Are Soft Skills More Important Than Hard Skills?
Employees with technical skills and targeted specialities are undoubtedly in high demand by companies of all sizes. With new and emerging technology, changing customer expectations, and an increasingly growing number of competitors that offer the same product or service with their own unique twist, employees are expected to know, and do, more than ever.
However, employees looking for higher earning potential, and the desire to make a lasting impression with employers, need to turn back to a basic source: soft skills. It has been said, “People don’t underperform due to lack of technical skills but because of their lack of soft skills.”
“Soft skills,” you say? “What’s that”? Well, soft skills are about whom you are rather than what you know. As such, soft skills cover traits that decide how you interact with others and are usually part of your personality. Where hard skills can be learned and perfected over time, soft skills are harder to acquire. The soft skills required for a doctor, for example, would be empathy, understanding, active listening and a good bedside manner. Alternatively, the hard skills necessary for a doctor would include a vast comprehension of illnesses, the ability to interpret test results and symptoms, and a thorough understanding of anatomy and physiology.
So, let’s break it down. Skills such as listening, collaborating with others, presenting ideas and communicating with team members are all highly valued in the modern workplace. Strong soft skills ensure a productive, collaborative and healthy work environment, all vital ingredients for organisations in an increasingly competitive world. The most valued soft skills are:
- Dedication |commitment
- Communication skills
- Confidence
- Motivation
- Flexibility
- Organisational skills
- Positive
- Enthusiastic
- Passionate
- Engaging
These soft skills hint towards loyalty to the company and progress within the business. These are skills that transcend virtually every industry type and skill level. Soft skills benefit businesses when they are practised on a company-wide basis. They apply to us all, and employers realise these soft skills unlock vastly increased productivity, staff retention and job satisfaction.
Furthermore, a team that exhibits these soft skills can excel compared to a team lacking these qualities. Soft skills, the study found, are what can make or break a team. A team that listens to and respects each other means that they feel comfortable and confident speaking up and making mistakes. Even if they disagree with the entire team, they know everyone will listen respectfully to their dissent.
Success at work doesn’t rest solely on technical skills. The ability to get along with your co-workers professionally and respectfully even when there’s disagreement is crucial to the overall success of the company. If everyone is fighting and won’t cooperate, nothing will ever get done. A team with strong workplace soft skills means that when markets change, employees will pivot, adapt, and change while getting the job done. And, in a crisis, they use their problem-solving skills to keep a level head and work together to find a solution.
If you’re just graduating, it’s logical that you won’t yet have been able to build up the hard skills necessary for some role in your chosen field. Employers are often happy to provide on-the-job training. This is why, for graduates, it’s vital to articulate your soft skills on your resume. Many schools are incorporating softer, non-cognitive skills into college-readiness efforts. Some experts view the ability to solve problems and be resourceful as being as important as mastering mathematics and reading. Helping teenagers develop those skills is addressed in high schools, college orientation, youth-development organisations, and parenting programs.
Everyone already has some form of soft skills (probably a lot more than they realise). You just need to look at areas in your personal life where you get on with others, feel confident in the way you interact, can problem solve, are good at encouraging, and can schmooze with the best of them. All these skills are soft, and they are transferable to the workplace. Not only that, but the best news of all is also that soft skills can be developed and honed on an ongoing basis through good training, insightful reading, observation and of course practise, practise, practise!
