What are hard and soft skills?
Before determining when to prioritise one skill type over the other, it is important to understand the difference between hard and soft skills.
Hard skills are the teachable and measurable abilities that individuals can acquire through training, education or experience. Examples might include data analysis, computer skills, welding, foreign languages or proficiency in specific software programs. In most cases, these skills are verifiable, typically through qualifications, certifications or previous roles.
Soft skills, in contrast, refer to interpersonal and cognitive abilities, such as communication, adaptability, emotional intelligence, leadership and creative thinking. These are more difficult to measure but often determine how well a person works within a team, copes with stress, leads others or adjusts to new challenges.
Importantly, soft skills are not just optional extras, as they influence how technical skills are applied and how employees respond to feedback, collaborate with others and handle setbacks. An employee with great technical skills but poor emotional intelligence, for instance, might struggle to lead or contribute effectively to a team. Conversely, someone who communicates well, adapts quickly and takes initiative can often learn technical elements on the job.
Matching skills to business needs
Understanding which skills are more relevant to a given role begins with reviewing your organisation’s immediate and long-term objectives. In fields like engineering, IT security or accounting, where precision, compliance or technical ability are a must, hard skills are usually non-negotiable. These roles require proven capabilities from day one, especially when errors could pose legal, safety or financial risks.
On the other hand, roles in people management, customer service, sales and project coordination tend to rely heavily on soft skills. A marketing coordinator, for instance, not only needs to know how to use analytics software but also communicate strategy, manage changing priorities and adapt to fast-paced campaigns. In such roles, soft skills can be a stronger predictor of long-term success than technical expertise alone.
In many scenarios, a balance of hard and soft skills is ideal, but knowing which to prioritise is a strategic decision that affects long-term outcomes.
When hard skills matter most
Hard skills are essential in roles that involve:
- Regulatory or safety requirements
- High-risk environments (e.g. healthcare, finance, aviation)
- Immediate productivity or billable work
- Quickly evolving technologies that take time to learn
- Formal certification or licensing (e.g. trades, law, engineering)
Hard skills need to be prioritised in roles where employees are expected to apply their expertise from day one or where technical qualifications are mandated by industry standards. This is especially important in situations where compliance, regulatory or safety requirements are at stake, or where onboarding needs to be short due to time constraints or limited resources. Hiring someone without the right qualifications or experience could lead to costly mistakes, reputational damage or compliance breaches. Similarly, roles in industries with fast-changing technologies, such as IT, engineering or healthcare, often require candidates to have current, verifiable expertise. Hard skills are also essential when the role involves measurable technical tasks linked to productivity targets or KPIs.
For example, when hiring a systems engineer to develop cybersecurity infrastructure, employers typically look for formal certifications, practical experience and proven ability in comparable environments. To support hiring decisions in these cases, many organisations use pre-employment skills assessments and task-based simulations. These tools can help verify an applicant’s technical proficiency and reduce guesswork during recruitment.
It is also important to note that hard skills often have a shorter shelf life. With technology and digital tools evolving rapidly, technical expertise needs to be updated regularly. For this reason, employers may prioritise candidates with a demonstrated ability to keep their skills current, be it through certifications, self-directed learning or practical experience with the latest tools.
When soft skills take precedence
Soft skills matter most in roles that involve:
- Teamwork and collaboration
- Leadership and people management
- Customer service or sales
- Fast-paced or constantly evolving environments
- Remote or hybrid work settings
Soft skills often take priority in roles that are dynamic, team-based or client-facing. This is especially true for hybrid or remote roles, where strong communication, adaptability and self-motivation are essential to help teams stay productive and connected. For example, customer service roles require empathy, patience and adaptability to manage client expectations effectively. Similarly, leadership positions rely on emotional intelligence, active listening and the ability to resolve conflict. In teams where innovation and feedback are part of the culture, qualities such as open-mindedness and creativity are often just as important as technical expertise. The same applies to startups and fast-changing workplaces, where versatility and a willingness to grow can be more valuable than specific technical skills at the outset.
Even when candidates lack some of the required hard skills, those with strong soft skills can often catch up quickly, especially when they are supported by effective onboarding, peer learning and mentoring programs.
In addition, soft skills also tend to be more difficult to teach. While technical tools can be explained in a training session, qualities like resilience or self-awareness are developed over time or are part of an individual’s personality. That is why employers may favour applicants with strong interpersonal abilities, even if their technical knowledge is not yet fully developed, especially when the role allows for on-the-job learning.
For example, in a customer-facing role, empathy and communication can be more critical than in-depth product knowledge, which can be taught. A candidate with strong soft skills is also more likely to absorb new information quickly, build rapport with clients and respond well to coaching.
Soft skills are especially important in startups or small business environments, where employees often juggle multiple responsibilities and need to adapt quickly to change. In these settings, flexibility, initiative and curiosity can therefore be just as important as technical expertise.
