Degrees Are No Longer Enough as HR Shifts to New-Collar Hiring

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HR Trends: Degrees Are No Longer Enough as HR Shifts to New-Collar Hiring

Employers are increasingly valuing skills and practical experience over traditional university degrees. This shift toward new-collar hiring prioritizes hands-on ability, digital literacy, and specialized training programs that can be completed faster than four-year degrees. HR leaders say this approach helps companies fill roles that evolve quickly, especially in tech and digital functions. It also opens opportunities for diverse talent who may not follow traditional academic paths but can demonstrate relevant skills. Companies adopting this model report stronger performance in hard-to-fill roles and improved workforce agility as job requirements change. Organizations are rethinking job requirements and investing in alternative credentialing, such as bootcamps, certifications, and apprenticeship programs. Read more.

HR Insights: Australians Bypassing Policies to Experiment with AI

HR technology teams are seeing employees in Australia explore generative AI tools outside official company policy. Workers use external AI apps to draft communications, generate content, and analyze data even when internal guidelines are unclear or restrictive. HR and IT leaders worry that unchecked AI use could lead to privacy breaches, inconsistent outputs, and regulatory risks. At the same time, employees say policies should be updated to support ethical, responsible use rather than push tools “underground.” Read more.

HR Tips and Tricks

Tip: Track why people leave across teams and time periods to identify patterns early. Use simple analytics on exit interviews and tenure data to reveal whether departures cluster around specific managers, roles, or life events. Understanding these patterns helps refine retention strategies and pinpoint where intervention may be most impactful.

Trick: When preparing compensation reviews, create peer-aligned pay bands rather than role-only bands. Compare employees not just by job title but also by performance levels and peer grouping. This approach helps HR justify adjustments with transparent market and internal equity data, reducing bias and supporting more defensible pay decisions.

HR Case Files: Female Manager Sues After Biased Discipline and Firing at DuPont

A female manager filed a lawsuit against DuPont, alleging that she faced discriminatory discipline and wrongful termination compared with male coworkers. The complaint claims she was treated more harshly for similar performance issues and was fired despite meeting performance goals, while male counterparts remained employed. The case highlights issues around fairness in disciplinary actions, performance evaluations, and termination decisions. DuPont has denied liability, and the litigation is pending. The situation underscores the importance of documented, consistent HR processes and unbiased application of policies. Read more.

Key Takeaways:

• Consistency in disciplinary policies and documentation is essential for defensibility.

• Differences in how employees are managed can expose organisations to discrimination claims.

• Clear performance standards and objective review processes reduce legal risk.

HR Toolkit

Resources

Technological progress and the COVID-19 pandemic have sped up the shift to hybrid work. While HR practices play a central role in making hybrid models effective, most research has focused on individual employees rather than on how organizations can build a complete and aligned HR system to support hybrid work. This study addresses that gap through the lens of strategic human resource management. It notes that many existing SHRM models examine either the link between HR practices and business strategy or the internal alignment of HR systems, but not both together. Using a four-year case study of an Italian company, the research analyzes how HR supported the move to hybrid work by applying the Harvard model and the ability-motivation-opportunity framework. Know more.

Events

The Gartner HR Symposium/Xpo is a major annual event that brings together HR leaders from around the world to explore workforce planning, digital HR strategies, leadership development, and organizational performance. Sessions include case studies, research findings, and practical guidance on adapting to business change, developing leaders, and embedding digital and data competencies in HR functions.

Click here to be a part of this event.

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