Supporting Annual Graduate Recruitment for a Government Agency
PeopleScout supports the assessment center for a UK government agency’s annual graduate recruitment campaign for policy advisors to ensure candidate quality and fairness.
3,500+applications assessed
140candidates supported in assessment centers
4weeks of assessment centers completed
Situation
This UK government agency runs an annual graduate recruitment campaign to hire quality early careers talent across their policy advisor team. They turned to PeopleScout to ensure this process remained consistent, fair and unbiased.
Solution
The PeopleScout talent assessment team supports the agency’s graduate recruitment program each year, continuously improving campaigns year-on-year.
Prior to the assessment center, PeopleScout organizes assessors to sift written exercises. Successful candidates then complete a bespoke Situational Judgement Test, which we designed specifically to assess how candidates would respond in true-to-life scenarios that employees will encounter in their roles at the agency. This sifts out approximately 30% of applicants who would be unlikely to succeed at the assessment center.
Candidate then complete the assessment center, for which we provide assessors. The assessment includes a variety of exercises like role plays, interviews and structured policy conversations. These are freshly designed by the client each year, and PeopleScout supports by reviewing the materials for consistency and best practice.
Our experienced assessment team provides an end-of-campaign analysis, adverse impact analysis and recommendations for continual improvement. For example, off the back of these recommendations, we worked collaboratively with our client to create an integration between Tazio and Microsoft Teams to create a smoother candidate and assessor experience in their virtual assessment centers.
Results
For this annual graduate recruitment campaign, PeopleScout assessed 3,697 applications, with 140 people completing the assessment center over 4 weeks. Ultimately, 53 candidates went on to work for the agency.
At a Glance
COMPANY: UK Government Agency
INDUSTRY: Government & Public Sector
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Talent Advisory
ANNUAL HIRES: 50+ graduate policy advisors
ABOUT THE CLIENT: This UK government agency employs over 3,000 civil servants.
Creating a Values-Based Interview Framework for More Equitable Hiring
This UK airport wanted to create a more standardised process for interviews based on their organisational values. As their long-time RPO partner, PeopleScout’s Assessment Design team created a values-based interview framework to support hiring for six levels of seniority from entry level to director.
Situation
The airport’s talent acquisition leaders noticed that different teams across their organisation were conducting different types of interviews. They wanted to create a standardised process for interviews, which both measured potential and ensured fairness. They also wanted to embed their company values into their assessment process to secure talent who are in alignment with their organisational culture.
This company turned to their RPO partner, PeopleScout, to transform their values into a multi-level interview framework.
Solution
Our Assessment Design team got to work conducting desk research into the client’s existing values and created a template which was populated throughout the project. Consulting with the client in an iterative way, the designers set clear definitions for the values and created a collection of questions for each value. The client’s team reviewed a variety of options for interview question styles and decided what worked for them.
These questions also corresponded to six levels of seniority—from entry level to director—totalling 36 banks of question. The question banks were organised in such a way that interviewers at the organisation could easily pick and mix questions for their needs. We also delivered scoring criteria to ensure fairness for all candidates.
Results
In the recruitment process, the new values-based interview framework has standardised and streamlined the interview stage. Now, our client is building the questions into an internal tech platform to make the interview process even easier for hiring managers.
Beyond recruiting, the new framework has applications across the entire organisation to help employees understand how the organisation’s values are manifested in their role. This has catalysed a cultural change within the organisation as employees at all levels are thinking more about how they embody this company’s values in their daily work.
At a Glance
COMPANY: UK Airport
INDUSTRY: Travel & Tourism
PEOPLESCOUT SOLUTIONS: Recruitment Process Outsourcing, Talent Advisory
ABOUT THE CLIENT: This UK airport has nearly 75,000 employees, making it one of the country’s largest single-site employers.
Webinar: Hype or Happening? What Our Data Tells Us About AI in Recruiting
We are bombarded with hype about the disruptive power of Generative AI, or Gen AI, on recruitment, including doom-laden, worst-case scenario predictions and claims that our existing talent assessment methods are already obsolete.
