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Transitioning to a skill-based approach

More organisations are shifting towards skill-based approaches in hiring, internal mobility, performance management, upskilling, and workforce planning. But no organisation has truly cracked it.

At the centre of a skill-based transformation is a skill framework. But what does it involve?

Download this guide to explore:

• The role of skill frameworks.

• Ensuring quality data underpins decision-making.

• AI's pivotal role in enhancing skill-based strategies.

• Avoidable pitfalls in adopting a skill-focused approach.

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Friends,

What a fantastic week just gone - such great fun hosting the AI Skills and Tech Talent Summit at The Royal Society, and great to introduce a new format type for Brainfood Live - a masterclass delivered by an expert, interrogated by me

More masterclasses to come, including one in-person breakfast event on Thursday 13th June at The Goldsmiths Centre, on the Optimising Your Contingent Workforce. Limited spots for breakfast here folks, so register here now if you want in.

Break for tomorrow as it’s Bank Holiday, so I will publish This Week, In Recruiting next week on Tuesday. I’m also doing 🤣a webinar on that on Data Driven Decision Making for a Solo Recruiter with our friends Tribepad - sign up here for this if you work solo in an SMB.

Thanks to: Joey NK Koksal, Eugène van den Hemel, Colin Donnery, Dave Hazlehurst, Caroline Hunter, Kevin Green, Marcel Skolimowski, Alexandra Gyetvai, Caroline Hunter, Rob Walker, Paul Karrmann, Julia Reis, Jeremy A. Lyons, Dawid Niewdana, Swarnendu Halder, Alla Palova, Matthias Schmeisser, Facundo Tripodi, Steven Rothberg, Sarah Ware, Jill Barth, Juliana Park and James Brabbs - thank you for your public endorsement of all things brainfood - vital for keeping this show on the road 👊

Can you help? Share this newsletter with a friend in recruiting who could do with a boost.

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What Do Brainfooders Think?

Glad to see that there was not overwhelming enthusiasm for controversies 🤣. We are going to be talking Skills Based Hiring with a critical lens in a special Brainfood Live next month, with my good mate and industry legend, Johnny Campbell. Register here

Brainfood Live On Air - Ep259 - Expanding Scope: From Talent Acquisition to Talent Everything, Friday 31st May, 2024

One of things I’ve been banging on about is the need for Talent Acquisition to expand scope. World has probably already reached ‘peak recruiter’ - meaning the numbers of people actually doing the work of recruiting - so critically important for those of us who want to remain in the People business start to expand scope beyond just external acquisition. Lets speak to a load of talent professionals who have already made this step - what have they learned? We’re on Friday 31st May, 2pm BST. Register here.

The Brainfood

1. Microsoft Copilot Studio: Building Copilots with Agent Capabilities

With such capabilities, copilots are evolving from those that work with you to those that work for you.

A huge week for AI with contrasting fortunes for two of big tech’s biggests beasts. As Google AI Overview gets panned for nonsense answers, Microsoft roles out Copilot Studio - a sandbox which allows users to create its own agentic AI. Note the recruiting (on hire onboarding) featuring prominently as an early example use case. The Verge has a decent overview, and the blog from Microsoft is well worth a read. As ever though, the best thing you can do is simply try it

AI

2. Transformed by AI - How Generative AI Could Affect Work in the UK and How to Manage It

It should be clear by now that AI is coming at us faster and harder than anyone might have estimated. We now each have the dual responsibility of AI-enabling ourselves to maximum degree, whilst also considering the society wide impact of mass adoption by others. This paper by the Institute of Public Policy is a bit wonkish but really accessible and advocates for a job-centric industrial strategy for AI. UK discourse but globally relevant. Download here

SOCIETY

3. Hooked on Talent Density

In the era of Doing More With Less we are all going to be talking about Talent Density as if we’re fluent with it. As such, this is a very useful summary by brainfooder Shannon Anderson, with a collection of both the writings and resources which are propelling the discourse of TD.

ASSESSMENT

4. Experience the Difference: Why Employers Are Relaxing Some Tenure Requirements

The title doesn’t really answer the question - we don’t really know why - but we do know that it is generally happening; education and tenure requirements are on the decline on job ads on Indeed. Another sign of that the shift to skill based hiring is going to be a thing. H/T to brainfooder John Vlastelica for the share in the online community.

