Gartner recently published 9 Future of Work Trends for 2023. Let's focus on Trend 4 - Pursuit of nontraditional candidates,
According to the Gartner "Organizations can no longer meet their talent needs through traditional sourcing methods and candidate pools....To fill critical roles in 2023, organizations will need to become more comfortable assessing candidates solely on their ability to perform in the role, not their credentials and prior experience. ."
Great, but how do we actually DO IT? My thoughts on specific changes to move from intent to action:
1) Learn/Teach/Coach EVERYONE involved in the hiring process what a transferrable skill is, and how to identify these skills on resumes and through the interview process.
Example: You need a Business Development person to manager client development and growth. Instead of trying to find a sales guru in your industry, look for someone who can demonstrate they build relationships, is driven by targets/objectives, and actively listens.
2) Unpack the mental shortcuts (heuristics) you/your team use to assess a candidate. Are they relevant, useful or inclusive?
Example: Have you ever come down to two final candidates and you ask the proverbial question: "Who would you want to be stuck in an airport or elevator with? I have too. Just know this practice can and does perpetuate homogenous, exclusive hiring and teams. Instead, ask what does CULTURE FIT mean here? What should it mean? How might bias show up in our assessment of fit?
3) Don't limit the talent pool based on assumptions vs just asking the question directly.
Example: "From her resume, she looks too experienced and overqualified...Will she really want to stay around long in this role? Why would we even interview her?" Instead, focus on learning why the candidate wants the role vs why they may not.
See the full Gartner article
here. And, if you need support Advancing the Inclusive Workplace in your organization, contact me at candance@nextgroupus.com.