Last week I spoke about all the various names of soft skills (click to read) described our shift from using leadership skills to soft skills, and our vision for soft skill development for all. After all, if everyone had great soft skills, wouldn’t the world be a better place? Here are some of the areas that soft skills can impact.
Increased productivity: Employees with solid and soft skills are often more efficient and effective in their roles, leading to increased productivity and better performance.
Improved employee engagement: Employees who feel valued and respected are more likely to be engaged and motivated, leading to improved retention and reduced turnover.
Better customer satisfaction: Employees with strong soft skills are often better equipped to provide high-quality customer service, which can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Increased creativity and innovation: Employees with strong soft skills are often more open to new ideas and better equipped to think creatively, leading to new and improved products, processes, and services.
Improved communication and collaboration: Employees with solid and soft skills are often better equipped to communicate and collaborate, leading to improved teamwork and problem-solving.
Increased adaptability: Employees with strong soft skills can better adapt to change and uncertainty, essential in today's fast-paced and ever-changing business environment.
Improved leadership: Employees with strong soft skills are often better equipped to lead others, leading to improved performance and positive outcomes for the organization.
Some specifics:
New Study: How Communication Drives Performance (HBR) shows that companies that communicate effectively had a 47% higher return to shareholders over five years.
According to LinkedIn’s 2019 Global Talent Trends report, 89 percent of recruiters say when a hire doesn’t work out, it usually comes down to a lack of soft skills.
And what about manager effectiveness? Here’s what the Center for Creative Leadership says in their Leading Effectively article.: “50% of managers in organizations are rated as ineffective.” Ouch.
If the above was a “tell me something I don’t know,” the next post will jump into the challenges of translating the importance of soft skills into an ROI and how we at qChange have taken this to the next level.
qChange Innovation Stories shares the learnings of building a next-generation experiential learning company in a sea of entrenched capabilities and status quo thinking.
To learn more, email: rbuckingham@qchange.com
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