20 most asked questions around soft skills

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How Soft-Skills Power Organizational Performance

Soft Skills Workplace

ANSWERING THE 20

ABOUT

Most Asked Questionsin the



Rusty LindquistV P H C M S T R A T E G Y & I N S I G H T S

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Michelle ReedC H I E F M A R K E T I N G O F F I C E R

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Why is there so much clamor today around soft-skills?



* Source: CareerBuilder

Flexible51%

Self Motivated

66%

Strong Work Ethic

73%Dependable73%

Positive Attitude

72%Team-Oriented60%

Organized57%

Works Well Under Pressure

57%

Effective Communicator

56%

Confident46%

Hiring managers want more



of newly hired employees will fail within

18 months

* Source: “Hire for Attitude” Forbes, January 23, 2012 † Source: “Hiring for attitude: Research & tools to skyrocket your success rate” Mark Murphy, Leadership IQ, 2012

for lack of soft skills – such as professionalism or ability

to get along with others

Resign yourself tothis reality

89% 46%



According to CareerBuilder:

77% of employers believe that soft skills are just as important as hard skills.

Almost 20% said they were more important than hard skills.

http://www.careerbuilder.com/share/aboutus/pressreleasesdetail.aspx?sd=4/10/2014&id=pr817&ed=12/31/2014



What is the difference between hard skills and soft-skills?



Hard SkillsSkills that are learned to perform a specific job function and are more easily identifiable and quantifiable.

Mostly about “what you know”

VS

Soft SkillsSkills that are less tangible, and more associated with one’s traits or personality, that determine how we interact.

Mostly about “how you act”.



EQ

Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the “something” in each of us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we manage behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal decisions that achieve positive results.

Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and understand emotions in yourself and others, and your ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and relationships.

Travis BradberryAuthor, Emotional Intelligence 2.0



Soft Skills: What are they?



What are the most important soft skills, and why?

Professionalism InterpersonalSkills

Problem Solvingand Adaptability

Personal ValueCommitment

ManagingOthers Leadership

True Predictors of SuccessProficiency in a short list of competency areas, which focus on soft skills, are the true predictors of success in almost every job.



How do soft-skills impact culture?



Soft Skills: Cultural Fit



Following a national survey of job seekers and HR professionals, 43% said that “cultural fit” was the single most important determining factor when making a new hire.

“The Multi-Generational Job Search”

-Millennial Branding & Beyond.com



How can you use soft-skills to assess cultural fit?



Should you test for soft-skills when hiring?If so, how?



How do soft-skills impact employee performance and productivity?



18th Century 19th Century 20th Century 21st Century

Agricultural Age(farmers)

Industrial Age(factory workers)

Information Age(knowledge workers)

Conceptual Age(creators and empathizers)

AffluenceTechnology

Globalization

High

Low

AbundanceAutomationAsia

Dan PinkA Whole New Mind



"HR today sits smack-dab in the middle of the most compelling competitive battleground in business, where companies deploy and fight over that most valuable of resources—workforce talent."

-Matthew D. BreitfelderHBR: “Why did we ever go into HR”

–Ram Charan Best-selling Author, World-renowned Business Advisor

–Bersin by Deloitte



Are soft-skills even more important than hard skills? If so, when?



What other outcomes do soft-skills impact?



Soft Skills: An Economic Necessity



Studies have shown that a high emotional quotient (or EQ) boosts career success, entrepreneurial potential, leadership talent, health, relationship satisfaction, humor, and happiness. It is also the best antidote to work stress and it matters in every job — because all jobs involve dealing with people, and people with higher EQ are more rewarding to deal with.

-HBR

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/job.714/abstract

http://www.drtomascp.com/uploads/EQNomics_PAID_2011.pdf

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=leadershipfacpub

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1013&context=leadershipfacpub

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S019188691000276X

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0191886902002428

http://www.drtomascp.com/uploads/HierarchicalHumour_PAID_2008.pdf

http://www.drtomascp.com/uploads/HappyPersonality_PAID_2007.pdf

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/iops.12001/abstract

https://hbr.org/2013/05/can-you-really-improve-your-em/



While leaders need analytical competencies such as those associated with strategy, finance and all the planning processes, research on Emotional Intelligence suggests it is increasingly the "soft" skills that differentiate those who are highly successful from those who just get by.

- “What makes a leader” HBR

“





What can’t be replaced in any organization imaginable in the future is precisely what seems overlooked today: liberal arts skills, such as creativity, empathy, listening, and vision. These skills, not digital or technological ones, will hold the keys to a company’s future success. And yet companies aren’t hiring for them. This is a problem for today’s digital companies, and it’s only going to get worse.

- Tom Perrault, Chief People Officer

“



Can you measure soft-skill competency? If so, how?



How do you identify (and record) soft-skills in your existing employees?



Should soft-skill development become part of our professional development curriculum?



What is the impact of millennials on soft-skills in the workplace?Do they have more or less than their older counterparts?



How do soft-skills relate to or impact diversity?



Can you hold people accountable for soft-skills? If so, how do you avoid subjectivity?



How do you identify soft-skills needed for a job? For a department?



Should you talk about soft-skills on a job description? If so, how?



How do you check for soft-skills when calling references?



Feedback related to past work performance is the single best predictor of

future job success



“When the criterion was academic achievement or job performance, other-ratings yielded predictive validities substantially greater than and incremental to self-ratings.”

Connelly & Ones, 2010, p. 1092

“Nothing in the science of prediction and selection beats observing actual performance in an equivalent role.”

Peter Cappelli, Director, Center for Human Resources, The Wharton School

Job Specific Insights from References

Better Compliance

More Informed Hiring Decisions

A different approach



Studies and published reportsare proof!



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Thank you!

–Bersin by Deloitte



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Rusty LindquistV P H C M S T R A T E G Y & I N S I G H T S

B A M B O O H R

@ r u s t y l i n d q u i s t

r u s t y @ b a m b o o h r . c o m

w w w. l i n k e d i n . c o m / i n / r u s t y l i n d q u i s t

Michelle ReedC H I E F M A R K E T I N G O F F I C E R

S K I L L S U R V E Y

@ r e e d m i c h e l l e 1 3

m r e e d @ s k i l l s u r v e y . c o m

w w w. l i n k e d i n . c o m / i n / r e e d m i c h e l l e 1 3

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20 most asked questions around soft skills

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Transcript of 20 most asked questions around soft skills