It’s time for businesses to scrap the CV and adopt modern hiring practices, according to the MD of Xerox UK.

A study by Arctic Shores, a psychometric assessment pioneer, found that 9 in 10 HR and talent managers have screened candidates out of their hiring process because of a lack of experience.

Yet 67% say selecting for experience reduces the size and diversity of their talent pool, further exacerbating the skills crisis.

“What we’re seeing isn’t a skills shortage – it’s a skills blindness,” said CEO Robert Newry. 

“We live in a world with millions of capable workers yet companies are stressing about escalating salaries and an inability to fill roles. The issue is that everyone is playing musical chairs, poaching those with experience from other companies, who in turn poach from someone else. 

“The only way organisations will get out of this costly spiral is to start hiring for transferable skills and potential.”

The World Economic Forum has warned that 85 million jobs will disappear and 97m new digital-first jobs will arise by 2025.

Whereas the majority of hiring managers use CVs as their chosen method to screen out candidates, more than half (59%) have considered removing CVs from their hiring process altogether.

When it came to reasons why CVs hadn’t been removed from the process, 65% of respondents were blocked by the belief of a lack of viable replacements, hiring manager objections, and a lack of time and resources. 

Removing the CV feels like ‘hard work’ for many, with the perception that there are no viable alternatives. Only 27% use psychometric assessments in their hiring processes.

“Scrapping the CV might sound radical, but you cannot solve tomorrow’s challenges with yesterday’s solutions,” added Newry. “What we’re calling for is an awareness of the challenge we face and for the start of a transition to futureproof the UK’s workforce.”

There is already evidence that an alternative approach can be taken and with great results. Darren Cassidy, MD of Xerox UK and Ireland, is one of the early adopters of a ‘scrap the CV’ approach. 

“We have always looked to hire people based on their potential, where diversity, inclusion and belonging are core to our culture,” he said. 

“We are excited about our pioneering partnership with Arctic Shores to select for potential. My team has seen how the platform can identify potential from a candidate pool who haven’t had the best start in life and bypass the need to see a CV, which too often holds back those who have had the least opportunity. 

“This is definitely the way forward.”