The pandemic has forced employers to be more flexible when hiring highly skilled and qualified candidates for certain positions. As a direct result of spending the better part of the past two years working strictly from home, many employees need to brush up on their soft skills such as communication, critical thinking, and creativity, among other things. If anything, the pandemic has highlighted the growing importance of soft skills in an increasingly digital workforce and world.
How the Pandemic Has Increased the Value of Soft Skills in the Workforce?
Working from home or remotely has changed the landscape of virtually every business industry across the globe. Office workers, in particular, were forced to make significant changes to their daily routines—namely by not commuting to and from work every day. Living in isolation and lockdown may have softened some people’s social skills, which are often vital in conducting successful business transactions and forging connections. After a year of mainly hosting virtual meetings, returning to in-person meetings and social functions can be challenging, but that’s why it’s more important than ever to cultivate certain soft skills used in professional and personal endeavours.
Post-Pandemic Soft Skills to Master for Professional Success
As employees become reacquainted with office life and adjust to the new normal, they need to almost relearn a series of essential work-related soft skills. With the help of professional soft skills training services, companies can provide employees with the tools they need to strengthen the following capabilities and boost productivity and performance levels.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to monitor your workplace emotions and not let your personal feelings impact your work performance. It also means showing empathy for other people’s situations and taking the time to understand their perspectives on things without getting offended or taking it too personally.
Adaptability, Flexibility, and Resiliency
These traits have always been absolutely crucial to achieving professional success. Now more than ever, it’s important to understand that things can change at the drop of a hat and that each employee has to be able to go with the ebb and flow of things.
Digital Skills
Long before the pandemic, digital skills and tech-savviness were vital traits for the optimal performance and productivity of modern work operations. Most jobs at the very least require basic computer skills just to get by, but the more tech-savvy you are, the more likely you are to climb up the proverbial professional ladder.
Creativity, Innovation, Conflict Resolution
All of these soft skills go hand in hand because they require effective and in-depth critical thinking skills. The ability to think outside the box and come up with creative yet feasible solutions is precisely what employers are looking for. It sets candidates apart from one another in a hypercompetitive job market and highlights each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses aptly.
Communication
Written and oral communication soft skills are crucial in today’s job market, especially since most correspondences are done through virtual meetings, phone calls, and emails.
Get Professional Soft Skills Training Online
The Soft Skills Group offers professional soft skills training, including conflict management and communication soft skills, amongst others, to a wide range of organizations. Through education and a variety of learning solutions, we strive to empower companies and individuals to improve their workplace dynamics by harnessing the power of various types of soft skills. Contact us today to book a session.
