What the Changing Workplace Means for Hiring Managers
Technical prowess and specific work experience are no longer the only strengths a hiring manager should consider. With the workplace evolving at breakneck speed, an individual’s ability to adapt to change is becoming an increasingly important skill for corporate positions.
According to one study, 46% of new employees fail within 18 months of their start date. A LinkedIn study says 89% of talent professionals point to a lack of soft skills as the reason.
Clearly, those who focus solely on hard skills during the hiring process are not fully assessing each candidate’s potential.
Soft skills are particularly important to corporate staff in industries where artificial intelligence and automation are becoming more prevalent. As AI assumes a greater load in the workspace, employees will be able to focus on areas where being a highly skilled human will always make a difference — areas such as customer care, empathetic leadership, creative problem-solving and more.
Soft Skills Defined
Soft skills in the workplace are the transferable interpersonal skills that are applicable in all professions. They are aspects of an individual’s personality — behavioral and attitudinal traits they are born with or have developed as they’ve grown. Examples of essential soft skills include dependability, creativity, integrity, analytical skills, time management and work ethic.
Business soft skills support an employee’s hard skills — those technical skills gained through education or hands-on experience that are needed for a specific job.
A candidate with a strong set of soft skills is better able to communicate, collaborate, build relationships and avoid or resolve conflicts, all of which contribute to a stronger, healthier workplace culture. As a result, that strong package of soft skills also enables workers to perform their hard skills with greater impact.
When Hiring, It’s Important to Balance Hard and Soft Skills
Business leaders seeking highly qualified talent should always consider both hard and soft skills when evaluating a candidate’s expertise.
A research study conducted by Harvard University, the Carnegie Foundation and Stanford Research Center found that 85% of career success comes from having well-developed soft skills and people skills.
Yet, many managers miss a vital part of the picture by looking mainly at what a candidate can do — their hard skills and experience — as opposed to how they do it.
Often, a corporate candidate’s soft skills can provide greater insight into how that individual will adapt to change, effectively work with team members and seamlessly integrate into the business culture at their company.
Essential Soft Skills for Corporate Roles
Hiring for soft skills is hiring for the future. Employees with strong soft skills can transfer learnings from other roles and apply them to new positions.
For corporate roles such as administrative assistants, human resources specialists, business operations executives or procurement specialists, soft skills are critical to the functioning of the workplace and its environment.
Individuals with the following soft skills are more likely to be resilient and agile and assimilate more easily into a new work environment. Their emotional intelligence will be an asset to any team.
- Work Ethic – A person with a strong work ethic brings commitment to their position. They’re reliable, credible, disciplined and trustworthy.
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Communication – Strong interpersonal and communication skills enable individuals to build productive working relationships with coworkers and clients.
- Teamwork – Employees who excel at teamwork inspire peers, solve problems and resolve conflicts, allowing the whole to be greater than the sum of its parts.
- Emotional Intelligence – Persons with self-awareness, empathy and motivation are better able to navigate complex social dynamics while working with multiple people both within and outside the company.
- Adaptability – An adaptable employee will remain relevant in the face of changing circumstances, such as the adoption of generative AI or shifting client needs.
Soft Skills Are Difficult to Quantify — Trust the Experts
Talent solutions partners like Aston Carter can help companies develop and implement many of the processes necessary to attract and retain well-rounded candidates for their corporate support staff.
Aston Carter is the No. 1 provider of office and clerical staffing in North America. It specializes in placing professionals in corporate functions who have both the hard and soft skills necessary to fulfill their jobs and elevate the workplace from day one.
Contact Aston Carter to gain access to the well-rounded, future-ready candidates you seek.
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