In a recent LinkedIn post, Meghan M. Biro highlights the persistent gap between policy and practice in the realm of skills-based hiring, arguing that while many organizations publicly embrace the shift, the underlying assumptions often remain unchanged.
Meghan M. Biro observes that despite the growing conversation and stated intentions, the true implementation of skills-based hiring faces significant hurdles. She points out the disconnect between removing degree requirements and genuinely evaluating candidates on their capabilities.
“The gap between policy and practice is still very much alive.”
The post notes a significant increase in organizations reporting the use of skills-based hiring, citing a National Association of Colleges and Employers’ Job Outlook 2026 survey where 70% of employers now report this practice. This indicates substantial momentum in adopting the methodology.
Subtle Barriers Persist in Hiring
Despite the positive statistics, Meghan M. Biro argues that the issue is more nuanced. While formal degree requirements may be removed, informal signals often take their place, perpetuating a similar filtering process.
As Meghan M. Biro explains, these informal signals can include the prestige of previous employers, familiarity with a candidate’s career trajectory, or similarity in background. These factors, she contends, end up performing the same exclusionary work as traditional degree requirements, just beneath the surface.
“What I keep observing, though, is that the degree requirement comes down while the informal signals that replace it, prestige of previous employers, familiarity of career trajectory, similarity of background, end up doing the same filtering work underneath the surface.”
Meghan M. Biro suggests that the form of hiring practices may change, but the underlying assumptions driving decisions are often not genuinely examined or altered.
Rebuilding Hiring Processes for True Skills Evaluation
According to Meghan M. Biro, organizations that are truly succeeding with skills-based hiring are going beyond simply removing barriers at the initial stages of the recruitment funnel. These organizations are undertaking more profound changes.
Meghan M. Biro emphasizes that these successful companies are rebuilding core aspects of their hiring infrastructure. This includes redefining roles, restructuring interview processes, and fundamentally altering how hiring decisions are made at the conclusion of the process.
“The organizations genuinely getting this right aren’t just removing barriers at the top of the funnel. They’re doing the harder work of rebuilding how they define roles, how they structure interviews, and how decisions actually get made at the end of the process.”
This requires a significant level of organizational introspection and commitment, Meghan M. Biro notes, suggesting that the commitment made in public-facing keynotes is often harder to uphold in the practical, day-to-day realities of hiring debriefs.
The Ultimate Question: Process Design
In her analysis, Meghan M. Biro concludes by posing a critical question about the effectiveness of current hiring systems.
She posits that the talent has always been available, but the real challenge lies in whether recruitment and hiring processes are genuinely designed to identify and secure that talent.
“The talent has always been out there. The more interesting question is whether the process is genuinely designed to find it.”
Meghan M. Biro’s insights underscore the need for a deeper, more systemic approach to skills-based hiring, moving beyond superficial changes to fundamentally re-evaluate and rebuild hiring practices to ensure they effectively identify and engage the best talent based on actual capabilities.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Meghan M. Biro on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on April 15, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →