Soft Skills Development

 

Soft skills are character and interpersonal skills of people where it used to collaborate and interact with others. The Future of Job report says In 2025, Complex problem-solving, critical solving skills, emotional intelligence, and people management are the most important skills needed in the workplace. It is used to build trust, relationships, dependability, and lead teams. It is vital for both personal and professional success.

Importance of soft skills 

For individuals 

Career development 

iCIMS Hiring Insights (2017) suggested that 94% of recruiters think employees with stronger soft skills are promoted to senior positions than experienced employees with weaker soft skills. It identifies candidates uniquely in the job interview.

Development of interpersonal skills 

Professionals should prioritize interpersonal skills, such as active learning, collaboration, presenting ideas, and effective communication with coworkers. These skills are innate personality traits and how you will handle different social situations. Effective interpersonal skills can have a positive impact on career advancement. Employer expects human resource assistants to have conflict resolution and empathy skills. An employer expects the financial director to show strong leadership skills. However, they may not emphasize conflict resolution.

High demand for soft skills 

According to the Harvard Paper 2017, the importance of social skills in the labor market grew by 12% in the US labor market. According to LinkedIn research, the most in-demand soft skills are communication, organization, teamwork, critical thinking, social skills, creativity, interpersonal communication, and adaptability.

For Business

Increased productivity - Employees will do their tasks and responsibilities in the right way and help to achieve their organizational goals and objectives.

Improved teamwork - Teamwork is necessary to achieve the common goals of the organization. Teamwork can bring quality work by utilizing individual strengths and skills.

Improved retention rate - 63% of UK employees select an employer who offers training and development opportunities. Recruitment costs for the company are reduced with increased staff retention.

Improved employee satisfaction -  Employees feel valued and appreciated gives a positive outlook of the company and increases job satisfaction.

Improved leadership - 50% of employees leave their jobs due to poor managers. Soft skills are needed for leadership positions.

Increased workplace communication - effective communication between staff increases which consequently decreases the risk of messages being disturbed.

Examples of soft skills 

  • Communication skills 
  • Teamwork and collaboration
  • leadership and decision making
  • problem-solving
  • Emotional intelligence
  • Time management 
  • Adaptability 
  • Public speaking

Strategies for developing soft skills 

  • Regularly receive feedback from colleagues, managers, and mentors to identify the improvement areas. Critical feedback helps employees to identify strengths and weaknesses.

  • Listen to others actively. Express interest by nodding, eye contact, asking questions for clarification

  • Build teamwork through participating in group projects, and volunteering for committees.

  • Practice empathy and be careful about how you react to stressful situations. Advancing a higher Emotional intelligence helps in personal and professional success.

  • Being open to new experiences will show different perspectives and help you to become more adaptable and resilient.

 References 

Barnard, D., 2019. The Importance of Soft Skills. [Online]
Available at: https://virtualspeech.com/blog/importance-soft-skills
[Accessed 16 April 2025].

Kumar, P., 2024. Soft Skills Development: Importance in Career Growth. [Online]
Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/soft-skills-development-importance-career-growth-pratyush-kumar-be8ne?trk=news-guest
[Accessed 16 April 2024].

Herrity, J., 2025. Interpersonal Skills: Definitions, Examples and How To Improve. [Online]
Available at: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/resumes-cover-letters/interpersonal-skills
[Accessed 16 April 2025].

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