There’s an old saying among recruiters and other hiring professionals – “Hire for attitude, train for aptitude.” Yet how many companies really do that? Look at any job description or posting and you’ll see plenty about the technical skills required and very little about the personal qualities or soft skills needed to succeed in the role. Also, aside from management training, most corporate training programs focus on keeping their employees’ product or technical expertise up to date. Well, the tide is turning.
A recent global research project by Hyper Island – Tomorrow’s Most Wanted found that personal qualities and “soft skills” as opposed to technical skills are the most desirable qualities for the employee of the future.
Not to say that technical skills aren’t important, they are, but tomorrow’s “most wanted” will have a combination of the requisite technical skills, personal qualities and soft skills. The top qualities and skills identified by the world, according to the survey:
Personal qualities: Driven, creative, open-minded
Skills: Idea development, problem solving, creative technology
Other personal qualities that ranked high: trustful, compassionate, stress tolerant, results-oriented.
In light of all this, I say it’s time we rethink how we develop job descriptions and go about attracting and developing the right people for the right positions within our organizations. Create a culture where the “soft skills” are valued as much or more than the “hard skills.” Review your learning and development strategy to ensure that employees have opportunities to build their capabilities in problem solving, innovation, emotional intelligence and other competencies that will help them succeed. Promote people to leadership roles not because they are the best at the function or have been there the longest, but because they demonstrate the personal qualities that will set the bar for the organization in creating the workforce for the future.
Till next time,
Karen