It is hard to make sense of all this to come to informed decisions about how we should respond to the new era of Gen AI. Much of what we see and hear is based on opinions, and the research reported focuses on the potential to disrupt rather than revealing the reality of what is actually happening right now.
At PeopleScout, we have responded to this confusion and lack of useful evidence by doing our own research. We wanted to look for evidence of real use cases and impact of Gen AI on job changers and live assessments—and what we found shines a different light on how candidates are using Gen AI in the real world.
Join us on Thursday 1 August at 10:00 GMT for a 30-minute webinar.
During this webinar, we will:
Debunk common myths and hype about Gen AI in recruiting.
Present real-world data and use cases of Gen AI’s impact on job seekers and assessments.
Offer actionable insights to help you navigate the evolving landscape of recruitment technology.
Recruiting the right talent has always been a tough nut to crack for any company. And it’s becoming an even bigger challenge. Low unemployment rates, shifting workforce preferences and skills gaps make recruiting harder than ever. However, a proven solution has emerged that can expand access to talent and meet diversity goals while fueling business performance—skills-based hiring.
The goal of skills-based hiring is to match candidates not based solely on degrees or past job titles, but rather on their current, demonstrated skills aligned with role requirements. It aims to judge applicants equitably on what they can do rather than what’s on their résumé or CV. This approach opens your talent pool to a wider range of qualified candidates who may have been overlooked using traditional hiring methods.
Let’s explore what skills-based hiring entails, why more employers are embracing it and how you can get started.
What is Skills-Based Hiring?
As the name implies, skills-based hiring focuses on a candidate’s demonstrated skills and competencies rather than traditional qualifications like education, years of experience or work history. The emphasis is on relevant skills rather than “paper” credentials. For example, instead of requiring a college degree, a skills-based employer might list must-have abilities like sales, communication, analytical thinking, etc.
The hiring process itself focuses on skills fit. Interviews and talent assessments gauge how a candidate’s skillset maps to a role’s requirements. In this way, skills-based hiring removes barriers for underrepresented groups and instead gauges whether someone can actually perform well according to the role’s core skills. The goal is to judge candidates objectively and find the best match for the job.
Skills in the Workplace
So, what skills should companies actually evaluate with skills-based hiring? Skills in the workplace are made up of three key components:
Hard Skills / Technical Skills: These are the expertise areas like programming languages (i.e., phython, Java), data analysis, financial modeling, and other role-specific knowledge. While they’re crucial for many jobs, they actually make up a small fraction of the overall skills picture.
Soft Skills: Often undervalued, soft skills in the workplace, like problem-solving, emotional intelligence, communication and critical thinking are the grease that allows hard skills to operate smoothly. For most roles outside of niche specialties, these human skills make up the vast majority of what’s needed for success.
Values Alignment and Organizational Fit: Less about executing the day-to-day work, this is about whether someone’s personality, mindset and motivations mesh with the company culture and values. It’s about determining if the candidate embodies the attitudes and behaviors you want to see in the role and at your organization.
Benefits of a Skills-First Approach: From Engagement to Productivity
The potential benefits of skills-based hiring are plentiful. It can expand your talent pool, increase diversity by reducing bias toward pedigree over performance, improve internal mobility, and better align employees to roles they’ll thrive in.
Organizations that embrace skills-based recruiting experience:
Not only does skills-based hiring boost performance and quality of hire, but it also enhances your employer brand, accelerates ramp up and improves retention.
3 Steps to Get Started with Skills-Based Hiring Today
The good news is that it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing, enterprise-wide overhaul. Here are three steps to start putting skills-based hiring in focus:
1. Understand the roles that you have.
The first step in skills-based hiring is to break down the roles you’re looking to fill into the specific skills required for success. Start with one role or a set of roles. What hard skills (technical abilities) and soft skills (personal attributes) drive top performance in each position? Collaborate with your high performers to identify these key competencies and create detailed skills profiles for each role. These profiles should be action-oriented, specific, and avoid vague or subjective requirements.
With skills profiles in hand, you can craft job descriptions that communicate the essential abilities candidates need upfront. This transparency not only attracts better-matched applicants but also sets clear expectations from the start. Consider removing degree requirements if they’re not absolutely necessary, as LinkedIn data shows that job ads listing skills tend to receive more applicants.
