“People who wish to go into the future should have two skills to succeed – the ability to deal with people and the ability to sell.” – Shiv Khera

As per a survey conducted by LinkedIn in the year 2018 covering 100 metropolitan cities across US, nearly 1.4 million population confessed that they feel challenged while establishing smooth communication at work and in their day-to-day lives. As a result of which, talented candidates had to be withheld from a suitable job offer and lack of Soft Skills have negatively impacted their personal and professional growth. Clearly, Soft Skills cover each spectrum of life, may be at work place or on a personal front. But do we really know What, Why and How about these skills?

Many applicants possess high-grade Certifications and many other higher Degree qualifications from Premier Institutions. However, their performance at times de-escalate at the job as per a study however many candidates having an average degree manage to operate admirably and perform well under the same conditions. Ever thought Why?

Well, it is not the hard skill that matters rather soft skill which facilitate the application of hard skills. For long the parameter of performance has been working in teams, ability to collaborate, communicate better and deliver encouraging results over a period of time and this surely is the relevance of soft skills.

A hard skill may get you an interview but the deciding factor for the job is pulled by soft skills which are communication and interpersonal skills. In spite of such powerful impact, soft skills still remain underrated. This is a wakeup call to all such corporate who want to upgrade the quality of work done by their non-technical workforce, technical staff and fresh job seekers to now get into action and build up on their soft skills.

One major reason that hard skills have an upper hand over soft skills is that they can be picked up through a good book or a short term course whereas soft skills are harder to develop and involve more time; repetition is the only key to master them.

Running a business involves proficiencies like problem solving, conflict resolution and the most vital being communication skill. However, a job demands time management, problem solving, leadership and communication as top competencies. Thus, every facet of a work place embraces soft skills. If an organisation decides to up-skill its employees then most of the soft skills can be developed.

Major benefits of such training program include-

• Superior Customer Service
• Elevated Sales
• Higher Employee Retention
• Leadership role in Employees
• Better teamwork
• Efficient time management
• Better problem solving

During these times a number of options are there to train workforce and customised training modules exist in abundance. Line of action to be chosen by the organisation depends upon the exact requirement, time available for the training program and definitely the budget.

Some of the methods of skill training are discussed briefly as under:

• Coaching or Mentoring is the most widely held methods identified for developing communication and leadership roles among personnel. For instance if an employer pin points that his employee has a challenge in communication skills then the coach builds a development tactic and guides a clear pathway for enhancing that particular skill. The trainer undertakes to impart fitting strategic support and provide actionable opinion so it is of great help to the personnel and the company both.

• Live interactive workshops targetted to train group of recruits for specific soft skills. Role-play scenarios are worked-out to line up customer service staff and such people who represent the company to the outside world and are into client dealing. Such sessions are targeted to bridge the skill gap and as per the feedback provided to the trainer the program is re-directed towards the bull’s eye and it remains an ongoing process till the training schedule ends.

• Organisations opt to create small peer groups of employees which try to reach out to the problems faced by each member, based on their past experiences. Peer learning is analogous to the family system in India where the eldest member of the family shares valuable experiences of his life with the younger generation. They are free to discuss issue like how to reach to their full potential and plans pertaining to future etc.

• Online learning seems to be ever promising during the prevailing global climate. Training the staff from their work place or comfort of their homes with the help of readymade online courses or customised learning platforms specifically designed and developed to cater the varied needs of individual employees. Such training modules are at par with the traditional sessions with the advent of audio and video connectivity with the coach. Voice modulation, body language, group session and one to one connection all can be attained over this virtual podium.