders on all aspects of attracting/hiring talent
  • Direct management of recruiters
  • Dotted line oversite of req based sourcers

Sourcing Strategist Lead
(Global)

  • Owns global sourcing strategy
  • Integrates market insights into overall sourcing approach
  • Identifies which positions need proactive sourcing support
  • Coaches and mentors sourcing team

Req-Based Sourcing
(Regional or Division/Business Unit)

BAU Proactive Sourcing Team Candidate Attraction

  • Proactive req-based sourcing support for reqs which lack quantity/quality
  • Will leverage leads from talent communities and do other proactive outreach

Candidate Management

  • Manage in-bound applicant experience
  • Leverage technology for initial calibration
  • Screen top candidates for submittal of recruiter long-list

Strategic Skills Sourcing

  • Build and nurture critical skills talent communities.
  • Talent mapping and targeted candidate outreach.
  • Sourcing ahead of the need.
  • Proactively present hot leads for the business to participate in the nurturing process

The skills-based hiring maturity model

As TA teams move through the levers for change

and address the challenges of becoming skills-based, they should increase their overall level of maturity

Level 1

  • Emphasis on experience & education
  • Some openness to consider candidates with transferable skills
  • Limited cross-functional internal moves
  • No intelligent skills-matching in place

Level 2

  • Skills & capabilities reflected in JDs, job ads and sourcing approach
  • HMs and Recruiters well versed at identifying (transferable & adjacent) skills
  • Expansion of roles that fall under the skills-based hiring framework
  • Go-to-market strategy based on skills, not individual roles

Level 3

  • TA TOM (structure, technologies, processes) reflect skills approach
  • ‘Always on’ sourcing and hiring for critical skills
  • Well-established adoption of  AI-driven technologies for skills-matching, candidate identification and shortlisting
  • Internal and external hires reflect breadth of cross-functional & industry backgrounds
  • Deep integration of TA and L&D/up & reskilling
  • Expansive skills data collection on internal and external talent

Conclusion

A skills-based future?

Today’s talent market is tougher than ever – from the uncertain economic climate and changing demographics, to a global skills shortage. To combat this, businesses can’t simply stick to the same old, same old. To survive and thrive in this next chapter, innovation has become a necessity.

A skills-based approach offers a new path to a more optimized, efficient, and agile business – a journey in which TA teams can play a significant role. TA has the chance to lead the way and play an instrumental role in bringing about skills-based change, but effective transition will take time and affect the very core of how they contribute and support the business. Ultimately, it is one that can’t stop with them.

To secure the best and brightest minds and fulfil both current and future staffing needs it’s time to link TA and cross-functional teams to a skills-based future.

Consider:

  • How to understand and connect to wider organizational skills-based initiatives, and align all efforts to a clearly stated purpose, objectives, and success metrics.
  • How to currently attract, source, and hire talent and where processes could be adapted – for example, in bench hiring for certain skillsets – to demonstrate skills-based success.
  • How to start small, such as selecting skills that have an obvious intersection among several roles.
  • What technologies are available to accelerate efforts – and where change management and comms are required to gain buy-in and adoption.

At AMS, we are the go-to partner for enterprises looking to transition their Talent Acquisition capability into a skills-based model. From tech assessments, building a skills architecture, advising on and implementing the right technologies, reconstructing and redesigning how to write job descriptions, to supporting a skills-based organizational strategy, we can help businesses navigate this complex new chapter.

We support world-leading organizations to reimagine their talent strategies and the world of work.

Are you ready for a skills-based future?

Contact us today

_________________________________________
[1] Deloitte, Moving your organizational strategy from jobs to skills, 2022
[2] LinkedIn, Future of Recruiting 2023

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The era of fixed job roles, linear promotions and rigid functions is over. Modern workplaces are agile, flexible and able to pivot to new strategies, ideas and challenges to deal with a volatile, changeable environment.

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The rise of
skills-based hiring

Contributors

Jo-Ann Feely
Global Managing Director, Innovation, AMS

The era of fixed job roles, linear promotions and rigid functions is over. Modern workplaces are agile, flexible and able to pivot to new strategies, ideas and challenges to deal with a volatile, changeable environment.