2. Understand people.
In a skills-based approach, you’ll evaluate candidates based on their personal skills profiles – their demonstrated hard and soft skills relevant to the role. Implement validated, data-driven assessments like coding tests, writing samples, or Excel modeling exercises to consistently measure these abilities during the hiring process. Grade candidate responses objectively against your predefined skill criteria on a scale. This data-driven approach helps minimize unconscious bias.
3. Align roles with people.
Structure your interviews to probe candidates’ proficiency in key skills through situational judgment questions and opportunities to demonstrate their competencies. Skills-based interviews, combined with detailed skills profiles for both roles and candidates, will help you make smarter, more informed talent decisions. Hire skilled individuals who match the role requirements, identify reskilling needs for existing employees, or reject candidates who don’t meet the necessary competencies.
Skills-based hiring is still an emerging practice, but it offers companies an intriguing way to modernize talent acquisition. By focusing on what people can actually do instead of just their past experiences and credentials, you may uncover hidden gems and build higher-performing teams.
While making the shift to skills-based hiring practices takes time and effort, partnering with a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) provider can accelerate your transition to building a future-fit workforce through this approach. An RPO partner offers the strategic guidance and operational expertise to embed skills at the core of your talent practices. They can help you carefully define and communicate role-specific skills and design fair and consistent talent assessments.
With the support of an RPO partner like PeopleScout, you can embed fairness and future-readiness into your talent strategies, building a more skilled, capable workforce prepared to drive your organization’s success.
Redesigning the Early Careers Assessment Process for a UK Construction Leader
One of the largest construction, property and development companies in the United Kingdom engaged PeopleScout to design and build a new assessment center to boost diversity amongst their early career talent.
93%reduction in candidate pool through new situational application sift stage
81%pass rate after bespoke assessment center
Situation
Over the past several years, this privately owned development, property and construction organization have increased the hiring of early career talent across multiple functions and departments. With a focus on increasing diversity and inclusion across their business areas, the early careers intake process was identified as an important way to achieve this. They wanted to create an assessment center that was unique, created a positive candidate experience and delivered quality, diverse talent who demonstrate behaviors in-line with their culture.
This client’s early career schemes recruit for a large variety of roles in many different business areas. However, they needed all candidates to go through the same assessment center, so the new assessment design needed to balance the needs of all departments and efficiently assess individual people. Plus, they needed adaptable exercises and scoring which could be appropriate for both apprenticeship and graduate scheme applicants.
This organization wanted the assessment center to create an excellent candidate experience and for candidates to feel like they gained a valuable experience in the process. The format needed to be engaging and fun, showcasing their values and the kind of work they do.
Solution
We took a phased approach to our assessment design solution for our client.
Discovery Phase
Our discovery efforts consisted of gathering information from stakeholders across the company. We ran focus groups with current early careers talent and conducted visionary interviews with senior stakeholders. We also facilitated focus groups with the internal early careers recruitment team.
Through these sessions, as well as carrying out desk research on the job descriptions, we gained an understanding of skills and experience required from early careers employees. Then, we defined the key issues in the current assessment framework and came up with the concepts for the new assessment center to better the client’s needs.
Through the discussion it was decided to have three distinct exercises which followed the same story but didn’t rely on each other. In the previous assessment center if candidates didn’t fully understand one exercise, it would have a knock-on effect on their ability to carry out the next one.
We decided on an overarching fictional project scenario to thread throughout all exercises at the assessment center which was applicable to all business areas. It would also act as a realistic job preview.
Design Phase
We designed a new assessment framework consisting of:
A bespoke new situational application sift process
A new video interview stage
A bespoke assessment center
For the assessment center, we designed a new group exercise, a case study presentation exercise and an interview. We designed a unique group exercise and case study exercise for apprentices and graduates and the interview was applicable for both.
I addition to the designing the exercises themselves, we created scoring guides and candidate briefs for all exercises. Plus, we generated a timetable for the day of the assessment as well as[PG2] a briefing presentation so the client could inform candidates at the beginning of day of what was coming.
