Because of the Coronavirus pandemic, 2020 was the year that catapulted most people to work at home job roles. This era of uncertainty triggered the trend of soft skills as a major requirement for employees. Soft skills like flexibility and adaptability of employees became crucial for the fortunes of companies.
What are soft skills?
They are non-technical skills that influence the way you absorb information, conduct daily work, solve problems and interact with others. Broadly, the skills include skills of listening & communication, interpersonal skills, empathy, time management and emotional intelligence.
In the past, hard skills like education and experience were the qualities looked for by hiring managers, but in 2021, most companies realized the importance of the soft skills of employees to drive their success apart from hard skills related to the business. For instance, even if you have the expertise of handling specific software, you will flounder big time if you lack the soft skills of time management.
The good news is that employees can acquire soft skills through relevant training. Most are transferable skills that can be honed with practice, benefitting employers, employees, managers and supervisors.
Most in-demand soft skills include Communication/ Teamwork/ Organization/Social skills/ Critical thinking/Adaptability/Interpersonal amity or empathy/ Time management, and creativity.
Soft skills are required across all industries. For instance, strong skills of communication are needed whether you are a mechanic, nurse or hairdresser. Developing each of the above soft skills provides its advantages that lead to enhanced productivity.
Benefits
Following are some general benefits of soft skills training imparted to employees:
- Boost in productivity
Training in soft skills will improve the efficiency of employees in conducting their tasks and responsibilities. This will help in bringing the business close to accomplishing its goals.
- Improvement in teamwork
For the efficient conduct of a business, all stakeholders must work in tandem towards accomplishing a common goal. There is an improvement in the quality of work when employees deploy the synergy of their individual skills and strengths for the success of the company.
- Enhanced rates of retention
Most people like to work for companies that invest much in the career development of employees, like delivering soft skills training. As per a study, nearly 63% of employees in the UK would change their employer if the new company invested more in offering training opportunities. Thus, soft skills step training helps in boosting staff retention as employees prefer such companies.
- Enhanced satisfaction of employees
When a company invests in training its employees, the latter feel valued and important. Having a positive outlook towards the company and feeling appreciated helps in bolstering the job satisfaction enjoyed by employees.
- Improvement in leadership
Training in soft skills helps keep ready employees for leadership positions since they require specific skills like empathy, active listening, conflict resolution etc. This is crucial as the majority of employees leave their jobs because of poor managers.
- The attraction of fresh clients
When clients are happy with customer service offered by soft skills trained employees, they will recommend your business to others. This offers your company fresh business opportunities.
- Effective communication
The chances for distorted messages decline when there is an increase in effective communication among employees. This enables the smooth running of your company.
In sum, the Future of Jobs report by the World Economic Forum suggested that by 2025, emotional intelligence, people management, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving will be the most vital skills needed in the workplace.
