Kyle Lagunas is the HR Analyst at Software Advice. On the surface, it’s his job to contribute to the ongoing conversation on all things HR. Beyond that, he makes sure his audience is keeping up with important trends and hot topics in the industry. Focused on offering a fresh take on points of interest in his market, he’s not your typical HR guy. Find out more about him at his blog Software Advice.

Soft skills – those oh-so-important qualities such as adaptability, critical thinking and creativity – are what’s needed to bridge the gap between good and great employees. Unlike with black-and-white technical skills, however, these types of competencies often fall in a gray area of subjectivity. Given the value organizations place on soft skills, it’s essential for human resource (HR) managers to regularly assess their soft skills training programs.

Creating objective ways to measure things that are really subjective, however, can be a serious challenge. There are some things to keep in mind when measuring soft skills programs, and also a few tools that can simplify information gathering and analysis.

Three Keys to Successful Skills Measurement

Leadership needs data that illustrates the value of soft skills training programs. As such you need to identify what matters most to your organization, and there are a few key factors that will help you in uncovering the most actionable information:

●     Determine what you’ll be measuring. It’s important that your organization clearly defines which soft skills are most important, and your company’s core values should guide this discussion closely. For instance, if your organization values internal succession then ensuring employees have the right types of leadership development and mentoring would be critical.

●     Get leadership on board. Rolling out a measurement strategy will be an uphill battle with little payoff unless you have a unified front. Establish clarity and alignment at the outset, as this measurement process will require buy-in across the board.

●     Keep it simple and focused. It’s best to start small and focus measurement around one or two competency areas. The soft skills most essential to your organizations’ specific goals are the best place to start.

Customer & Employee Relations a Good Place to Start

There are two tried-and-true facets of your organization that offer a good starting place to identify areas for improvement. In order to determine where employees need further training, ask two simple questions:

●     Are customers happy and coming back? Efforts to provide customers with the service that keeps them coming back may require some intensive company-wide customer service training, particularly in areas such as conflict resolution or active listening. If leadership is looking to measure how soft skills deliver return on investment (ROI), this is a great place to start gathering actionable data.

●     Do employees have what they need to succeed? Not surprising, it’s important to understand how your employees feel day to day – and I’m not just talking about general job satisfaction. If your people aren’t happy, it’s bound to show in the way they relate to your customers and to each other – which might be an indication that you’re investing in the wrong areas.

Surveys to Software: Gathering & Reviewing Data

Many organizations rely on traditional performance reviews to measure employees’ soft skills competency. Additionally, focus groups and surveys also offer an opportunity to gather feedback specifically about your soft skills training programs. These data sources combined can be used to begin formulating a baseline of how employees are doing in key areas.

By providing actionable data on key areas – retention rates, time to proficiency, cost per employee, etc. – analytics tools found in many talent management systems go a long way in illustrating benchmarks that your business leaders can understand and appreciate. They offer organizations the ability to gather hard data and identify changes and trends in the workforce – areas that can be tracked to soft skill competencies and development.

Regardless of the type of tool used, though, the point here is that you gather the data. With this information, you can then explore questions, such as: Are you seeing increased employee retention? What improvements are these initiatives having on performance and productivity? Starting small and remaining focused helps, as does a healthy dose of patience and perseverance.

Article reference source from Software Advice.

And that’s soft skills!

What are soft skills?

Hard skills refer to teachable and measurable skills such typing speed or the ability to use Excel functions to analyze data, while soft skills refer to character traits and communication skills that affect day-to-day social interactions. Examples of soft skills that are valued at the workplace include leadership, self-motivation and the ability to think critically.

An employee at a telecommunications company can have all the technical knowledge needed to help customers with troubleshooting, but if he lacks the social graces and communication skills to deal with situations like a customer complaint, ultimately, he would still fail to do his job well.

This factsheet gives you five great reasons why honing your soft skills is one of the best investments you must make.

1. Soft skills take you from mediocrity to excellence

IT Training magazine conducted a survey which found that communication skills and interpersonal skills (soft skills) were the main factors contributing to career success.

Picture this: There are two possible candidates, A and B for a management position. Their technical skills are on par. A shows great leadership potential and is able to get along better with his colleagues. On the other hand, B is less organized and occasionally, gets caught in conflicts. It comes as no surprise when A gets the promotion.

Here’s another example: Product knowledge isn’t enough when you work in sales. How many times have you been swayed by sales personnel because of their ability to make you feel comfortable with their personable service?

2. Personal growth and development

Soft skills do not just come in handy at the workplace; above all, they are essential in life.

Soft skills such as having a positive attitude towards life and integrity will take you far in both your social and personal spheres as well. Every day, we deal with stress in various forms. Possessing self-motivation and the ability to manage stress will allow you to sail through life with greater ease.

Prioritizing and performing your tasks systematically is not only applicable when your superior hands you a list of tasks to do. Having planning and organization skills enables you to competently plan an itinerary when you travel free and easy.

3. Open more doors for yourself

It has been said that hard skills will get you a job interview, but ultimately, soft skills will land you the job.

The business climate of today is such that the job market is brimming with jobseekers with university degrees and skills certifications. With the intense competition, the need to stand out from the crowd has become even more pertinent. What will give you an edge over jobseekers of similar calibre?

What’s the use of having aced your studies and having the right skills if no one knows about them? During an interview, you’ll need to market yourself. Knowing the right way to interact and subtly bring your strong points across is very likely to bag you the job. With the tight competition, perception is the only thing that counts.

4. Be better at your job

Social interaction is part and parcel of every job. Learning how to negotiate interpersonal relationships is thus half the battle won. A managerial position requires a mixed bag of soft skills. For instance: the ability to resolve conflicts among the team, the art of delegating duties and the finesse to toe the thin line between being over-friendly and too domineering.

Not everyone is born with these skills. Opting for training in the third will thus make him or her a more well-rounded manager.

5. Achieve the perfect balance

After all that’s been said and done, hard skills and soft skills co-exist harmoniously. Having one without the other is like having nachos without cheese – something’s just missing.

To bring out the best of your abilities, work on your soft skills!

If you find that your soft skills need some beefing up, the good news is that they can be honed with training and practice. Training workshops will enable you to learn about the fundamentals of the respective soft skills, and learn about exercises or methods to put what you have learnt into practice.

Verztec Learning offers a comprehensive range of soft skills training programmes and workshops delivered by professional and engaging facilitators. Make the first step towards laying the foundation for a better future today. Visit www.verzteclearning.com for more information

Verztec Learning is the Management Training, Learning and Development Solutions division of Verztec Consulting, an international leading provider of global content management services.