NB: I’m in conversation with fellow Skill Based Hiring critic Johnny Campbell on Brainfood Live next month - tune in as we outline the case against(!)

ASSESSMENT

5. Multiples

Comprehensive and accessible analysis of market valuations of publicly traded companies in the US. What determines a multiple? Varies according to sector - for software, it is all (still) about growth. Good education for those want to learn more about the language of venture capital / tech startup. H/T to brainfooder Joseph Yeh for the share

ECONOMY

6. Is College Worth It?

Increase cost of tuition + relative increase in non-degreed worker compensation, and perhaps, the revelation that AI is coming for knowledge work first has reduced the appeal of going to University. I think this is probably welcome, though the return of University as an elite clearing house brings with it other issues to consider. Related to post No5, with the decline of degree requirements in job postings. H/T to brainfooder Randy Bailey for the share in the online community

SOCIETY

7. When You’re a Clickworker, No One Knows You’re Old

Fascinating story of older workers who are locked out the traditional job market - very likely due to age-ism - who find a pathway via online ‘cloudwork’. It’s a poignant story with something of a suboptimal message, but nevertheless provides a lifeline for those who might otherwise be entirely bereft. We might all find ourselves in this situation at some point, so worth considering how to best position for it. Great read from a great publication.

D&I

8. Dutch IT Hiring Market: Growth in Both Supply and Demand Confirmed by New Data

I’m loving this solo research by brainfooder Jan Bernhart. At a time when trust in produced information is at an all time low, we might not have much other recourse other than produce our own. Dutch IT market in 2024 - more devs on the market, more job openings for devs, less interest in foreign devs relocating to the Netherlands, less interest in Dutch employers hiring foreigners. All four findings seem obviously related.

ECONOMY

9. Recruitment Automation Demo

Brainfooder Martyn Redstone was game enough to try a live demo of an automation sequence on Brainfood Live two weeks ago, but when it failed to execute, the appropriate response was this - a re-run of the example of how to automate job application response, initial pre-screen then schedule to interview. It’s a great example of recruitment automation and one which you can do today, though all of these MacGuyvered solutions might soon become moot if Microsoft continues it’s pace of bundling automation options into us (see post No1).

RECRUITMENT OPERATIONS

10. Inside HMRC: ‘I Got a Job Without Ever Speaking to a Human’

Is this an example of ‘over automation’? HMRC implementing CV screening, asynch video interview and automated offer management for some of their customer service centre roles. Take away the narrative line and I think the process works pretty well, and presumably there are people working now having gone through this process that are ok with it. However, worth thinking about the CX in this flow - at what point should a human be involved…and frankly, would the putative CX improvements be worth it? H/T to brainfooder Alastair Campbell for the share in the online community

CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE

The Podcasts

11. Pascal Coppens with a Travel Report from the Greater Bay Area

Never thought an English language podcast from a load of Belgians would turn out to be one of the best when it comes to the future of work, but here it is. Pascal Coppens (worth a follow) comes back from a tour of Greater Bay Area with a report on EV’s, automation and the future of work from the Far East.

FUTURE OF WORK

12. Why The UK Will Lose the 2030’s

[Spoiler alert] - this is a series in which seemingly every country is targeted with being a ‘loser for the 2030’s’. However, no one in the UK underestimates the challenges ahead for the country, as we move into General Election later in the summer. Gets Scotland independence wrong but demographic crisis, immigration, Brexit, financialisation, cost of living crisis, foreign policy adventurism and the failure of the political system to produce viable leaders are all real issues the country has to deal with.

SOCIETY

13. “As Per My Last Email…”

Lets finish with a skit 🤣. Glad this comedian is taking to office politics having made a name for himself as a front office worker for IKEA. One thing we can take away from this scene is, lets get away from the passive aggressive verbiage in email yeah?

CULTURE

End Note

Bank Holiday weekend in the US and UK and I hope those of us who are having a long weekend / short week end up enjoying it. I’m going to be using the time to sort out home studio, whilst also preparing the talks for EMBRACE HR Festival in Berlin and TEAM 30th anniversary in Warwick. If you’re going to either of those two events, do come up and say hello.

In the meantime, lets talk about pubic speaking.

That’s it - thanks for reading

Have a great week everybody

Hung