Organisations across industries have been increasing their investment into soft skills training for their employees. The main reason being that hard skills are required to do a task. The soft skills, however, are the ones that get people to do these very tasks effectively and efficiently.
HR departments usually:
1) Map the various soft skills required at different levels, for different functions and departments
2) Assess where their various employees are in terms of their capabilities vis-à-vis the required skills
3) Design a developmental plan for each employee
4) Develop and deliver programs to bridge the gap or enhance the current capabilities to the desired levels
5) Track progress on the Job
This is no doubt an exercise which can be time consuming and difficult to implement, specially in large organizations. Hence many organisations prefer conducting standard or off-the-shelf soft skills trainings essential for various groups and levels. Employees may then nominate themselves for their desired sessions or may be nominated by their HR or Superiors.
Some common soft skills that almost all organizations are in need of conducting are:
Communication Skills / Interpersonal Skills training
This is the most common soft skills training programme conducted by almost all organisations. And I guess also obvious as communication skills are a must, irrespective of the job role and the industry you work in. People need to interact effectively with their customers as well as with each other using the various modes of communication. In Covid Times more virtually.
Team Building Training
The second most common soft skill training that organisations want their employees to attend is Team Building. Organisations today are like a web. A web of people located at different places, interacting and working together to achieve a desired result. They are faced with multiple challenges on a daily basis. Managing difference of opinions, conflicts, timelines, office politics, group think, hierarchy, targets, etc. And its only a well bonded team that can overcome these obstacles.
Sales Training
Salesmen are the horses of every Organisational Chariot! And no organisation can survive without a robust sales team. They are the eyes, ears and face of the organisation. Any investment in enhancing their capabilities therefore results in increasing the top and bottom line. Hence sales training programs also attracts a lot of importance in the bucket list of important soft skills.
Time management training
Managing time in this rapidly moving world is a challenge for everyone. Yet time management is life management. Everyone has the same amount of time. How you utilise it, however, decides how far you move in life!
Organisations have understood this well and hence time management skills is one of the key soft skills that is commonly identified for sharpening and at all levels. After all, its only when one is able to work on priorities that they can achieve their goals. And that holds true at every level!
Leadership/Managerial training
Finally, to ensure that the executors achieve the desired output, you need a bunch of good managers and leaders. Their job entails managing daily tasks, supervising and motivating their teams, overcoming road blocks, setting goals and strategising the way forward. And to perform these tasks well, leaders and managers need to be continuously trained and re-trained.
Honestly, the generic soft skills list is endless and I can go on and on. However, the topics mentioned above are great to get started with. So, Happy Learning!
And of course, if you need any help when it comes to designing and delivering such sessions for your organisation, we are always there. So, check out our list of offerings and do get in touch with us.