Finding the right balance in the hiring process
Most roles today call for a combination of hard and soft skills, and the success of a new hire often depends on how well employers evaluate both and weight them appropriately based on the situation. For example, a data analyst may need SQL and Excel skills but also the ability to explain insights to non-technical stakeholders. A team lead may need industry experience but also strong emotional intelligence to manage performance and conflict. Taking a careful and strategic approach that considers the role’s technical demands as well as the organisation’s culture and long-term objectives can lead to better hiring outcomes. Such an approach includes reviewing job descriptions, selecting the right assessment tools and developing an interview process that allows for both types of skills to be demonstrated.
Refining job descriptions to reflect the right priorities
Job ads are often the first opportunity to clarify which skills matter most. Clearly listing required hard skills, such as ‘advanced Excel proficiency’ or ‘experience with JavaScript development’, in job descriptions helps set expectations and attract qualified candidates. Soft skills, on the other hand, are best expressed through examples of how the role operates day to day, such as ‘comfortable working across teams’ or ‘able to adapt to changing priorities’. Framing expectations in this way gives candidates a clearer understanding of what success in the role looks like.
Generic buzzwords like ‘team player’ or ‘self-starter’ are best avoided unless they are supported with practical examples of how those qualities are reflected in the role.
Interviewing and screening for both hard and soft skills
Technical assessments, skills tests and portfolios are effective ways to verify hard skills. For soft skills, structured interviews with behavioural questions can uncover how candidates respond to real-world challenges, how they work with others or how they manage conflict in the workplace. For example:
- ‘Tell me about a time you had to adapt to a major change at work. How did you handle it?’
- ‘Describe a time when you had a conflict with a team member. What did you do?’
- ‘How do you approach giving feedback to others?’
At the same time, role-specific tasks or skills tests can help verify technical ability. For example, asking a candidate to complete a data clean-up task, write sample code or prepare a short analysis ensures that they can do the work the role requires.
Some organisations also include peer interviews or team-based tasks to observe how candidates collaborate or respond in group settings. These activities can reveal soft skills in action and provide input from multiple team members, which helps to reduce bias.
Onboarding and training
Missing hard skills can often be addressed through well-designed onboarding and training programs. In contrast, soft skills usually develop over time and are influenced by mentoring, team dynamics and day-to-day experience at work.
Adapting to your company’s size and growth stage
The balance between hard and soft skills often shifts as a business evolves. In the early stages, startups typically prioritise soft skills such as adaptability, initiative and creative problem-solving, all of which are qualities that help small teams navigate change and take on diverse responsibilities. As the organisation matures and more staff are hired, there is often a greater need to bring on specialists with in-depth technical knowledge and formal qualifications.
Larger or more established businesses may take a blended approach and ask for strong technical foundations while also using soft skills to evaluate a candidate’s leadership potential, team compatibility and long-term development.
Using data for skills-based hiring
More employers are shifting towards skills-based hiring models, which evaluate candidates based on their actual abilities rather than traditional benchmarks like degrees or job titles alone. This can help employers identify high-potential individuals who may have been overlooked in more traditional recruitment processes.
Skills-based hiring also encourages employers to focus on what success actually looks like in the role. For example, instead of requiring ‘five years’ experience in sales’, employers might ask for ‘demonstrated ability to build and maintain client relationships’ or a ‘track record of exceeding sales targets’.
In addition, internal performance data can also offer valuable insights. Analysing retention rates, peer feedback and career progression, for example, can help clarify which blend of hard and soft skills has historically led to success in similar roles. Insights like these can guide future hiring decisions and help employers fine-tune what they look for in candidates.
For more support and insights, browse our Hiring Resources for employers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are examples of hard and soft skills?
Hard skills are abilities that can be taught and include things like coding, data analysis, bookkeeping, graphic design or machinery operation. Examples of soft skills, on the other hand, are communication, teamwork, adaptability, leadership, emotional intelligence and time management.
Are soft skills more important in hybrid or remote roles?
Yes. In flexible work environments, skills like communication, self-motivation, time management and adaptability become even more essential, as team members need to stay productive and connected without constant oversight by a manager.
How can soft skills be evaluated in interviews?
This can be done by using behavioural interview questions that ask candidates to describe real-world experiences. Another option is incorporating peer interviews or situational exercises to observe how they interact with others.
What if a candidate has strong soft skills but lacks some technical experience?
If the role allows for training and the technical skills can be taught on the job, strong soft skills may indicate higher long-term potential, especially in roles where aspects like adaptability and collaboration are critical.
How can I avoid bias in assessing soft skills?
Bias can be avoided by using structured interview formats, clear scoring rubrics and multiple interviewers. Focusing on observable behaviours rather than gut feeling or cultural similarity helps recruiters to ensure a fair and consistent evaluation process across the board.