Testing Phase
We started with a pilot assessment center to test the new process. Members of the PeopleScout assessment team facilitated a virtual assessment center day, during which internal stakeholders acted as the assessors and current employees played candidates. This was hosted on TopScore, so the client was able to stress test their virtual platform of choice.
After the pilot, we ran focus group feedback sessions with a group of the assessors and a group of the mock candidates to gather insights and perceptions on the materials as well as anything which could be amended to aid understanding. Finally, we held a debrief session with the members of the company’s early careers team to get clear on what amends we would make.
We implemented our client’s feedback and sent the finalised materials to the client, ready for the real assessment centers. We ran a “train the trainer” session for their assessors so they could execute the assessment center going forward.
Results
This organization received over 3,800 applicants for their early careers programme, and the new application sift stage allowed the client to filter down their candidate pool to 239. They also felt confident in the quality of the candidates who made it through to the assessment center, with 81% passing. Plus, when looking at pass/fail ratios, we saw no adverse impact at assessment center for gender, ethnicity or disability.
At a Glance
COMPANY: One of the UK’s largest construction, property and development companies
The traditional recruitment process often involves a series of stages, including initial screening, psychometric testing, skills evaluation, video interview, face-to-face interview or assessment center. While each step helps in discerning a candidate’s suitability for a role, the cumulative effect of an extended assessment timeline can prove detrimental. From delayed decision-making to candidate attrition, the repercussions of a lengthy recruitment process reverberate across the hiring journey, impacting both employers and candidates.
In today’s dynamic talent acquisition environment, organizations that can shorten the recruitment process hire better talent, reduce their vacancy rates and ultimately boost their business performance.
That’s why PeopleScout is proud to introduce the One Experience Assessment (1XP), a digital-first advancement designed to innovate the way talent is evaluated. 1XP is changing the game in recruitment technology by simplifying the recruitment journey. By merging multiple talent assessment stages into one coherent, efficient experience, 1XP boosts efficiency, improves candidate quality and enhances retention.
1XP for Candidates: Streamlined Processes & Practical Job Previews
1XP’s brilliance lies in its fusion of diverse assessment techniques—like realistic job previews, situational judgement, aptitude, skills and video interview assessments—into one integrated experience. This allows candidates to demonstrate a wider range of their skills and potential while providing employers with a comprehensive view of each applicant. The outcome is an optimized match between candidates and roles, based on a full understanding of their skills and character.
For candidates, the process is straightforward. Rather than navigating a sequence of separate invitations and assessment stages, they receive a single invitation to complete everything at once. This not only condenses the timeline but also significantly streamlines the candidate experience by eliminating the need to validate their qualifications repeatedly throughout the traditional process.
Furthermore, the One Experience Assessment offers candidates a vivid preview of the role for which they are applying. By simulating real-world scenarios and challenges, 1XP enables candidates to immerse themselves in the day-to-day realities of the job. This immersive preview not only helps in managing candidates’ expectations but also ensures that individuals who proceed to the next stages are those who are truly interested and prepared for the specific demands and culture of the role. It’s a strategic approach that not only empowers candidates but also aligns talent acquisition with long-term role fulfilment and employee satisfaction.
1XP for Talent Acquisition Teams: Faster Hiring & Improved Quality
The advantages for organizations are equally significant. Allowing candidates to undertake multiple assessments in one session greatly shortens the hiring timeline and reduces the likelihood of candidate withdrawal. This efficiency is further enhanced by an automated scoring system that expedites the evaluation process, except for elements like the video interview. Consequently, recruiters and hiring managers can more quickly focus their efforts on the most promising candidates, equipped with a thorough understanding of their abilities.
As more candidates begin to explore the use of Generative AI (GenAI) to aid in their job application processes, the One Experience Assessment (1XP) maintains a decisive edge. Unlike typical assessments that might be outwitted by AI, 1XP’s sophisticated assessment design demands genuine human input and adaptability. By incorporating interactive tasks and live video challenges, 1XP creates a complex environment where the scripted responses of AI fall short. This ensures that each candidate’s performance is an authentic reflection of their true abilities, preserving the integrity and trustworthiness of the recruitment process.
Transforming Talent Assessment: Spotlight Case Studies
Here are just two examples of how PeopleScout is leveraging 1XP to elevate talent acquisition for our clients.
