Capabilities over Skills: Why It’s Time to Rethink How We Evaluate Talent
- Turn2Talents
- 3. Juli
- 2 Min. Lesezeit
Why Degrees aren’t cutting it anymore
You post a job. Hardly anyone applies – or the ones who do don’t really fit. Highly capable career changers get filtered out by outdated criteria. Others don’t even apply because the job ad sounds like a wish list from another planet. And even when you hire someone “perfect on paper,” the role isn’t filled for long. Something’s off.
What’s the result? Untapped talent. Ongoing hiring struggles. And internal mobility that rarely gets a real chance.
Skills-based hiring? Good idea – with one major flaw
The “skills over degrees” movement makes sense in theory. But in practice?
Up to 80,000 skills are tracked across systems.
HR teams drown in spreadsheets and messy matrices.
Most of these skills are short-term or too narrow to guide strategic decisions.
Can someone build pivot tables in Excel? Cool. But does that tell us if they’re the right fit for a role? Not really.
The problem? Skills are the right idea – but the wrong level.
The better path: Focus on Capabilities
Instead of zooming in on thousands of isolated skills, we zoom out and look at the bigger picture: What are the core, strategic competencies people need to succeed in a fast-changing world?
These are what we call Capabilities.
Capabilities are:
✔️ Easy to work with – because you don’t need 80,000 of them
✔️ Backed by research – rooted in decades of organizational science
✔️ Future-proof – because they help people (and companies) adapt and thrive
Quick background: Where Capabilities come from
The concept comes from Dynamic Capabilities research (David Teece et al.). It focuses on the traits that make companies resilient, adaptable, and innovative – especially in uncertain, fast-moving environments.
It’s about:
Now imagine applying that same thinking to your talent. |
Why Capabilities are really innovative
We’ve sifted through research, tested models, and built a lean, practical framework: Around 120 Capabilities that actually matter. No noise, no bloat.
Let’s compare:
Skill | Capability |
Programming language X | Tech adaptability |
Create Instagram post | Creative communication |
Use Excel pivot tables | Data-informed decision-making |
Sales pitch | Tailored, data-driven offering |
Photoshop function X | Digital creativity |
So what do Capabilities offer you?
✔️ A cleaner, more strategic way to assess talent
✔️ Better internal mobility: Hidden potential becomes visible
✔️ Faster, better hiring: Stronger matches, quicker time-to-hire
✔️ Smarter development: Learning that leads to real growth
✔️ Long-term competitiveness: Strategic talent management that actually prepares for the future
Summary: Less chaos, more clarity
Turn2Talents helps you focus on what really matters. With a clear set of 120 future-ready Capabilities, we replace overwhelming skill spreadsheets with a system that works. You’ll stop filtering for superficial skills and start unlocking the potential that’s already there.
What are Capabilities?
They are future-relevant meta-competencies that keep organizations competitive.
How are they different from skills?
Skills are specific and often short-lived. Capabilities are strategic, longer-lasting, and easier to work with.
Why are Capabilities better for HR strategy?
They reduce complexity, align better with business needs, and help talent actually grow with your company.
