1 in 700 is not enough!
Three-quarters of companies have announced in recent years that they will evaluate candidates more on the basis of their actual skills and competencies rather than formal qualifications. However, the Harvard study “Skills-Based Hiring: The Long Road from Pronouncements to Practice” shows a clear discrepancy between promises and reality: of all new hires in 2023, less than one in 700 was the result of having degree requirements removed.
This figure is not a setback, but a reflection: it highlights how much potential remains untapped – and how much growth is possible when companies consistently focus on personality and skills.
Research by Harvard Business School and the Burning Glass Institute also impressively shows where this journey can lead. Companies that have already made the transition — the so-called “leaders,” around three percent of the market — are hiring 18% more people without academic degrees in roles that previously required one. Above all, they achieve significantly higher quality hires and higher retention rates. Joseph B. Fuller (HBS) emphasizes that simply changing job ads is not enough. It requires a rethink among hiring managers, in corporate culture, and in hiring processes. The key insight: transformation does not come from better intentions, but from better systems.
Analyze personality early in the process
The first step toward recruiting that reveals a person’s true potential is to use technology-based personality diagnostics early in the process. Whether before, during, or after CV screening, the goal is to identify mindsets, cognitive abilities, character traits, and associated specific skills and development opportunities based on data before human selection decisions are made.
A multi-measure approach that combines several dimensions is particularly effective. 92% of companies that take this approach report higher satisfaction with their hires. This is a clear indication of what is possible when personality is treated not as a soft factor but as a strategic variable.
Understanding outcomes instead of biographies
This change can only succeed if there is a prior definition of what success in a role actually means. Many companies underestimate this phase. The “leader” companies from the study mentioned at the beginning take a different approach: they don’t ask what candidates need to bring to the table, but what they should achieve in the role. This shifts the focus from formal requirements to outcomes. Key questions include:
- What thought patterns support long-term performance?
- What personality traits promote team dynamics?
- What cognitive abilities enable rapid learning?
Those who answer these questions in a structured manner will be able to identify talent that traditional processes would never have captured.
Ensure fairness and objectivity in recruiting
Even with clear success criteria, human bias remains an obstacle. We unconsciously favor people who are similar to us. When companies remove academic filters but do not set objective criteria, bias can actually increase.
Leader companies counter this with consistent structures, including blind recruitment and standardized evaluation grids.
84% of UK companies openly admit that unconscious bias has an effect. But the difference arises when this insight is translated into systems that reveal potential rather than reinforcing subjectivity.
Scaling personality measurement with AI
AI models trained on resumes inevitably reproduce patterns based on the past. Tools based on personality and performance data, on the other hand, open up completely new possibilities. Natural language processing, which analyzes open-ended responses, recognizes patterns of thinking and communication at a depth that traditional assessments cannot capture. For companies with high application volumes – especially in IT, consulting, and financial services – this creates a scalable, objective, and fair way to reveal personality and potential without compromising quality. AI thus becomes not a decision-maker, but an enabler of better human decisions.
Closing the 1-in-700 gap
Implementing this kind of personality- and competency-based talent logic happens in several steps:
- Recruiting funnel analyses show where the 1-in-700 gap occurs
- Pilot testing for individual roles with assessments and structured interviews
- Performance evaluation after 6, 12, and 18 months provides reliable data
- Results instead of opinions reduce skepticism about new processes
- Validated assessments, trained recruiters, KPIs, and systems ensure sustainable hiring success
Measurable talent advantage
Non-degree hires in roles that previously required a degree achieve on average ten percentage points higher retention and salary increases of 25%. They show above-average motivation because they are given opportunities that would traditionally have been denied to them. For companies, this means better matches, more stable teams, and access to talent that the competition will continue to overlook.
Companies that understand personality as an economic value, recognize potential as a currency for the future, and design their recruiting processes so that impact, rather than biography, is the deciding factor, are very likely to come out ahead in the competition for the best talent very soon. The most successful three percent have shown how it’s done. Now companies must decide whether they want to be among the next 30% who will follow.
Prof. Dr. Florian Feltes
Prof. Dr. Florian Feltes is co-founder and co-CEO of zortify and a forerunner in AI-supported HR innovation. Together with his team, he develops intelligent personality diagnostics and helps companies identify the perfect candidates—without expensive assessments and without bias. His vision: a world in which every company can effortlessly form high-performance teams and create work environments that allow human potential to flourish.
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