Financial Services Organization: Increasing Assessment Pass Rate by 78%
Facing challenges in recruiting high-quality, productive claims advisors, a leading financial services organization turned to PeopleScout’s 1XP for a solution. The new approach not only made the process more convenient for candidates and significantly reduced the time to hire, but it also eliminated the reliance on previous customer contact experience—focusing instead on skills and potential, which greatly expanded the talent pool.
The results speak for themselves: the pass rate at the assessment center stage jumped to 73%, from the previous 41%—a 78% increase. New hires were recognized for their motivation to succeed, willingness to learn and positive mindset, demonstrating the effectiveness of 1XP in identifying and attracting quality candidates.
Heathrow Airport: Reducing Time-to-Hire to Just Eight Days
The adoption of the 1XP at Heathrow Airport revolutionized the recruitment process for security officers, a role critical for the safety of millions of travellers. This transformation was not only about making the recruitment process more accessible and engaging but also significantly more efficient.
By implementing a fully virtual and immersive recruitment journey through 1XP, this organization was able to reduce the time-to-hire from several weeks to just eight days, streamlining the entire process and enabling a faster response to operational needs. Additionally, the candidate experience was greatly enhanced, reflected in a candidate Net Promoter Score (cNPS) of +70 for the whole process. This not only indicates high satisfaction among candidates but also underscores the success of the 1XP in creating a positive and engaging recruitment experience.
Ready to Revolutionize Your Recruitment Process?
The One Experience Assessment is redefining talent acquisition standards. By focusing on efficiency, enhancing the candidate experience, and providing a deep understanding of each applicant, it emerges as a model of innovation in the recruitment landscape. For organizations aiming to secure and retain top talent in today’s competitive market, adopting this digital-first strategy could be the key to a successful recruitment future.
Contact us now to learn more about how PeopleScout’s ground-breaking 1XP solution can streamline your recruitment process, enhance the candidate experience, and significantly improve the quality of your hires.
As part of our suite of modular recruiting solutions, Amplifiers™, PeopleScout’s Assessment Transformation empowers you to deploy talent assessments that not only enhance the recruitment experience for candidates but also help you secure top-notch, future-ready talent with cutting-edge technology and visionary design.
With labor shortages and intensifying talent scarcity, hiring challenges are only increasing, impacting all industries. To tackle these hiring difficulties, many leaders look to external solutions like expanding their talent pool or enhancing their employer brand. However, one of the most effective and sustainable solutions is already inside your organization. Developing existing employees through internal mobility is key to filling skills gaps now and in the future.
Keep reading to learn more about internal mobility, why internal mobility programs are crucial for future success and how you can leverage reskilling and upskilling programs to facilitate internal mobility at your organization.
What is Internal Mobility?
The goal of internal mobility is to match your existing talent to open positions through internal transfers, job rotations, secondments and promotions. An internal mobility program is a structured process that facilitates the movement of employees, both vertically to higher or lower positions as well as laterally between roles at the same level. These programs are often anchored in reskilling and upskilling initiatives focused on developing employees’ skills and capabilities to meet evolving organizational needs.
Reskilling programs aim to provide training to help employees gain new skills that allow them to transition into different roles or business areas. For example, a finance employee can reskill to learn data analytics and move into a business intelligence role.
Upskilling programs focus on building additional skills and competencies related to an employee’s current role or expanding their knowledge in their field. For example, a marketing manager can upskill their digital marketing capabilities in social media and digital advertising platforms to take on a more strategic role in the department.
The Benefits of Internal Mobility
A strategic focus on internal mobility provides both talent management and bottom-line benefits for an organization, including:
Improved employee retention and engagement: Providing clear paths for career development and advancement within the company increases employee satisfaction and loyalty. Employees feel valued and motivated when they see opportunity for upward or lateral mobility.
Stronger talent pipeline: An internal mobility program creates a robust pipeline of qualified candidates for open roles from within. According to research from LinkedIn, organizations that leverage skills-first hiring expand their talent pool by nearly 10x on average compared to those simply looking for similar job titles or industry experience.
Cost savings: It is typically more cost effective to fill a position internally rather than externally recruit, onboard and train new hires. Internal mobility is a strategic talent management approach.
