SOFT SKILLS WHY?

A clever person did his M Tech from IIT, New Delhi. He also has an MBA from IIM, Ahmedabad. However, he still could not get the job of his choice during campus recruitment. Reason: Blame it on his soft skills or rather the lack of them. These include communication, listening, negotiation, etiquette, language skills etc. Hence, he could not compete with his fellow students who got better jobs. Soft skills play a vital role for professional success; they help one to excel in the workplace and their importance cannot be denied in this age of information and knowledge. Good soft skills -- which are in fact scarce -- in the highly competitive corporate world will help you stand out in a milieu of routine job seekers with mediocre skills and talent. The Smyth County Industry Council, a governing body based in the US, conducted a survey recently. The results of the survey was called the Workforce Profile which found "an across-the-board unanimous profile of skills and characteristics needed to make a good employee." The people most likely to be hired for available jobs have what employers call "soft skills". Here were some of the findings according to the workforce study: The most common traits, mentioned by virtually every employer, were: Positive work ethic. Good attitude. Desire to learn and be trained. Mohan Rao, a technical director with Emmellen Biotech Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Mumbai defines a 'good attitude: "It is a behavioral skill, which cannot be taught. However it can be developed through continuous training. It represents the reactive nature of the individual and is about looking at things with the right perspective. You must be ready to solve problems proactively and create win-win situations. Also, you must be able to take ownership i.e. responsibility for your actions and lead from the front without calling it quits at the most critical moment." Most of the business leaders observed that they could find workers who have "hard skills" i.e. the capability to operate machinery or fulfill other tasks, but many potential hires lack the "soft skills" that a company needs. CEOs and human resource managers said they are ready to hire workers who demonstrate a high level of "soft skills" and then train them for the specific jobs available. The ever-changing impact of technology has given hard-skills-only workers a short shelf life. According to results of the Workforce Profile, (source: www.workforce.com) the more valuable employee is one who can grow and learn as the business changes. Soft skills "are as important, if not more important, than traditional hard skills to an employer looking to hire -regardless of industry or job type. This could offer a major breakthrough as educators and training providers seek to develop and cluster training courses to fit business and industry needs."

Top 60 Soft Skills

The Workforce Profile defined about 60 "soft skills", which employers seek. They are applicable to any field of work, according to the study, and are the "personal traits and skills that employers state are the most important when selecting employees for jobs of any type."
1. Math. 2. Safety. 3. Courtesy. 4. Honesty. 5. Grammar. 6. Reliability. 7. Flexibility. 8. Team skills. 9. Eye contact. 10. Cooperation. 11. Adaptability. 12. Follow rules. 13. Self-directed. 14. Good attitude. 15. Writing skills. 16. Driver's license. 17. Dependability. 18. Advanced math. 19. Self-supervising. 20. Good references. 21. Being drug free. 22. Good attendance. 23. Personal energy. 24. Work experience. 25. Ability to measure. 26. Personal integrity. 27. Good work history. 28. Positive work ethic. 29. Interpersonal skills. 30. Motivational skills. 31. Valuing education. 32. Personal chemistry. 33. Willingness to learn. 34. Common sense. 35. Critical thinking skills. 36. Knowledge of fractions. 37. Reporting to work on time. 38. Use of rulers and calculators. 39. Good personal appearance. 40. Wanting to do a good job. 41. Basic spelling and grammar. 42. Reading and comprehension. 43. Ability to follow regulations. 44. Willingness to be accountable. 45. Ability to fill out a job application. 46. Ability to make production quotas. 47. Basic manufacturing skills training. 48. Awareness of how business works. 49. Staying on the job until it is finished. 50. Ability to read and follow instructions. 51. Willingness to work second and third shifts. 52. Caring about seeing the company succeed. 53. Understanding what the world is all about. 54. Ability to listen and document what you have heard. 55. Commitment to continued training and learning. 56. Willingness to take instruction and responsibility. 57. Ability to relate to coworkers in a close environment. 58. Not expecting to become a supervisor in the first six months. 59. Willingness to be a good worker + go beyond that. 60. Communication skills with everyone.

I add some important skills: Anger management Positive thinking Patience Ability to learn fast So, evaluate yourself, how many soft skills do you have?

