In today’s rapidly evolving job market, skills-based hiring is more important than ever. We had the opportunity to speak with Judy Haley, People and Talent Lead at Spotted Zebra, to explore their approach to this innovative method and how it can positively impact organisations.
An Introduction to Skills-Based Hiring
After a friendly introduction and a catch up on our weekends, we delved straight in, and Judy shared her journey into recruitment.
Judy: “For me, traditionally, academia was not for me. So I ended up going down more of a creative route in performing arts. I’ve had a very squiggly career since then, with roles in sales, customer service, and then landed in recruitment…”
She emphasised her passion for skills-first hiring, noting, **“It’s about finding the right candidate for the role and the environment for them to thrive in.”**
Building a Skills Profile
Judy elaborated on how Spotted Zebra structures its hiring process. They collaborate with occupational psychologists to create a role skills profile.
Judy : “Once we launch a new role, typically you would just get the job ad up and calibrate. What we do is we work with our internal team of occupational psychologists to develop the role skills profile. So by doing this, we look at the core skills needed to be successful for the position. So let’s say if we’re looking for, a Business Analyst. The technical skills are needed, but actually a lot of the soft skills are a lot harder to measure or even see in CVs and that’s where we look at the skills that are transferable too. So in this instance we might look at someone who is a great collaborator, who solves problems, who creates ideas, and within that, we would then build out usually around six core skills that are needed for the role. You can also add in technical, numerical, cognitive assessments as well. So that’s the small part which is right for role, but for us it’s a lot broader. We also align these core skills with our values and find, for example, one of our values is around positivity, resilience. So we build those skills in because not only do we want to find the right person to join us as a company and align with our values, we want to make sure the person that we’re hiring is in the right environment for them as well. And then the final piece of it is looking for right person for the future. So the skills crisis and skills are ever evolving rapidly, so it’s really important to find people with the right skills and mindset to be able to evolve and adapt. And then we have our interview guide as well, which is all, pre created questions as you go through the process based on the values, and you have separate scores for each section and then an overall score as well.”
Creating a Supportive Environment
A core aspect of Spotted Zebra’s hiring process is their commitment to a positive candidate experience.
Judy: “We would always ask… are there any adjustments we can make? We really want to ensure we are providing a positive and comfortable candidate experience. And specifically about physical adjustments and neurodiversity, we of course say you’re not obliged at all to say if so, but we really want to make sure that we are providing a positive, and really comfortable candidate experience. So what we would then do is, from what the candidate typically would ask for is make those reasonable adjustments, whether that’s adding additional time to the assessment, having someone go through the questions with them as well, we can do that. So there’s lots of different ways that we can make sure that the assessment meets those needs. And then when it comes to the interviews itself, we would always let the candidate know what to expect, ask any questions they have, take a read through in advance for example. So, yeah, we would always give candidates as much information as we possibly can. And I think the really important thing is just letting them know they’re really supported and creating a really open and supportive environment for them.”
This proactive approach to transparency fosters a supportive environment, enabling candidates to feel comfortable disclosing any needs they may have.
Empowering Hiring Managers
Judy discussed how Spotted Zebra empowers hiring managers through self-sufficient tools.
Judy : “The interview guide is created to be self-sufficient for hiring managers… they don’t have to spend long hours coming up with question, .and then they’re taught to understand and interpret how to understand the scores, and the skills profile as part of the entire process. This structure helps managers focus on evaluating skills rather than just titles or years of experience.”
Continuous Learning and Development
Emma : “And in terms of supporting continuous learning and skills development for your current employees as well, what do you have something in place as an ongoing practice once they have joined the organization?
Judy : “The beauty of the way we interview is once someone has joined we then have their skills profile which is an amazing intro for the hiring manager to see where their skills are at, as well, which is really cool to see areas of development. We are soon to be launching our new career framework, which is all based skills as well. We know that people are happier and more productive when they’re doing their best work and utilizing their skills, so we’ve seen many transitions within the company on taking on new skills and learning. We’ve seen, software engineers move into DevOps. We’ve seen, one of our, account executives move into a customer success role. So, yeah, it’s something that we’re really passionate about making sure that we can, develop our people and, we’ve actually just announced our new, learning and development budget as well, which will play nicely into this too! This focus on development not only benefits individuals but enhances the company’s overall skill set.”
The Role of AI in Skills-Based Hiring
Judy highlighted the exciting potential of integrating AI into their hiring strategy.
Judy : “AI, a huge one, and definitely within skills based hiring. That’s something we’re actually in the process of building in, so very excited to announce that soon and how we’re seeing the benefits of AI within skills based hiring, but not taking away that human element.
Nicola : “That’s exciting about the implementing of AI, but how do you make sure that you’ve got that balance right with keeping it really humanized as well?
Judy: “I definitely think AI will help to evolve our products massively. We have a whole host of ideas that we’re really excited for, and where you mentioned about the human element and, I think AI is fantastic if it can take some of the longer tasks out of it, but the human element when it comes to really partnering to help understand the skills that are needed, that knowledge that our occupational psychologists have is fantastic and vital. So, we wouldn’t want to lose that, but I think it’s about working smart with AI as well.”
She emphasised that technology should enhance, not replace, the personal connection that’s crucial in hiring.
A Culture of Openness
Judy : “We really want to make sure, and encourage hiring managers to have a really open mind and trust in the process, and then see the results. But I think it’s having that open mind to not just looking at someone with the same job title and the amount of years of experience, which we absolutely avoid when it comes to job adverts and posting. We wouldn’t ever put x amount years’ experience, or certain educational degrees, for example. Having that open mind and especially when we look at skills, otherwise you’re going to miss out on all the additional skills that someone can bring. Through our parenthood, for example, how many skills have we learned? So many. And there’s so many different areas outside of just someone’s job placement experience where they’ve developed those skills. And if you give them a chance, you’ll be able to see those.
Looking Ahead
Before closing, Judy shared her optimism for the future of skills-based hiring.
Judy : “A trend we’re seeing is companies investing in reskilling programmes…about sixty or seventy percent of employees will need reskilling. So it’s really about enabling and giving hiring managers or managers in general the tool to be able to get on board and encourage their teams about the benefits of them being able to upscale and retrain”
She reiterated the significance of changing perceptions surrounding diversity and inclusion, highlighting that these practices are not just ‘nice’ but are best practices that can significantly benefit businesses both ethically and financially.
Final Thoughts
Our conversation revealed the depth of understanding and commitment Spotted Zebra has towards skills-based hiring. Judy’s insights highlighted that with patience and a strong foundation in values, organisations can create enriching environments for both candidates and employees.
Emma: “Thank you so much; what an enlightening discussion! You can tell that you guys are absolute experts in this field.”
Judy’s enthusiasm for the topic was contagious, and we look forward to seeing how Spotted Zebra continues to lead the charge in innovative hiring practices!