Improved performance: Internal candidates have organizational and cultural knowledge, so they are often able to transition and ramp up faster in new roles. Data from Spotted Zebra shows that internal movers reach competence 20% faster than external hires and are twice as likely to be rated as top performers in their role.
Improved diversity: Internal mobility provides opportunities for improved representation and diversity in leadership by developing and advancing talent from within.
Agility and flexibility: Having an internal bench of qualified candidates enables organizational agility to swiftly mobilize talent to meet emerging needs.
The Lack of Investment in Internal Mobility Programs
Despite the benefits, internal mobility is not being prioritized by most HR leaders. Given the challenges recruiting skilled talent, we expected to see internal mobility as HR leaders’ default strategy to tackle skills shortages. However, through our research report, The Skills Crisis Countdown, we found that nearly a third (30%) of HR leaders admitted they simply do not view reskilling and upskilling as a priority and only 37% of organizations have formal reskilling and upskilling programs in place. Even in areas of high priority like technology advancement, there appears to be a lack of focus on mobility and development. When we asked HR leaders about how they’re preparing their workforce for the implementation of new technologies, only a fifth (20%) said they’re investing in upskilling initiatives to enhance current employee technological skillsets.
The lack of skills development is echoed by employees. A quarter of employees report their employer has not been offered opportunities to upskill or reskill. A third (34%) of workers have doubts about how their skills will keep pace with new technology and automation. With transformations on the horizon for many roles due to technological advancements, ensuring employees’ skills evolve along with their jobs is essential for organizations.
The Key to Internal Mobility: Reskilling and Upskilling
Ongoing reskilling and upskilling of employees is crucial to enabling effective internal mobility. As business needs evolve and new technologies emerge, employees’ skills and competencies must also progress to keep pace. Providing internal development opportunities allows employees to gain the updated capabilities required for critical roles, increasing their eligibility and readiness to transition into new positions. By making learning core to the culture, reskilling and upskilling initiatives ensure organizations can source top talent from within.
Implementing Successful Upskilling
For your upskilling programs, you need an accurate understanding of your employees’ current skills and future needs. Our research showed most HR leaders rely on subjective manager feedback rather than taking a data-driven approach.
To get ahead of emerging skills gaps, perform a skills audit and compare that to how your existing roles will evolve in the coming years. Identify both the competencies your employees need to be effective in their roles as they develop into the future and any deficiencies they have now.
Once you understand the lay of the land, you can develop continuous upskilling initiatives to grow your employees’ high-value skills over time in alignment with technological advancements. Proactively upskilling employees will keep your workforce on the cutting edge of skill set transformations.
Implementing Successful Reskilling
Reskilling programs also require an understanding of the existing capabilities of your workforce and the required competencies for emerging roles. This allows you to accurately match employees to opportunities they can transition into successfully.
Rather than relying on subjective manager interviews, utilize skills-based assessments. This provides data-driven insights into employees’ technical aptitudes and behavioral strengths. You can then align these skill profiles with the requirements of your new roles.
For example, PeopleScout partnered with a global financial services company to take a skills-based approach for a major digital transformation initiative. By identifying the best candidates for reskilling, we helped employees move from declining customer service roles into new tech-focused positions, saving the company $2 million in exit costs and reduced training dropouts dramatically. The company gained the critical future-focused skills it required while providing career growth opportunities to its valuable existing employees.
Internal Mobility & RPO: Your Partner in Sustainable Workforce Planning
Over half (56%) of HR leaders report resistance to change within their organization when faced with the prospect of what they mistakenly believe can only be a huge, C-suite-led project that spans the entire talent lifecycle. However, as a leading RPO partner PeopleScout is perfectly positioned to provide the strategies and technology to embed and scale a skills-based approach.
By leveraging an RPO provider’s expertise and resources, organizations can maximize the return on investment in internal mobility initiatives. According to Everest Group, over half of RPO engagements include some element of internal mobility. The RPO acts as a strategic talent advisor focused on improving talent mobility with strategies like:
Skills gap analysis: An RPO provider can perform a skills audit to assess current capabilities versus required future skills and identify reskilling needs to inform development programs. They can also provide market intelligence to help you understand the skills available within your talent markets as well as salary requirements so you can make informed decisions.
