The Most Important Soft Skills You Need To Have In Any Workplace
Publié le 13 May 2022
Whether you are changing careers or starting your professional life, it’s vital to understand and showcase the most important soft skills you need to have in any workplace to catch the attention of recruiters.
What Are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are those which are transferable between multiple job positions and workplaces. You develop these skills throughout your professional career, and put them to use in all kinds of different scenarios and situations. Soft skills are foundational to a long and successful career.
Learned vs Developed
Hard skills can be taught, soft skills must be developed. Hard skills such as knowledge of specific communication apps, collaboration tools and CRMs can all be taught. Organizations should constantly evaluate the apps and programs they use to work and serve clients, and change if necessary. This is why continuous learning is the one of the most important components of a strong company culture. Soft skills, on the other hand, cannot be taught during a 2-week course and training seminars.
Company leaders need to learn to recognize the soft skills of employees and job candidates, and what is needed to nurture and develop them. For example, young employees at the start of their careers need opportunities to develop their leadership skills and should be encouraged to take the lead in limited settings and projects. This allows them to develop important soft skills, which in turn will make them stronger employees who can contribute more to the company. Understanding the most important soft skills is beneficial for both job seekers and employers, regardless of their field, sector or industry.
The Most Important Soft Skills You Need To Have In Any Workplace
- Reliability
- Punctuality
- Adaptability
- Empathy
- Communication
- Problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Self-motivation
- Leadership
- Attention to detail
Reliability
A reliable employee is one who can be relied upon to produce quality work, support their colleagues and make choices that will improve the overall quality of a workplace. When an employee is reliable, managers and leaders know that they do not have to spend unnecessary time supervising them and ensuring that they are fulfilling their role. Reliability as an important soft skill speaks towards an employee’s overall work ethic, and is a foundation of a strong professional reputation.
Punctuality
Being on-time really seems like the least that an employee can do, but a surprising 20% of employees are late at least one day a week. Punctuality means employees arrive for work when they are supposed to, and their tasks and projects are completed as expected. This does not mean that every employee needs to be on a rigid schedule and not enjoy any of the benefits of flexible scheduling. Rather, punctual employees do not slow down the workflow or cause unnecessary delays which negatively affect their coworkers. It may seem like a given, but punctuality can be one of the most reliable and important soft skills for workers in all types of job roles and organizations.
Adaptability
There are few soft skills as valuable as adaptability. The pandemic has proven that being adaptable is not only a boost for businesses, but is a vital component of their continued success in the marketplace. Businesses of all types have dramatically altered their goals, plans, client relationships and the very way that they go about their daily tasks. Employees who are adaptable will be unafraid to adjust to new circumstances, and will be constantly on the lookout for ways to improve and change their process for the better.
Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings and thoughts of others. Without empathy, it would be impossible to even imagine seeing the world from a perspective other than your own. The past couple of years have been very trying for everyone, and people have different ways of dealing with stress and uncertainty. Empathy allows you to understand that each colleague is dealing with their own issues and responsibilities, and most likely doing their best under circumstances which are likely not under their control. Being able to display empathy as a soft skill means that a job candidate will be an understanding and supportive co-workers, leading to an improved workplace and a better work-life balance.
Communication
It may seem obvious, but the truth is that organizations rise and fall based on communication. Without knowing how to effectively communicate, work teams will not be able to work together and collaborate in order to reach company goals. Communication means conveying any and all information on upcoming projects, tasks and goals, in addition to establishing personal rapport with colleagues. With the transition to remote work, communication became more crucial as it became a soft skill that must be actively put into practice with the loss of the in-person work environment.
Problem solving
Every business faces problems and setbacks, and if they don’t, it likely means that they are not setting their goals high enough and taking the right kind of risks. Problems are bound to arise, and it’s important that every employee in an organization be able to effectively solve them. Problem solving as a soft skill is the ability to recognize an error or hindrance, and determine the best way to overcome it. These problems can be something as simple as line code making text on a landing page the wrong size, or as big as transitioning a traditional in-person office to new hybrid working arrangements.
Critical thinking
Critical thinking is the ability to analyze a situation, take in all the details and influencing factors and determine possible outcomes and what will be required to achieve them. Employees need to use this important soft skill in order to be able to understand various scenarios as they occur, and form judgements based on facts and analysis. This means thinking of the best solution rather than the most obvious one, helping ensure the long term success of an organization rather than constantly reacting.
Self-motivation
The ability to motivate yourself has always been important, and has only grown more so over the past few years. The rise of remote and hybrid working arrangements has resulted in unprecedented numbers of people working from their homes, with limited in-person interaction. This means that it is up to employees to keep themselves motivated in order to complete their tasks on time and meet deadlines. Fortunately, the vast majority of workers have been able to make this transition while staying self-motivated, utilizing this important soft skill on a daily basis.
Leadership
Having leadership skills is not the same thing as being in a leadership role. In fact, waiting to be in a leadership position at work before utilizing leadership skills is a recipe for failure. Leadership is having the ability to see the larger picture of taking whatever actions are necessary to make sure the work team gets the job done correctly. A person who can demonstrate that they are unafraid to take a leading role in the workplace will stand out to recruiters, making it an important soft skill in the recruitment process.
Attention to detail
It’s the little things that set organizations apart in a crowded marketplace. This is why paying attention to detail is such an important soft skill. By noticing small details, employees will be able to utilize nuance, produce better work, spot potential issues before they have a chance to grow, and identify key trends which can indicate unexplored opportunities for growth and development.
Soft skills are vital to job seekers looking to enter all industries. By understanding the most important soft skills you need to have in any workplace, you will be able to craft resumes and cover letters that support them and speak about these skills during job interviews. Recruiters must be on the lookout for these soft skills, as it speaks to key abilities which are developed over time and will ensure that employees play an important part in the long term success of an organization.