Driven by this new reality – and accelerated by the impact of the pandemic – many organizations are moving away from recruiting on experience and qualification to skills-based hiring for potential and flexibility.

Of course, talent shortages and technological needs are affecting this move too. According to Dell Technologies, more than 85% of jobs that will exist in the next decade haven’t even been invented yet. In the face of such uncertainty, an individual’s past experience is less relevant than the skills they hold and can acquire in the future.

Skills as the new currency

One advocate of the move towards skills-based hiring is LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky.

“Our data shows that roles are being created and displaced at a truly record pace right now. Whatever your role, whatever your company, whatever your industry, you need to keep up with these really quick and big changes that are going on right now,” argued Roslansky in a podcast with Harvard Business Review.

Traditionally, business leaders and hiring managers have focused on past experience, qualifications, universities or personal networks as a way of assessing talent. Not only does this narrow talent pools and lessen diversity, but it also no longer makes sense when the pace of change is so rapid, says Roslanksy.

“If you take the same job role from 2015 to 2022 that existed in the world, roughly 25% of the skills needed for that job will have changed. When the labor market is moving much quicker, we really need something to focus on. I think that alternative, flexible, accessible path is really going to be based on skills,” he adds.

Take a systemic approach

Jo-Ann Feely is global managing director, innovation at AMS. She agrees with Roslansky that organizations are under pressure to find more sustainable ways to deal with talent scarcity.

“I think organizations are being forced to look inwards because they’ve really struggled to fill vacancies in the external market. The speed to digitization, especially post-pandemic, has put a lot of pressure on the skills needed to do roles as almost all organizations became digital ones,” she says.

In order for businesses to move towards skills-based hiring, they need to better understand the skills their current workforce have, alongside the different skills each job role requires.

“There needs to be a systemic approach to understanding skills. To make career mobility effective and skills-based hiring work, you need to understand the primary and secondary skills needed to do each job,” says Feely.

The challenge for business is two-fold. Firstly, they need to have some way of categorizing the skills they require – such as skills taxonomy – which takes time and effort to build and update. Secondly, there needs to be a culture shift in hiring away from instant gratification (i.e. poaching a job-ready employee from a competitor) towards looking to new hires or existing employees with skills adjacent abilities that can be developed through training.

“Skills-based hiring isn’t going to be an organizational, wholesale change. It’s going to take pilots within certain functions or departments, as it’s not an easy thing to effect,” says Feely.

“If you want to identify adjacent skills, you need to understand and map out the skills required for the roles you need. Doing this exercise is time-consuming, but on the positive side it not only increases career mobility, but it also allows for a broader talent pool externally,” she adds.

More inclusive workforces

Increasingly, hiring managers and talent professionals are starting to agree. In the US, major employers like Walmart, Boeing and IBM have signed up to skills-based hiring projects through partnerships with social mobility champions like Rework America Alliance. In Maryland, the local government announced in 2022 that it would no longer require college degrees for 50% of its state jobs.

However, the pace of change is slow. In the previously discussed Harvard Business School podcast, Roslansky described how LinkedIn data saw the potential for food service employees to be retrained as digital customer service workers during the pandemic. According to the data, there is a 70% match between the skills of the two roles. Yet many roles went unfilled and people lost jobs because organizations focused on past experience rather than skills.

“If we had just taken a view on what skills are necessary, who had those skills, how can we help them acquire some skills to become employed, we would’ve found ourselves in a much more efficient labor market. We would have been much more productive,” he said.

When it comes to talent attraction, skills-based hiring is also a better indicator of future success. Studies show that skills-based hiring is five times more predictive of future performance than hiring for education, and 2.5 times more predictive than past work experience.

The rise of skills-based hiring means organizations can better prepare for future challenges, develop internal career mobility and build their employee skill base. It can also lead to a more inclusive, equitable work environment.

“If you take a skills-based approach, you can open a broader talent pool both internally and externally. You can also identify under-represented talent that hasn’t come to the surface before because you’ve always hired a certain profile of person from a certain background or education,” says Feely.

“This approach to hiring broadens the talent pool and makes an organization more inclusive with a more equal playing field. Skills are the new currency. We just need to see organizations embrace it faster,” she adds.

written by the Catalyst Editorial Board

with contribution from:

Jo-Ann Feely
Global Managing Director, Innovation, AMS

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