Employers and employees alike have probably heard a lot about the increasing value being placed on so-called “soft skills,” or those skills that fall outside of industry-specific technical abilities that are often top of mind in employee searches. But “soft skills” isn’t as specific as it could be. Many applicants and employers, while now generally recognizing the importance of soft skills in the workplace, often scratch their heads when it comes to getting more specific.
In this post, we consider some specific soft skills that are in high demand for employers.
Time Management
Doing more with less, meeting tight deadlines, and appropriately prioritizing efforts are all aspects of time management, which is a critical soft skill for any worker. Even the most technically adept employees will struggle at work if they aren’t able to manage their time effectively.
Communication
Collaboration is a hallmark of a successful modern company, and successful collaboration requires successful communication. This means conveying concepts and ideas clearly and efficiently across a variety of media. Those with strong written and oral communication skills can be far more efficient and effective at coordinating group activities and avoiding costly mistakes resulting from miscommunication.
Adaptability to Change
American companies operate in an extremely dynamic economic environment, both at home and on the world stage. Supply chain challenges, pandemics, armed conflicts, environmental disasters, labor market challenges, and a variety of other factors make it essential for companies and their staff to be nimble when it comes to changing circumstances. Employees who are too set in their ways to learn new ways of operating can be a drag on company performance.
As soft skills are increasingly being accepted as a legitimate set of competencies, the next step in the collective consciousness of employers and recruiters is to dive deeper and determine which so-called soft skills are most crucial for their organization. In this post, we’ve outlined a handful of the top examples as a helpful starting point.
Lin Grensing-Pophal is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.