Skills-first recruitment will accelerate by adding a human dimension

Degree requirements have been removed from many jobs; the theory is this will offer opportunity for the over 60% of Americans who lack a degree. However, Employers continue struggle to find suitable candidates.

The Burning Glass Institute reported that the percentage of jobs requiring a college degree fell from 51% in 2017 to?44%?percent in 2021. However, more recent research indicates the elimination of degree requirements has barely moved the needle in non-degree holders getting into those jobs, with systemic issues the cause. A job may be advertised as no longer requiring a degree, but hiring managers are still in some instances, looking for degree educated candidates.

Could this be through a lack of confidence in the non-degree educated candidate meeting the needs of the work? Are hiring managers fearful of making decisions without the comfort of a degree?

And, in the same vein, could non-degree holders be fearful of applying for these jobs undermined by a lack of confidence and conviction in their ability to perform the work?

There is a way to give hiring managers more confidence in non-degree holder candidates and to accelerate and achieve sustainable skills-first recruitment practices.

Bringing behavior into the equation addresses both sides of the table, and truly opens more skilled, well-paying jobs to non-degree holders.

If you ask me which is more important, skills or behaviors, my answer is both. To understand why, read on.

Behavior plays an important role in workplace performance. Behavior preferences are important for fit with a job role because they are the natural, instinctive responses of the individual. Fit is defined as the ability to perform the job to a very high standard, for long periods of time, without experiencing mental fatigue. ?

With the right behavior fit, skills are applied to a high standard, consistently, over long periods of time. Why?

All behavior is brain-based. Each person has his or her own way of looking at the world and responding to it. Those recurring responses - part inherited and part learned - fall into patterns, referred to as behavior preferences.???Each person exhibits his or her own personal behavioral preferences to a great extent by how and what they say and do.???

When an employee is using their natural, instinctive behaviors in their work, the brain is working at its most optimal state, free from stress and fatigue. In this state, the brain is most primed to learn more and perform. In this state, the individual is highly motivated, the brain performs the patterns of behavior most well developed.

The same skill in different jobs has different contexts. For example, how critical is a skill to overall job performance, how frequently, for what duration, and what level of intensity is a skill required. These factors concern the DNA of the skill.

Thus, skill application becomes an extension of the behavior preference.

Conversely, when an employee’s naturally instinctive behaviors are not matched with the demands of the work, the brain is called on to perform behaviors far less well developed. In this state the brain must work harder and consume more energy. This results in mental and physical fatigue, demotivation because the work feels hard, resulting in disengagement and eventually attrition.

There is a significant biological basis to a job fit. Behavior can be described, observed, and measured. If we think in behavioral terms about the candidate and the job, we can start to humanize more aspects of talent management. The behavioral need of the job is the job DNA, and the behavioral preferences of the individual, is their career DNA.

A critical difference between behavior and personality is that although your personality evolves over time, it is less dynamic in the workplace. Behavior on the other hand is dynamic, adapts to the situation and is multifaceted by containing a plethora of talents, qualities, special abilities. Behavior therefore is a highly relevant and accurate way of identifying job fit.

This means both stakeholders can approach decision making with more confidence; hiring managers over candidate fit to the job, non-degree holder candidates are confident of their potential to not just do the work but do it to a high standard. ?

Including behavior into recruitment has another key advantage. Work increasingly requires human skills, more so than technical skills and qualifications. An individuals range of natural behavior preferences is the foundation to these human skills. Combining a behavior lens in recruitment enables the human skill needs to be quantified and nurtured, strengthening employee job performance.

Skills first recruitment is no doubt a breakthrough opportunity. Systemic issues can be addressed to accelerate the skills first movement if we start to bring a human dimension into the equation, increasing recruitment accuracy, giving confidence to recruiters and candidates, and strengthening equitable access to high skilled, high paying jobs. ?

Behavior could well become the new frontier in talent management, humanizing and offering equitable access to skilled jobs for everyone.