Soft non-techie skills

In my job I have the privileged opportunity to encounter quite a number of young employees who have just made their first steps in their career path or who have just entered the world of work. Most of them are well prepared academically and would give the impression that they have been trained in effective communication, team building and, perhaps, leadership. However, I must admit, our youngsters tend to be more image conscious and they generally fail to promote their own talents and skills, apart from their scholastic achievements. This becomes so evident during the selection and induction process.

Once recruited, most of our young workers would find it hard to integrate within the company and to build up a sound relationship with their superiors, peers or even with their subordinates. In effect, they take much longer to integrate primarily because of their lack of soft skills development. Unfortunately, these essential attributes are missing from our school leavers!

Obviously, this would also have an impact on their job performance and, as a result, it is felt throughout the overall business activity or operation.

In recruiting new staff, employers are insisting in evaluating what is termed as the soft skills of the candidates. Recent studies have also confirmed that employers tend to give more weight or credit to such skills rather than to the academic credentials of the candidate during the selection process. A survey conducted recently in the UK shows that "employers feel that there is an inadequate supply of applicants of sufficient calibre. They go on to explain that candidates are normally academically proficient but lacking in soft skills such as communication as well as verbal and numerical reasoning." The Maltese school leavers or graduates are no different.

In my opinion, this is still a grey area which we need to address in our endeavours to smooth out the culture and preparedness gap that exists between the educational systems at the classroom and the work practices at the workshop. The question as such is not to relate theory to practice per se, but to develope the necessary skills to their full potential to enable the student to become a fully-fletched potential employee, manager, operator or self-employed. In today's world there is no harm in allowing students to familiarise themselves with the oportunities available in all sectors of the industry or business services but rather than focusing on the technical aspect of the production or service it is more important to concentrate on the individual's application of his/her skills to the work environment.

Increasingly, companies aren't just assessing their current staff and future recruits on their business skills. They are now assessing them on a whole host of soft skill competencies as to how well they relate and communicate to others. Progressive managers are looking for people's ability to communicate clearly and openly and to listen and respond empathetically. Good soft skills also include the ability of people to balance the commercial needs of their company with the individual needs of their staff.

Being flexible and able to adapt to the changing needs of an organisation also qualify as soft skills as being able to collaborate with others and influence situations through lateral and creative thinking.

For instance, in their continual struggle to align IT with the business, IT executives say they're increasingly looking for people who have, in addition to technical chops, solid business acumen and soft skills, like strong communication and listening abilities. Writing and public speaking are two of the most important soft skills they look for when hiring new employees. This situation is also evident in other work environments such as the financial sector and call centres.

When we talk about the best asset we possess, that is, the human resource, we need to evaluate the components which constitute the real value of such an asset. It is all about the ability to enhance and develop our skills. We have made inroads in academic, technical and business knowhow - the hard skills - but we surely need to keep the same pace when it comes to soft skills.

It's a question of "good attitude" as defined by Mohan Rao, a technical director with Emmellen Biotech Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Mumbai: "It is a behavioural skill, which cannot be taught.

However, it can be developed through continuous training. It represents the reactive nature of the individual and is about looking at things with the right perspective. You must be ready to solve problems proactively and create win-win situations. And you must be able to take ownership, i.e. responsibility, for your actions and lead from the front without calling it quits at the most critical moment".

matyas@maltanet.net