Soft Skills: What Are They And Why Should We Develop Them?
Today we will deal with soft skills or “flexible skills”. Some call them “transversal skills”. What is it about ? Let us say first of all that this type of skills is essentially oriented towards the world of work. And, second, that there are competing skills that are considered “hard”.
Hard skills are all those which refer to acquired formal knowledge . Those which come from the school education of the institutions. Those that can be certified by a diploma and continuing education, in which a person has been constantly assessed.
Soft skills or “soft skills” would be those which serve to put into practice what has been learned. Not only what has been acquired through formal education, but also what is learned in practice and in life. They are also linked to attitudes, values and everything that comes into play during a professional activity.
Soft skills are trending
Companies are talking more and more about soft skills. Some of the most prestigious companies currently attach great importance to them when selecting personnel. The idea has emerged that soft skills are more important for the work climate and productivity than intellectual skills.
The soft skills most in demand by human resources departments are: the ability to work in a team and communication skills. These two skills are essential to avoid and properly manage conflicts. Nothing discourages a worker more than being in a group where everyone thinks only of themselves, where personal interests and misunderstandings reign.
Values are also appreciated among soft skills. And the values most valued in the world of work are: honesty , responsibility and commitment. What would be the use of someone with a lot of talent but unable to commit to common goals? Having committed people is essential for a business. Creativity is also greatly appreciated. It is the ability to solve problems and come up with innovative ideas.
A study on the subject
A research was carried out with the various companies in the social network LinkedIn. The study aimed to determine the importance given by human resources departments to soft skills, as opposed to “hard skills”.
291 human resources managers were interviewed for this research. The results corroborate what was already suggested in the field of occupational psychology. The first conclusion was that entrepreneurs meet a lot of people with hard skills but few with soft skills.
The soft skills most valued by entrepreneurs are: good communication, good organization, teamwork, punctuality, critical thinking, sociability, creativity, good interpersonal communication, adaptability and a friendly personality.
Staff selection officials, however, complained about the difficulty of meeting these attributes in people with a high level of education. “They have one or the other,” said one of the interviewees. This shows that formal education places little importance on the individual. She focuses exclusively on her intellect.
Soft skills are final
The study also indicated that some sectors of the economy had more people with soft skills. These attributes were indeed relatively common in sectors such as marketing, education, health, sports, consulting, and the tourism and catering sector.
So that these skills are conspicuous their absence in other professional fields. Particularly in the field of graphic arts, audiovisual, music, photography, civil engineering and law. This is very striking. In theory, fields such as the arts and the law require great human skills. Human resources managers noted, however, that these were the areas where it was more difficult to find people who combined good knowledge and training with social skills and work-oriented values.
The study ultimately reveals that many workers have significant gaps in emotional intelligence. It also shows that these other intelligences involved in this concept are, in the long run, more important in practice than intellectual capacity. Especially when we talk about teamwork. The positive thing is that, like intellectual capacities, we can also acquire these soft skills, these values, which the business world demands. This is one of the most important pathways to professional success today.
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