Internal candidate sourcing: Your RPO partner can source and screen internal candidates for open roles to identify top talent for mobility opportunities.
Career mapping: RPO experts can map career paths, succession plans and competency requirements for critical roles to guide internal development.
Development program design: An RPO provider can help design and implement reskilling, upskilling, job rotation and mentoring programs to build enterprise talent. Plus, they can administer and manage the end-to-end internal mobility program from sourcing to placement as well as provide project management.
Change management: RPOs can provide guidance on change management strategies to gain buy-in and promote a culture of internal mobility. Plus, they’ll provide data, analytics and reporting on program effectiveness and opportunities to fine-tune strategies.
Technology consultation and implementation: RPOs can recommend and implement skills management platforms and talent mobility platforms to enable seamless movement and track program metrics.
Filling your organization’s talent gaps begins with the workforce already inside it. But this untapped talent potential can only be leveraged through strategic, skills-based internal mobility programs. Your existing workforce could provide the talent solution you’ve been searching for. By partnering with an RPO on reskilling and upskilling initiatives, you gain strategic expertise to build a future-ready, skilled workforce.
By Simon Wright, Global Head of Talent Advisory Consulting
The workforce skills landscape is transforming at blinding speed. Automation, AI, sustainability initiatives, demographic shifts—global forces are conspiring to make skills gaps and talent shortages more acute by the day. Don’t think it’s moving that fast? Well, the World Economic Forum predicts that a jaw-dropping 85 million jobs could sit vacant by 2030, resulting in $8.5 trillion in lost revenue.
The very meaning of “skills” is shifting beneath our feet. Skills requirements have already changed 25% since 2015, and experts forecast 65% more change by 2030. However, companies still rely heavily on degrees and experience over skills when it comes to making hiring decisions. No wonder we’re careening towards a global skills crisis.
PeopleScout partnered with skills-based workforce management platform provider Spotted Zebra to survey over 100 senior HR and talent acquisition leaders globally, plus over 2,000 employees worldwide, to compare perspectives. Our new research report, The Skills Crisis Countdown, maps the skills landscape and diagnoses the disconnects between employers and their workforce.
Read on for some key findings from our report.
HR Leaders are Ill-Prepared for the Skills Crisis
According to a study by PwC, 40% of global CEOs believe their business will be economically unviable in 10 years unless they reinvent for the future. Our study revealed that nine out of 10 HR leaders believe that up to 50% of their workforce will require new skills to effectively perform their job in the next five years. Yet, when asked if they are currently undergoing or planning a workforce transformation initiative in the next three years, nearly half (45%) of HR leaders admit to having no plans to undertake one.
So, in other words, half of employees will soon be underprepared for the future, but most companies have no strategy in place to address the issue.
According to LinkedIn, 84% of members are in occupations that could have at least one quarter of their core skills affected by generative AI (GAI) technologies, like ChatGPT. So, how are HR leaders preparing for this digital transformation and the AI era? Shockingly, a full third (34%) say they have no preparations in place to prepare for new technologies. Those who are preparing emphasize bringing in outside talent rather than reskilling existing employees.
Industry Composition by GAI Segment Percentage of LinkedIn Members by Industry
(Source: LinkedIn Economic Graph Research Institute)
This is likely because they lack an understanding of the skills they have within their existing workforce. Our data revealed that 68% of organizations identify skills from manager feedback, which is highly subjective. So, it’s no surprise that 56% of employees think their skills are underutilized in their current roles, and 61% think there are other roles in their organization where their skills could be utilized.
An unprecedented skills revolution is barreling down the tracks, but companies are fast asleep at the switch. It’s time to wake up and get employees future-ready or risk a global skills crisis and talent scarcity for decades to come.
Digital & Tech Skills Gaps are Widening but Tech Skills are Viewed as Unimportant
Both employers and employees dangerously underestimate the importance of tech and digital skills. In our survey, both parties listed tech and digital literacy skills with low importance. With the skyrocketing demand for tech and digital talent, this does not bode well.
