Over the past few years, the need for stronger ‘soft’ skills has grown, and will continue to do so. Experience and professional skills are (in some professions) losing their value. More people are working remotely or in a hybrid fashion and less business travel is occurring. Many job roles no longer exist with bots taking over.
Here are the top skills you should be looking for for your next hire:
- Empathy
Empathy is a key quality for leaders. The workplace is focusing more on individual needs, and understanding those needs, than company en-masse. Empathy is one of the most important skills to possess. It is the ability to not only ask questions, but to know what questions to ask each individual person to get the best answer. It is the ability to assess those answers and produce effective solutions fit for that person. It is a skill that is difficult to assess so HR teams need to devise ways in which to unveil a person’s empathy skills and see how it might be applied in the workplace.
- Communication
This one has and always will be important. The ability to communicate across all levels, cultures, countries, is so important. Especially in at this time where we are fractured and displaced. Technology binds us, and yet we may find ourselves still attending virtual conferences rather than face-to-face one. The ability to effectively communicate both verbally and non-verbally (virtually and in-person) is a great skill to look for.
- Self-Motivation
If the pandemic taught us anything, it was how to remain motivated after hours of no fresh air (and perhaps being in very close proximity to our loved ones!) However, many people struggled with this – and it is not something they teach in school! Learning to be self-motivated is a true skill, and one that many, many organisations need to succeed. So making sure your next hire can work independently (and providing them with the right tools and support to do so) is crucial.
- Adaptability
Well, we couldn’t miss this one out could we! Adaptability is a soft skill that all employers will be looking for. The world of work has already changed dramatically, and will continue to do so. Technological advancements were brought forwards during the pandemic, businesses that weren’t online were suddenly online! To have a workforce of adaptable employees, is a workforce that will be able to sail any storm with you.
Next time you are perusing an application, or evaluating your recruitment process, do keep in mind that experience in the skills above are just as important (if not more) that the education and qualifications. So many people who are incredibly talented are overlooked because they didn’t go to the right university, or only have 5 years rather 7 years’ experience. Isn’t it time to open our minds to other qualities, skills and passion people can bring to an organisation?