“Soft skills” is a term you’ll hear beaten to death in almost any industry, particularly in Human Resources. There’s so much fascination surrounding it, and its demand continues to rise in the workforce across industries. It is understandable after all, because unlike hard skills, soft skills are tricky to measure and cultivate—and yet it remains the most crucial component in any business’ ability to thrive in an ever-changing world! 

In the past, organizations expected people to know how to behave and communicate on the job, but often this turns out to not be the case. Thus, it has become imperative for many businesses to upgrade their employees’ skillsets to meet the challenges ahead.

All about soft skills

Hard skills are easy to define and measure because they’re directly related to specific and technical knowledge. Soft skills, on the other hand, have to do with one’s character traits and interpersonal skills. These are the person’s attributes that influence how they behave and interact with others in the workplace. This is essential in creating an environment of trust, harmonious relationships, and leadership. Several examples of these are interpersonal skills, empathy, and resilience. 

Soft skills are necessary to succeed in individual work-related endeavors and for the business to thrive as a whole.

The importance of soft skills for businesses

Rapid technological and societal advancements are continuously causing industries and jobs to evolve. Agility across organizational structures and roles are becoming the norm, and this requires a great deal of flexibility when it comes to developing new skillsets. However, businesses struggle to equip their employees with the necessary skills to cope with these changes. 

The challenge faced by business owners now is training their people on how to do their work rather than what to do. These include skills like effective communication and time management. For instance, instead of focusing on making ten cold calls a day, you could teach an employee how to empathize with the client during a sales call effectively. Such skills can be applied regardless of job function, making them essential for businesses to survive and succeed no matter which direction this volatile environment takes them. 

The skills needed today to prepare for what may come tomorrow are abilities to adapt to technological changes, creativity, and problem-solving. Because jobs are changing, with some predicted to be obsolete in several years’ time, the priority has become all about people. Interpersonal relationships will remain constant in the workplace, even after the jobs have evolved.

There are general benefits that a business can reap from developing their employees’ soft skills, some of which are the following:

• Attracts new clients: Clients who are satisfied with a representative’s service and response are likely to recommend the company to other potential clients, which opens the door to new business opportunities.
• Increased productivity: Employees’ ability to perform their roles and responsibilities effectively and efficiently bring businesses closer to their targets.
• Higher retention rates: Training opportunities are often in high demand from a company or business. This is mainly due to its role in career development, and teaching soft skills to your employees allows them to address their learning needs in order to move up to higher positions. Higher retention rates are also beneficial for businesses to minimize the costs of recruiting.
• Better leadership: Much of what is needed in leadership is not proficiency in technical skills; many leaders already excel at that. However, soft skills prepare high-potential employees for many abilities expected of leaders, such as people management, active listening, and empathy, to name a few. Lacking these skills results more often than not can result in people leaving the company.

Conclusion

Soft skills are quickly becoming an essential tool to equip a business’s workforce with the means to succeed in a changing environment. Business owners can and should focus on developing these attributes in their people through high-quality online training programs. That way, when the next wave of uncertainty hits, both employees and the business can brave the tide.

Building up your soft skills can be possible with the right online course. Skill Builder Pro is a training platform that covers training for personal development, soft skills, and job skills. Some of our soft skills courses include the communication strategies online course, team player online course, and positive work environment online course. If you want to learn new skills or refresh your existing ones, visit our website today!