Mobile apps, ecommerce and digital transformation have made technology integral to every corporate strategy. However, supply isn’t keeping up with demand. McKinsey analyzed 3.5 million job postings in high-tech fields and found there’s a wide divide between the demand for tech and digital skills and the qualified talent availability. The most sought-after skills have less than half as many qualified professionals per posting compared to average global figures.
No wonder 63% of HR leaders in our survey admit they struggle to recruit the skills they need. Closing tech and digital skills gaps through recruitment alone is no longer sufficient. So, we were concerned when our research showed that 73% of the workforce haven’t been offered opportunities to reskill.
Organizations must invest in helping their employees evolve their skills via reskilling and internal mobility to cultivate digital and tech literacy across their entire workforce.
Case Study: Reskilling in Action
The Challenge:
A large global financial services company needed to undertake a major digital transformation program. The organization needed to acquire key digital and tech skills while leveraging the existing company knowledge of employees in declining customer service roles by reskilling them.
Previous efforts by the organization to assess employees’ suitability for reskilling were led internally and included multiple, time-consuming line manager interviews. Of even greater concern, around a quarter of those who began the reskilling program dropped out.
The Solution:
The bank worked with their long-time RPO partner, PeopleScout, and Spotted Zebra to assess customer service staff in bank branches and call centers to find ideal candidates for its tech and digital skilling program. Skills profiles were created for tech roles, which employees were assessed against to find the best fit.
The Results:
Redeployed 150 people, saving over $2.5M in exit costs
Saved over $350,000 in training and development costs
Reduced time investment by hiring managers
Reduced the reskilling cost-per-person by 70%
Employees Don’t Feel Confident in their Skills for the Future
A third (34%) of workers have doubts about how their skills will keep pace with new technology and automation. Meanwhile, just 17% of organizations are offering targeted reskilling programs for existing employees.
Where are HR Leaders Deploying Skills-Based Practices?
(Source: PeopleScout and Spotted Zebra)
This imbalance spells disaster. As change overwhelms existing skill sets, most workers will begin to feel unsure of their career paths or left struggling to stay relevant.
Investing in reskilling makes solid business sense. We must bridge the gap between workers anxiously facing uncertainty and leaders failing to invest in their resilience. HR leaders who empower their workforce with adaptable skill sets today will drive continued success in times of swift and sweeping change.
Finding a Talent Partner to Support Your Skills Transformation
The agility to match emerging skill requirements will soon become a competitive necessity. If you haven’t started your skills-based transformation, now is the time.
In our survey, one in two HR leaders admitted to a lack of understanding of skills-based practices. If you’re struggling to understand how to take advantage of skills-based practices in your organization, PeopleScout is here to be your guide.
As a recruitment process outsourcing (RPO) partner, we can help you understand the skills within your existing workforce as well as the external market supply and demand. We offer solutions across the skills agenda, from skills-based talent intelligence and market insights, building skills frameworks, and creating skills-based success profiles to redesigning recruitment processes, skills-based hiring strategies, and helping you maximize the potential of your existing workforce.
To learn more about PeopleScout’s skills-focused talent solutions, get in touch.
The Skills Crisis Countdown: The Clock is Ticking on Tackling Skills Gaps
Our latest research reveals, nine in 10 HR leaders believe that up to 50% of their workforce will need new skills to perform their jobs in the next 5 years. Yet, only 7% say they are actively investing in reskilling programs, and 45% admit to having no plans to undertake a workforce transformation initiative to prepare for the changing skills landscape.
PeopleScout partnered with skills-based workforce management company Spotted Zebra to survey over 100 senior Human Resources and Talent Acquisition leaders from organizations around the global and 2,000+ employees globally to compare perspectives on workforce skills. The resulting research report, The Skills Crisis Countdown: The Clock is Ticking on Tackling Skills Gaps, provides a detailed picture of the current skills landscape and the disconnects between the perspectives of employees and businesses.
Download our free report for the latest research exploring:
The current state of skills in the global workforce and outlook for the future
How HR leaders are preparing for the impending skills crisis
How employees expect their skills will need to adapt to new technology or automation.
Plus, you’ll get a roadmap of actionable steps to help your organization become more skills-centric.
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