Skills-First Hiring: Pilot Programs That Win Leadership Buy-In

Securing leadership support for skills-first hiring can be a challenge, especially when the risks feel immediate and the rewards long-term.

Although HR teams recognize the strategic value that skills-first hiring provides, executives continue to focus on conventional candidate qualifications, such as degrees, titles, or linear experience.

However, the traditional talent pool of degree candidates is shrinking as more high school graduates skip college due to high tuition costs and a decreased perception of the value of an advanced degree. 

While skills-first hiring provides opportunities to widen the applicant pool, incorporating the process into an organization’s infrastructure can be difficult. Research from Harvard Business School found that even when companies say they want to incorporate skills-first hiring, the majority fail to make significant or lasting changes. The study also found that in 2023, not even 1 in 700 hires came from skills-first hiring.

With these challenges in mind, HR leaders must find a new way to shift perceptions and build momentum for an organizational shift to skills-first hiring. One of the most effective ways to do so is through targeted pilot programs.

The What and Why of Skills-First Hiring

Degree requirements are part of a larger structural issue affecting the talent pipeline. In 2023 over 75% of U.S. job postings required a bachelor’s degree, yet 62% of working-age adults didn’t have one. However, degree requirements aren’t the only thing limiting the talent pool. Declining college enrollment and immigration restrictions will make it even more difficult for companies to find skilled employees.

Skills-first hiring addresses these challenges. By emphasizing individuals’ abilities and competencies instead of education and direct experience, skills-first hiring creates a larger talent pool. With more qualified candidates, companies can fill jobs faster and cut recruiting costs.

Why Leaders Are Hesitant to Implement Skills-Based Hiring

Although skills-first hiring offers promising solutions for tough-to-fill jobs, leaders are frequently hesitant to implement this shift — often weighing whether the potential benefits are worth the perceived risk.

Marquis McCraw, vice president of talent acquisition at Easterseals Southern California, a nonprofit organization supporting people with disabilities, older adults, and veterans and their families, said part of that hesitation is the preference to stick with the familiar. “[Leaders] are comfortable with the traditional approach and don’t want to try something new out of fear that if it doesn’t work as they and their organization feel it should, they will be blamed for it,” he explained.

Leaders also may be concerned about legal issues when using skills-first criteria to select one candidate over another, McCraw added. “You can more easily defend education and traditional experience. It’s not as easy to defend competencies and nontraditional experience unless you are basing it on a validated assessment,” he said.

In some cases, hesitation stems from how leaders perceive risk over time. While the benefits of skills-first hiring often may take time to fully emerge, the potential pitfalls, such as legal uncertainty or early execution challenges, may feel more immediate and consequential.

Turn Skepticism into Support with Targeted Pilots

Given the opportunities skills-first hiring offers, HR leaders must find ways to address the complexities and build leadership support.

McCraw said his organization piloted skills-first hiring programs in specific areas. “Due to the need for talent, we had to be creative and not constrained by traditional methods,” he said. Because of this unique talent need, leaders were more open to using this method.

McCraw suggested additional strategies HR leaders can use to build senior leadership support:

• Identify which areas could be impacted the most by skills-first hiring. Typically, this will be positions that require a large number of hires or those with a small talent pool.
• Partner with those you have established relationships with who trust your expertise and start a pilot with them. Find an executive who trusts your expertise and gain their buy-in. Find out their biggest talent pain points and use that information to get them on board, whether it’s finding the right talent or retaining current employees.
• Gather data and measure the before and after results. McCraw said buy-in grew once he could demonstrate that the pilot programs showed better results in terms of the number of quality candidates and improvements in retention.
• Make a business case that resonates with business terms, such as the cost-effectiveness, work agility, and alignment with digital transformation goals that this shift brings.
• After completing a pilot and demonstrating positive results, embed visible, executive-level champions to drive top-down change. McCraw suggested focusing on leaders who realized the traditional methods weren’t as effective as they once were, and that they needed new approaches.

It can be uncomfortable for HR leaders to challenge legacy mindsets around credentials. However, pilot programs, backed by data-based results and strategic champions, can reduce the risk of change and make the benefits tangible. Through pilot programs, HR can lead the charge to help leadership recognize the necessity and benefits of skills-first hiring.