USA 
United KingdomMary Alice Vuicic
CPO, Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters’ chief HR exec explains why the firm is embracing a ‘skills-based’ approach to talent...
Mary Alice Vuicic
CPO, Thomson Reuters
Thomson Reuters’ chief HR exec explains why the firm is embracing a ‘skills-based’ approach to talent...
Those who work in the HR and talent professions will be familiar with the rise and rise of a shiny new buzzword in recent years: ‘Skills-based.’
For the uninitiated, a skills-based approach to hiring and talent mobility essentially boils down to a move away from looking at formal credentials – like university or college degrees – toward an emphasis on, you guessed it, the skills that a candidate or employee brings to the table.
Far from a fad, four in every five employers (81%) said they used a skills-based hiring strategy in 2024, among them information services behemoth Thomson Reuters.
Mary Alice Vuicic, Chief People Officer, speaks to HR Grapevine about the decision to ditch traditional degree requirements in a ‘fundamental rethink’ of the firm’s hiring practices, and how the skills-based approach is paving the way for the business to more flexibly fill talent gaps in artificial intelligence and beyond.
Skills-based has become HR’s favorite buzzword – what does it mean at Thomson Reuters?
At Thomson Reuters, it means that the primary focus for decisions about selection, development, and the whole talent life cycle is based on skills.
We define what skills are required to successfully do a role and that is built into how we hire—I've said before that degrees [will] take a backseat.
Instead, we ask, what skills has somebody developed? Have they had experience in similar situations? Have they demonstrated the skills that would be aligned to what we're looking for?
It’s built into job promotion, how we build our training and development, and our investment in human capital. It really is a fundamental rethink of the talent lifecycle.
Does this mean the nature of ‘jobs’ as we know them has changed?
It’s important to put in the context of the increasing pace of technology, particularly with generative AI coming to the forefront. Roles are going to change at a much faster rate than any other time in modern work, so it puts a focus on skills and understanding.
AI doesn't replace jobs, it replaces tasks within a job, so companies, individuals, and professionals have to determine within workflows, what tasks are now done better by technology. What does that enable humans to do instead? And therefore what skills are no longer needed and what skills are required?
We define what skills are required to successfully do a role and that is built into how we hire—I've said before that degrees [will] take a backseat
That's what is driving this intense focus on skills and this shift towards skills-based workforce management. The impact of the shift, through business process reengineering, is getting intentional about the skills you need, which for us has been an unprecedented investment in developing AI capabilities.
Many businesses are unsure on how to build a skills taxonomy. How did you go about it?
It's interesting that you've honed in on this because I think it’s the biggest challenge for companies and HR organizations—understanding how to start tackling taxonomies. The worst thing that organizations can do is try to boil the ocean as they go.
We’ve started by looking only at the most critical roles, either our top priorities or roles where we are currently undergoing the biggest transformations in the capabilities we’re hiring for.
We're automatically leaning into those, going through the skills taxonomies and assessments for those roles. I would encourage organizations to take that piecemeal approach, understanding that it's never over, because things are changing so fast.
You have to design it [a taxonomy] in a way that enables constant iteration. So, don't aim for perfection because you're never going to get there, and even if achieved for a moment it immediately becomes obsolete.
How have these changes helped create a more diverse and innovative workforce?
The more you focus on skills, the more it eliminates any kind of systemic bias in any organizational system. You avoid focusing on people you’re familiar with or people who attended certain schools or hold certain degrees.
We’re very intentional about the skills that we need for a role and hire people who demonstrate or have experience with those skills. It will lead to a more diverse, more innovative workforce, with different perspectives, opening us up to a broader pool of talent.
So, I'm very optimistic about what this means for for professionals and for organisations.
Are there any measurable benefits you have noticed since making the shift?
Colleagues are excited about it because they view it as more objective and feel they have greater clarity on what we're looking for. So, on internal mobility, feedback has been quite positive.
We have our Annual Organisational Health index which we partner with McKinsey on and have done so for a number of years. Organizational learning and innovation went up seven percentage points in the past year, which was our second-highest mover. It's a remarkable shift in one year, and it reflects a focus on discussion around skills and being very purposeful, intentional, and explicit about what skills are required for the role.
It’s a big shift – I’d imagine there’s some resistance to abandoning the tried-and-tested?
It sounds like you're working in an HR department right now! Because yes, that's exactly where we're seeing some of the biggest challenges—with hiring managers and individuals who've been working a certain way for a long time.
It requires a mindset shift in leadership, in people managers, and in individuals. This is why we look at the AQ [adaptability quotient], in a period where the pace of change has accelerated beyond anything we've seen before. We have got to learn new things to continue to be relevant and successful in our roles.
We're excited about what we're seeing in our workforce, but we have people who need a bit more hand-holding, a little more education, including at the people manager and leadership level. They have to get more comfortable letting go of ways of working that they might have taken great pride in.
We've been very clear. We will provide access to tools, training on tools, and time to experiment. That's our responsibility. However, it is the responsibility of every employee to take advantage of those and to upskill. If you don't, there won't be a place for you in the future at Thomson Reuters.
How has the new, skills-based approach impacted performance management at Thomson Reuters?
We believe this is a cultural shift in the way organizations work, how people behave, and how leaders behave. So, we've started with a reset of our values in the organization, for the first time in over 10 years, to help people shift their mindset in how they're expected to behave and work.
The more you focus on skills, the more it eliminates any kind of systemic bias in any organizational system. You avoid focusing on people you’re familiar with or people who attended certain schools or hold certain degrees
Within each role, we're trying to help leaders understand that goal setting is critically important because things will change every year. Previously, we have had good execution of this, but we need great execution of goal setting. It occurs at the outset of the year, and again during quarterly check-ins, performance check-ins, and the mid-year performance review.
We need leaders to be clear on just how much things are changing, so that means roles have to be done differently, and the expectations of what an individual does changes
That's where the training – skills-based learning and coaching – comes in.
Are you able to connect employees or talent community members with upcoming roles in the business based on their skills profile?
Because AI is changing how work is done at this unprecedented rate, we've taken a multi-pronged approach to help employees connect. One of the biggest things that we've done is creating AI champions, with over 400 around the organisation.
These are grassroots individuals who are early adopters and, in some cases, ‘super users’ of the technology. They’re helping rethink business processes and getting people excited about the technology.
It’s a huge part of how we’re building that community and driving that shift because we’re finding people want more information in the flow of work, from their peers.
For an in-depth look at Thomson Reuter’s AI adoption and reskilling journey, read our 2024 interview with Mary Alice Vuicic.