How to improve your soft skills? In a previous article we listed 60 soft skills, which if practiced at the workplace, could boost your professional life. Subjects like financial management, marketing management, HR management can be taught in the classroom and can be studied at home. But not soft skills. Soft skills are acquired and experienced on the spot and cannot be developed by merely reading textbooks. The soft skills you gain will equip you to excel in your professional life and in your personal life. It is a continuous learning process. The 60 soft skills mentioned can be classified into corporate skills, employability skills and life skills. In some parts of the world like in USA and Australia, soft skills are also known as world skills. Corporate skills These are generally CEO level skills, but if you are familiar with them you will be in a position to guide your boss towards success ie working together for a common goal as a team. You can become a courageous follower as mentioned by Ira Chaleff in his award-winning book Courageous Follower: Standing Up To and For Our Leaders. These skills include: Political sensitivity. Business and commercial awareness. Strategic awareness. Understanding funding streams and mechanisms. Information management. Organisation and control. Team building. Communication and persuasion. Networking and public relations. Leading change. Employability skills These have to be mastered by employable graduates and freshers include communication, team working, leadership, initiative, problem solving, flexibility and enthusiasm. Every skill helps us to learn one more as they overlap each other. To quote an example, leadership encompasses a number of other skills including cooperating with others, planning and organising, making decisions and verbal communication. Verbal communication itself involves various means of communication, some of which you may find easier than others -- talking over the phone, making a presentation to a group, explaining something to a person with a more limited understanding of the topic for example. By improving one skill, you may also improve a number of others. In the context of your career planning and development, they are called career management skills Life skills These skills are related to the head, heart, hands and health ie highly personal and behavioural skills which reflects our personality and naturally helps in personality development. We manage and think with our head. Resilience, keeping records, making wise use of resources, planning/organising and goal setting are 'head' related managerial functions. Service learning,

Critical thinking, problem solving, decision making and learning to learn were related to our thinking processes, which we manage with our head. Functions of the heart are relating to people and caring. How do we relate to people? We relate to people by accepting differences, conflict resolutions, social skills, cooperation and communication. The second function we do through our heart is caring. We care through nurturing relationships, sharing, empathy and concern for others. We give and work through our hands. Community service, volunteering, leadership, responsible citizenship and contributions to group effort -- are our way giving back to society. We work through our marketable skills, teamwork and self-motivation to get the things done. Living and being comes under the functions of health. Healthy lifestyle choices, stress management, disease prevention and personal safety are our prime concerns for better living. Self-esteem, self-responsibility, character, managing feelings and self-discipline must be practiced without fail for our well-being. In a nutshell, the essence of life skills is share well, care well and fare well. Things to do everyday (Follow these ten golden rules and enjoy every moment of living!) Greet your family members first thing in the morning. If you are not used to this, they will be surprised with your sudden and nice gesture. Greet your peers, subordinates and boss once you enter the office. Smile at even the 'security' personnel standing at the gate, who takes care of your safety. Greet your friends along the way and do not ignore them. Continously reciprocate to breed communication. If you do not reciprocate at least with a 'thanks' when you get information or a source on your online network or your offline network, you will not be remembered for a long time. If you are not remembered, you are out of your network. Be a proactive listener and empathise with others to command respect. While talking to others, your voice, tone and tenor must be audible and soothing. It should not be aggressive or in a shouting mode. Dress well to suit your profession and to create positive vibes in your workplace. If you are a sales representative, do not go out with printed shirts and jeans, which may turn down your customer. Political and religious comments must be avoided at all costs in the workplace, when you are in a group. Your communication should not provoke others. Do not speak ill of others if you can help it.

