​Washington, DC-based OneTen is an organization revolutionizing hiring practices in the US to provide access to career opportunities for talent from diverse backgrounds. OneTen’s skills-hiring movement aims to promote hiring practices that prioritize skills over academic credentials. In a June 2024 CNN broadcast on The Lead with Jack Tapper, he discussed this movement and how companies have prioritized skills over degrees.

CNN focused on Amari Morgan, an Associates Controls Technologist at General Motors and a OneTen Coalition member. Morgan has succeeded in technology since finishing a technology program with OneTen partner Per Scholas. The segment focused on Morgan’s experience and how it illustrates the importance of businesses focusing more on a prospective hire’s skills instead of academic credentials.

Degrees have been the traditional means by which professionals train and ascend into their careers. In the past, degree programs provided students with the training and foundational knowledge to function in a particular field. Moreover, prospective professionals also benefited from learning broad theoretical concepts, developing critical thinking skills, and being exposed to various topics. However, as the cost of many degree programs and how people work changes, many young people have reconsidered the value of a degree, especially when the market in many fields is continually evolving. Some think the expensive financial investment and time spent are not worth pursuing a degree that might not pan out.

On the other hand, skills are the abilities professionals acquire through work experience and training, offering employers something degrees might not-adaptability. Industry-specific and technical skills can transfer across sectors, and these skills can be continuously enhanced.  
 
In addition to companies recognizing that skills are transferrable, work structure has also evolved, with people working across teams in a network. Traditionally, professionals earned their degrees and then spent the next 30 to 40 years in an occupation, possibly working for the same company. These networked, team-based businesses work more efficiently in a world where the market rapidly evolves or companies deal with competitive threats. Furthermore, companies must adjust new formats, such as hybrid and remote work, to adapt to world events like the pandemic. Ultimately, companies need employees with the skills to adapt to these changing, sometimes challenging, shifts in work structure.

With that in mind, companies must also consider the life of a skill that might not be relevant beyond a certain time. In the past, skills had a life span of between 10 and 15 years. Today, a skill life span might be five years, and it is shorter for technical skills. The skill will only hold its relevance for a few seasons, as with digital marketing, which is constantly changing. Digital marketers must remain abreast of new trends and the skills that go with them. Ultimately, companies hire talent with the skills they need now. When choosing between a candidate with the required skills and one with a degree but no practical experience, the company will likely hire the person with the skill, even if the person does not have the degree to meet their present need.

Finally, as business advances, niche markets arise, ones that require professionals to have skills not necessarily found in a degree program. Businesses are catering to specific interests, social groups, and language groups, which will require harnessing the skills to sell products and services to them.

In the end, skills-based hiring automatically does something that many businesses have focused on in the last few years-equitable hiring. As many opt out of four-year degree programs in exchange for real-world experiences that culminate in skills, a skills-based hiring movement facilitates diverse talent working across all industries and tiers.

The CNN interview is on the OneTen website. For more general information on it or OneTen, please visit oneten.org/about-us/.

​More than ever before, remote work or working from home has become increasingly common. This means that more work is being done online, and there is a reduced need for face-to-face or physical interactions. Also, a bulk of the duties of human resource (HR) professionals are moving online as well as being automated. According to a report by Gartner, 38 percent of HR leaders have used AI to improve the efficiency of the processes within their organization. The report further noted that many HR professionals are of the opinion that there is a need to urgently integrate AI into HR functions.

Artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, has proven helpful in improving the work of HR professionals and making them more efficient. For instance, AI technologies like predictive analytics, natural language processing, and machine learning are instrumental in helping HR professionals automate the recruitment process and conduct employee engagement and performance appraisals. More specifically, AI is helping HR professionals free up time that is spent doing mundane and monotonous tasks so they can focus on more strategic and intellectually demanding activities.

For instance, through the use of ChatGPT, HR professionals can now simplify and streamline key tasks like employee onboarding, employee surveys, and development. ChatGPT can also help HR professionals generate and curate reports, analyze content and data, and carry out day to day administrative tasks like planning meetings, taking meeting notes, sending emails, and creating schedules.

Further, AI has increased the adoption of employee-facing tools that make it easier for HR to provide more personalized services to employees. For instance, the increasing adoption of AI chatbots and tools like TalentGuard Workforce GPT can help HR professionals determine the personalized career needs of their employees and help them advance. For instance, with the use of data gathered from the live labor market, TalentGuard Workforce GPT helps HR professionals track skills that are in high demand while helping employees chart a personalized career path. This tool also helps HR monitor employees’ career progression and provides them with personalized suggestions that will help them grow in their work.

AI is also helpful in employee self-service. The adoption of employee self-service means that HR teams are no longer burdened with basic tasks like employee leave planning or assessing an employee’s paid time off. Further, employee self-service means that employees can get real-time responses to work-related responses, facilitating employee autonomy. AI tools like ChatGPT and Talkpush can provide employees with immediate answers to questions that they might have regarding specific HR procedures, company policies, and organizational culture. These tools can also provide employees with troubleshooting assistance without the need to escalate issues to management or HR.

Workforce planning is a key duty of HR professionals. It includes formulating corporate strategies involving employees and forecasting hiring needs. Conducting workforce planning manually can cost the HR department time and money. This process can be automated using generative AI tools like HR Signal and Obviously AI. For instance, Obviously AI predicts metrics like employee turnover, sales, and revenue. HR Signal, on the other hand, helps HR to get better insight into every employee’s career prospects and helps to support employee talent development.

While adopting AI in HR operations comes with immense benefits, certain challenges must be addressed. For instance, the adoption of AI without due consideration for ethical issues like data privacy might lead to various problems.