The Skills-First Playbook: Rethink Hiring and Development

Essential principles for matching the right capabilities to the right work in today’s dynamic workplace.

At its heart, Skills-First Management recognizes that success comes from matching people's capabilities to the work that needs to be done. Instead of asking, "What degree does this person have?" or "What was their last job title?" we ask, "What can this person do?" and "What skills do we need?"

This shift might sound simple, but it fundamentally changes how we:

• Hire and promote people

• Develop talent

• Structure career advancement

• Think about organizational capabilities

These core principles help companies successfully implement and execute in a skills-first way:

• Skills-First Hiring - Focus on candidates' skills and competencies rather than traditional metrics like degrees or job titles.

• Internal Mobility Through Skill Recognition – Extending advancement opportunities for employees across the organization builds a culture of personal development while efficiently maximizing talent allocation.

• Flexible Career Pathways - Providing multiple career paths for employees based on the skills they develop rather than the jobs they have held.

• Continuous Learning and Development - Invest in continuous learning and development to enhance employees' skills and competencies.

• Establishing a Common Language of Skills - Develop a unified understanding of skills and competencies across the organization.

Skills-First Hiring

Skills-first hiring prioritizes the actual abilities and potential of candidates to perform specific tasks and contribute to the organization. By relaxing degree requirements and revising job descriptions to focus on skills, organizations can tap into a more extensive and diverse talent pool, potentially addressing skills shortages, building a more adaptive workforce, and enhancing workforce diversity.¹ This shift expands opportunities for individuals who may not have traditional credentials and allows companies to build stronger, more effective teams based on demonstrated abilities rather than presumed qualifications.

The development of robust skill assessment methodologies is central to the implementation of skills-first management. Organizations utilize various innovative verification methods, including practical assessments, simulations, and real-world problem-solving tasks.² These methods provide a more accurate representation of an individual's capabilities than traditional credential-based evaluations. Additionally, using skills management platforms and analytics tools enables organizations to create dynamic skills inventories, identify skills gaps, and make data-driven decisions about talent acquisition, development, and promotion.³

Internal Mobility Through Skill Recognition

Promoting from within fosters a culture of growth and development, where employees are motivated to enhance their skills and advance their careers. When a company understands each role's precise skills, it can spot and open opportunities for talent to move across the organization in ways that might not be obvious from job titles alone.

Skills-First Management makes it easier for organizations to offer employees continuous skill development opportunities and a variety of paths to advance in the company. This is important in building an adaptable and resilient workforce. Organizations practicing skills-first internal mobility fill positions 20% faster on average and report 60% higher employee satisfaction with career development opportunities.

Hertz utilized internal mobility programs to redeploy talent and fill skill gaps, ensuring they positioned the best talent to meet business needs.

Continuous Learning and Development

Skills-First Management is most successful when aligned with a rigorous learning and development program. This investment in ongoing skills training, mentorship programs, and opportunities for cross-functional experiences can foster a culture of lifelong learning, where employees are encouraged and supported in continuously updating and expanding their skill sets.⁴ Organizations can enhance their adaptability to changing market conditions and technological advancements by emphasizing continuous skill development.⁵

Workday adopted a skills-first approach to talent management, encouraging continuous learning while reducing the emphasis on roles. This approach enabled them to supply the organization with the right mix of skills to solve business challenges in an agile way.⁶

An Avenue to Flexible Career Pathways

Skills-First Management also supports the creation of more flexible career pathways within organizations. By focusing on skills rather than rigid job titles or hierarchies, employees can more easily transition between roles and departments based on their evolving skill sets. This flexibility enhances employee engagement and retention and allows organizations to more efficiently allocate their human resources in response to changing business needs.

A Common Language of Skills

For Skills-First Management to work, everyone must speak the same language about capabilities. Defining clear and shared skill definitions, consistent measurement, and identifying essential skills for each role fosters alignment across the organization, enhancing cross-functional collaboration and promoting internal mobility.

Johnson & Johnson emphasized skills such as effective communication and teamwork across all positions, creating a unified culture where everyone understands their contributions.⁷

Conclusion

In conclusion, Skills-First Management represents a transformative approach to talent management that aligns workforce capabilities more closely with organizational objectives. By prioritizing skills over traditional credentials, fostering continuous learning, and creating flexible career pathways, this approach enables organizations to build more resilient, adaptable, and diverse workforces. As the business landscape continues to evolve, Skills-First Management offers a promising framework for organizations seeking to thrive in an increasingly dynamic and competitive environment.

1. Convery, Brien. “The Shift from Credentials to Skills-Based Recruitment: What It Means for the Future of Education and Employment | LinkedIn,” November 6, 2024. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/shift-from-credentials-skills-based-recruitment-what-means-convery-xwpmf/.

2. Nestor. “Skills-First: A New Framework for Talent Management” January 10, 2024. https://nestorup.com/blog/skills-first-a-new-framework-for-talent-management/.

3. Nestor. “Skills-First: A New Framework for Talent Management”

4. Billiet, Jessica. “Making the Shift to a Skills-First Talent Management Strategy,” March 1, 2024. https://www.pluralsight.com/resources/blog/business-and-leadership/skills-talent-management-strategy.

5. Billiet, Jessica. “Making the Shift to a Skills-First Talent Management Strategy,”

6. Plural Sight. “Workday: Empowering Individuals with Just-in-Time Learning.” Accessed February 3, 2025. https://www.pluralsight.com/resources/case-studies/workday.

7. Mancini, Maggie. “Case Study: J&J’s Skills-Based Approach.” HRO Today (blog), September 19, 2024. https://www.hrotoday.com/learning-development/case-study-johnson-and-johnson-skills-based-approach/.