We all are aware that the world is changing constantly and how work gets done keeps evolving. Whether companies are hiring full-time employees, part-time workers, independent contractors, freelancers or a blended workforce (a combination of a variety of employees), how they shortlist and recruit people keeps changing too. In such a dynamic professional world, soft skills, such as emotional intelligence, resilience, empathy,
adaptability, mindfulness, kindness, and so on, have become extremely critical for a job application to be successful. These qualities, also called “core skills,” are not just important for those in leadership positions, but for employees at all levels. Every member of a business organisation would benefit from focused soft skills training, which will help them realise their full potential.
How and Why Soft Skills Have Gained Significance
Due to drastic and ceaseless technological developments, more and more work processes have become automated, and machines are increasingly replacing humans in numerous fields at various departments. Thus hard skills may become obsolete real fast. However, soft skills, which cannot be demonstrated by machines, have begun gaining significance at workspaces. Organizations that hire people with strong soft skills will succeed in the long run, say experts.
In a 2017 report, Deloitte stated that soft skill-based occupations will amount to at least two-thirds of all jobs by 2030 and that hiring employees based on their soft skills could increase an enterprise’s revenue by more than $90,000 on average.
Becky Frankiewicz and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic in the Harvard Business Review wrote that enterprises should focus on hiring those who are curious, flexible and adaptable in the first place. Since we do not know what the future hard skills requirement would be, they suggested that the best bet is on the people who are more likely to develop them as and when working methodologies evolve. Global business giants such as Google and Amazon are among companies that have recognised this fact way back. Since their inception, they have been emphasizing that developing soft skills such as problem solving and learnability are key to having a successful career with them.
According to a McKinsey report, soft skills are progressively in demand in the contemporary job market and its demand will continue to increase till 2030.
The LinkedIn 2019 Global Talent Trends Report stated that 92% of the hiring managers and talent recruiters in the job market agree that candidates with strong soft skills are becoming increasingly salient.
Now that we have understood the significance of soft skills, let us discuss some predominant and inevitable soft skills that one must develop.
Empathy and Emotional Intelligence
Experts state that emotionally intelligent teams have a competitive edge. In order to nurture emotional intelligence, empathy is the most essential quality. Sensing and respecting the unspoken thoughts and feelings of a teammate or a client is a solid skill that would improve productivity and customer satisfaction. If you feel that you lack empathy and would like to work on it, do consider attending one of our workshops at Torque.
Adaptability And Resilience
As technological advances are happening so rapidly, people focus on hiring those who are adaptable and resilient. You should be open-minded, show a willingness in accepting diverse responsibilities, be able to manage uncertainty, adapt your behaviour by understanding your teammates’ challenges and needs—you must do everything keeping in mind the team’s overall performance. To build these two qualities, try challenging yourself to stay comfortable in unfamiliar circumstances and environments.
Ethical Responsibility and Integrity
American investor and business tycoon Warren Buffett is famously known for calling integrity the most principal trait to look for while hiring. This is especially important for long-term collaboration and success. When someone tells you that they’ve made a mistake and how they intend to fix it, you know that you can trust them. Integrity is even more critical in today’s fast-paced world—it’s easy to take shortcuts and exhibit results in the short term, but it’s harder to do things the right way, for a longer period of time, consistently. To encourage developing a culture of integrity, one must own up to her or his mistakes and encourage others to follow suit.
Self-Directed and Self-Motivated
People who are intrinsically motivated are easier to manage and require less supervision. Self-direction enable people to take initiatives solely. They usually set realistic goals against an achievable schedule and take the requisite steps. Especially, in a vigorous and dynamic work environment, these skills are paramount to thrive an organization.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is an umbrella skill that combines all other skills. Mindful people tend to be more emotionally intelligent, forthright and adaptable. They stay more focused than others during hardships. It is difficult to be mindful all the time, but it is so important that it guides all other skills, your attitude and your behaviour. If you require support in developing mindfulness, get in touch with us at once!
World Economic Forum (WEF)
The World Economic Forum has researched and identified the top ten soft skills that people would need for the Fourth Industrial Revolution:
- Complex problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Creativity
- People management
- Coordinating with others
- Emotional intelligence
- Judgment and decision making
- Service orientation
- Negotiation
- Cognitive flexibility