You've got a vacancy.

You've written the job ad. The same job ad you wrote in 2019, with two new bullet points bolted on the front and one removed from the bottom.

Five years' experience required. Degree preferred. Industry knowledge essential. Familiarity with the system is desirable.

You stick it on Indeed. You wait.

47 applications. Five tick the boxes. You interview three. You hire one.

Six months later, she's gone.

Because the job wasn't actually what the ad said it was. It needed someone who could pick things up quickly, hold three priorities at once, talk to a difficult client without going to pieces, and use a system she'd never used before but could learn.

None of that was in the ad. None of it was on her CV.

All of it was something the second-best candidate, the one with no degree and a slightly weird career history, could absolutely do.

You didn't interview her. She didn't tick the boxes.

This is the gap. The thing the CV told you, five years, degree, industry- was the thing that mattered least. The thing it didn't tell you, adaptability, calm under fire, willingness to learn, was the thing that mattered most.

This week is Learning at Work Week. So we're going to do the learning episode, which means we're talking skills-based hiring. Not because it's trendy. Because in 2026, in a small business with no recruitment team and no L&D budget, it might actually be the only sensible way you get and keep the people you need.

In this episode:

• What skills-based hiring really is, and what it isn't (it doesn't mean ignoring CVs)
• The numbers behind your reality: 81 per cent of UK employers now say it's "important", 30 per cent reduction in time-to-hire, 20 per cent better retention at 12 months, and 73 per cent of SME owners who "don't know how to do it"
• The five-step skills method defines the actual job, three must-haves max, writes the ad in skills, sets a 15-minute task, and keeps mapping after they're hired
• Why your existing team are quietly looking, and why "no visible path forward" beats pay as a reason people leave small businesses
• Four myths that keep owners stuck, including "I can't afford to develop my people" (you can't afford to) and the classic "if I train them, they'll leave" (if you don't, they'll stay, and be exactly as undeveloped as the day you hired them)
• Seven actions for Learning at Work Week, including one piece of homework that takes one job ad and one open document

If you're about to hire, struggling to keep good people, watching someone bright stagnate because there's no path forward, or quietly about to recycle the same job ad you wrote in 2019 — this episode is for you.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Blog: skills-based hiring for SMEs

Learning at Work Week 2026

CIPD on skills-based hiring

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If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working — and what could do with a bit of love.

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review if you've got thirty seconds. It honestly does help more small business owners find the show — and it's the cheapest good deed you'll do all week.

Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time — keep buzzing, and take care of your people.

If you’re not 100% sure how your HR is really holding up, take our free HR Health Check. It’s short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what’s working — and what needs a bit of love.

And if you do it before 1st April 2026, you’ll get a bonus 7 Pillar Strategy-on-a-Page, tailored to help you manage HR brilliantly for the year ahead. That’s it for today, but if you fancy a bit of friendly HR advice in your inbox (with zero waffle), come and join our newsletter.

We send out bite-sized tips, plain-English updates, and handy things you’ll actually use — no spam, no fluff.

You can sign up here 

If you're not sure how your HR is really holding up, take the free HR Health Check. It's short, jargon-free, and gives you a clear score on what's working and what could do with a bit of love.

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe so you never miss one, and leave a review if you've got thirty seconds. It honestly does help more small business owners find the show, and it's the cheapest good deed you'll do all week.

Got a question or need actual HR support? Find Kate at kateunderwoodhr.co.uk, email [email protected], or follow along on social.

Until next time, keep buzzing, and take care of your people.