"Skills-based hiring isn't broken. Your interviews are." | The Business Case for Skills-Based Hiring at Workday with Marianne Herrmann
Episode Summary
In this episode of the TechWolf Podcast, Marianne Herrmann, Principal of Skills-Based Hiring Strategy & Enablement at Workday, shares how the People & Purpose team is operationalizing a skills-based organization from defining job-critical skills per profile to embedding them into job descriptions, interviews, and performance. Marianne explains how Workday combined TechWolf’s AI with internal validation to prioritize skills, then armed hiring teams with behavioral interview guides, skills rubrics, and practical assessments. The payoff: faster time-to-hire, higher offer acceptance and candidate NPS, a 14% faster first deal for a pilot group of AEs, and 39% fewer new hires performing below expectations post-enterprise rollout. Looking ahead, she outlines a shift from roles to tasks, with AI as a collaborator and skills data as the connective tissue for workforce intelligence, HR strategy, and ongoing skills currency.
Listen to the Episode
Key Takeaways from Marianne Herrmann on Skills-Based Hiring
⚡ Outcomes-first, not degree-first. Skills-based hiring is about aligning to business outcomes, not simply removing degree requirements.
🧠 AI + human validation. TechWolf surfaced likely skills per job; leaders prioritized and finalized, accuracy at scale.
🧩 Embed skills end to end. Job descriptions, requisitions, feedback forms, and performance all use the same job-critical skills.
🗣️ Interview design is decisive. Behavioral questions, follow-ups, live assessments, and calibrated rubrics produce reliable skill evidence.
📈 Measured impact. Faster hiring, better candidate experience and offer acceptance; AEs close first deals 14% faster; 39% fewer low performers among new hires.
🔄 Keep skills living. Business feedback + workforce planning refresh skills as tasks evolve; AI accelerates the shift from roles to tasks.
About the Speaker: Marianne Herrmann
Marianne Herrmann is Principal of Skills-Based Hiring Strategy & Enablement at Workday, where she leads the enterprise transition to skills-based hiring. Her work integrates workforce intelligence, AI in HR, and change management to drive precision hiring, mobility, and performance in skills-based organizations.
Best Practices & Actionable Insights
✔️ Start with the business problem. Diagnose outcomes gaps first; use skills as the mechanism to solve them.
✔️ Jumpstart with AI, land with humans. Use external + internal data to propose skills; have leaders prioritize what’s job-critical.
✔️ Standardize interviews around skills. Provide B.E.I. guides, follow-up prompts, hands-on assessments, and scoring rubrics.
✔️ Put skills where work happens. Auto-attach job-critical skills to reqs, feedback forms, and profiles to drive consistent decisions.
✔️ Prove ROI with metrics. Track time-to-hire, candidate NPS, offer acceptance, early performance (e.g., first-deal speed), and false positives.
✔️ Plan for change. Refresh skills through business feedback and skills-based workforce planning as AI reshapes tasks and roles.
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