Annoyance With most of us spending 10-14 hours at work everyday, our workplaces have become our second homes. As a result, even the slightest of hindrances here tend to blow up into vexing issues, particularly if they are not tackled in time. Very often, these issues relate to our colleagues' behaviour. It can get a little awkward when it come to addressing some of these directly, as a lot of them concern subtle aspects of behaviour that are difficult to articulate. Let's take a look at some of the most annoying aspects of workplace behaviour and what we can do about them. Groupism This is by far the most annoying aspect of a workplace. "It can absolutely turn you off," says Revathi M, assistant manager -- sales, with an IT security company. "It takes a heavy toll on productivity because, if you don't belong in a certain group, you tend to feel left out. Then, you don't enjoy going to work anymore."The snide remarks and covert glances that result from groupism are not only thoroughly unprofessional, they can also result in emotional hurt which is often difficult to express. It eventually leads to frustration and may result in people leaving their jobs. Casual chatter "The most irritating thing at the workplace is groups of women chatting endlessly about clothes, cosmetics and jewelery. Some of them even trade in these items at work. I think it's really unprofessional," says Purnima Gupta, a teacher at a reputed Mumbai school. While casual conversations are fine when one wants to make small talk, one needs to realise extended chatter at the workplace disturbs other people. It also looks unprofessional. Hypocrisy This is widely touted as being omnipresent and is universally detested. Sugary sweet behaviour in front of a person and backstabbing comments behind their back are known to prevail in virtually every kind of human interaction. The natural fallout of hypocrisy at the workplace is lack of trust, which greatly affects work relationships and productivity. Discrimination "When we are angry with something our boss does, we try hard to control our emotions and behave in a subdued manner. However, if a peon goofs up even slightly, a lot of us don't think twice before yelling at him. Is this justified?" wonders Revathi. Dignity of labour and respect for all kinds of work is a prerequisite for a healthy work environment. We must appreciate that people at all levels provide value with whatever work they do. It can be discouraging if they are not treated with dignity, considering they work to the best of their ability, given individual constraints. Messy cubicle partners Another trait that can really upset people is messy surroundings. Eating at the workstation and dropping tidbits of food, or having heaps of papers and files that spill over to your neighbours' desks can be very bothersome. A lot of people are fussy about cleanliness and are used to a certain standard of hygiene around them. If those standards are not met at the workplace, it can be very demotivating. Undue inquisitiveness While it is common for colleagues to turn into good friends over time, a certain level of formality is expected while one is at work. When this formality is breached, not everyone may take it well.

"When colleagues are unduly concerned about where I went the previous evening, with whom, why, etc, I really feel like telling them it is none of their business. If I wish to share personal thoughts with someone at the workplace, I need to be comfortable with that person. It has to be voluntary. The concept of personal space and privacy is rather alien to our culture," observes Purnima. Taking credit It is but natural that we want to be appreciated for the work we do. However, since most of the work we do in an organisation is team effort, it is important credit is accordingly shared. "When it comes to getting work done, the higher-ups often give pep talks on how team work is important. However, when the results come in, each individual and department wants the credit. Typically, in any organisation, the frontline sales people take away the appreciation. The backend operations group is conveniently forgotten, even though they contribute significantly to the success. This can be extremely frustrating for the people who have worked behind the scenes," says Revathi. Talking loudly "I wish some people had silencers fitted into their throats!" says Purnima exasperatedly. "At work, one must realise formal, subdued behaviour is called for. Etiquette demands we keep our voice low so others are not disturbed. The most annoying bit is when people excitedly almost yell over their phones for no reason. I'm sure it's equally annoying for the person at the other end of the line." Talking loudly is often associated with rustic behaviour that lacks sophistication. It is advisable we keep our tone and pitch low when we are around colleagues. Tackling annoying behavior It is indeed difficult to keep your cool and focus on productivity when behavioural factors affect performance at work. But it is necessary to be assertive if one has to solve the problem. Of course, assertiveness is different from being accusatory. Assertiveness is all about talking in a factual manner without being judgmental. It involves conveying facts and their possible repercussions without getting emotional, or rude, in the process. Though it is easier said than done, professionalism demands one remain objective while dealing with such situations. At the organisational level, the HR department -- and managers and supervisors as welll -- need to have a keen eye for observing team dynamics. Active intervention and counselling go a long way in smoothing ruffled feathers. Avoiding annoying behaviour As individuals, there are a few things that may help us avoid being in the bad books of our colleagues: Avoid backbiting At the workplace, never discuss a person in his/ her absence. This simple rule goes a long way in maintaining a healthy environment. Seek feedback If you think a colleague has been shying away from you for a while, casually enquire to find out if your behaviour has upset him/ her. If that is the case, patiently listen to your colleague's feelings without getting defensive. Once the person has opened up, it can be easier to resolve the issue.

Respect everyone Imagine the situation if the entire housekeeping staff goes on strike. We often take a lot of people for granted simply because they may not demand attention. But that does not mean their work is any less important. Observe formality A lot of your colleagues may become good friends over time. However, work ethics dictate you remain sensitive to the feelings of everyone at the workplace. Hence, over-friendly behaviour ought to be avoided. Source: http://www.extension.iastate.edu/learningandliving/main/tlsmodel.html
The Targeting Life Skills (TLS) Model
Hendricks, P.A. Targeting Life Skills Model. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Extension, November 1996. 4H-137A. Reprinted with permission.