Soft skills are the personal traits that are linked to your work culture and affect your relationship with the people you work with. Soft skills are mostly in-born and difficult to develop and are generally overlooked by employers. To ensure the growth of your organization, you need to find out what are the top soft skills and training needs for your employees. When your employees develop skills like collaboration and communication skills, organizations see a visible increase in revenue and overall growth.
What are the important soft skills required for the smooth functioning of your organization?
Here are a few examples of different soft skills useful in the workplace:
- Adaptability
- Communication
- Leadership
- Public speaking
- Networking
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork
- Organizational skills and many more
An effective soft skills training programme designed specifically, keeping in mind the needs of your employees, gives you an advantage over your competitors and plays an important role in enhancing your business.
Here are a few tips for designing an effective training programme:
- Decide what soft skills to target – Before going for a specific training program, decide on what soft skills are required by your employees. For example, the sales force may need training in networking and communication while the Tech-team will find problem-solving skills handy.
- Decide the Method of the training programme– Various types of training programs are available to choose from. You can go for mentoring or on-site training programs, but these may prove costly. Online webinars and workshops are popular nowadays and are equally effective.
- Employees Location– The type of training program also depends on whether your employees are located in one place or are working from different places. The number of employees should also be kept in mind while designing a training program.
- Identify the resources that will be required-Rolling out a program needs careful planning. The resources required may vary according to the specific soft skill being targeted. The employees should be sensitized towards the advantages of the training program so that they participate enthusiastically. Assessment goals should be set to get the maximum advantage of the program. The participants should be asked to give valuable feedback so that future training programs may be improvised accordingly.
- Evaluate the previous training done – Evaluate the training already taken up and the feedback provided by the participants. Identify any gaps and plan the next training accordingly. Take care to incorporate different strategies that cater to different learning styles.
While technical skills can be assessed while hiring a new employee, his soft skills may remain a mystery until he starts working. Thankfully, soft skill training is highly effective in moulding a person. It has been observed that organizations focus on product knowledge and performance training as they directly impact the revenue. Even if they are armed with product knowledge, they need soft skills to convince the clients and clinch a deal. So, focus on what are the top soft skills and training needs for your employeesand plan a training program accordingly.
