The importance of soft skills in recruitment
This article takes a closer look at what exactly soft skills are and why they matter when you are recruiting for positions in your company. As a recruiter, you’ll probably be familiar with the dilemma of having two or more seemingly equally suitable candidates apply for a role. How can you ensure you’re choosing the right one and making the best decision for the company? Although a certain amount of gut instinct is always at play, it pays to interview candidates for soft skills and get a feel for who they are and how they’ll fit into your work culture.
What are soft skills?
It’s easy to spot if someone has the right qualifications or training for a job, but it’s less obvious whether they’re a good fit for the team. This is where soft skills come in! Soft skills are interpersonal skills that help individuals work well with other people. They include someone’s personality traits, attitudes and emotional intelligence, and they shape how we interact and communicate with others. In the workplace, soft skills are important if you’re looking to ensure a harmonious working relationship among your employees with minimal conflict. An ideal employee has soft skills that complement the hard skills required for their job.
Hard skills vs soft skills
Hard skills are often accompanied by an official piece of paper or formal certifications. They can include specific training or a university degree. Having a bachelor’s degree in business or a completed training course in a programming language, for example, are hard skills. Soft skills, on the other hand, are harder to quantify. They’re not always immediately obvious – after all, there’s no certificate for listening skills or having a friendly disposition! Some employers have potential new hires complete tests to verify their hard skills and subject matter expertise. It’s a lot harder to interview for soft skills, but it’s certainly possible and worthwhile.
Understand your company’s soft skill needs
Every company has its own distinct corporate or working culture. When hiring new staff, it’s important that you’re familiar with the values that matter in your business. Finding a suitably trained candidate may be easy, but identifying the right person whose personality and soft skills will fit in well with the existing team is another story. If you’re hiring for a small business, you’ll have different requirements than if you’re in charge of the HR department of a major corporation. Once you have a feel for the right set of soft skills your company needs to perform at its best, you’ll be able to specifically assess potential new hires for these traits and characteristics.
What are some desirable soft skills?
Interestingly, soft skills are often lacking among candidates. A 2016 Wall Street Journal study found that for around ninety per cent of executives, soft skills like conflict management or communication are just as important as the hard skills required to perform a job. But, surprisingly, these same executives are having a hard time sourcing candidates that possess the soft skills they’re after. This can cause difficulties, considering how beneficial staff with the right blend of soft skills can be to a company. So, let’s take a closer look at what these coveted skills are and why they seem to be in short supply. The list below gives you an overview of soft skills generally considered desirable in the workplace. Refer to it when you recruit your next staff member!
Soft skills to look out for when hiring
Let’s look at some soft skills that are sure to benefit your team:
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Great communication skills:
Although somewhat clichéd, solid communication skills are still the backbone of any successful team. Knowing how to address others tactfully and how to get a point across effectively is a huge asset to any business. This is especially true if you have staff members of different ages and cultural backgrounds. Not only does skilful communication make for a pleasant working atmosphere, it also prevents conflict and can boost employee morale.
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Team spirit:
Most jobs require different personalities to work together. Even individuals who prefer to work alone still need to have the necessary skills to collaborate if necessary. When recruiting, it’s worth asking targeted questions that will reveal if a candidate is a team player. The last thing you want is someone trying to go it alone and not making use of all the available resources and skills offered by different staff members. And let’s not forget, a great team will likely enjoy their work more and ultimately deliver better results for the company!
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A proactive approach:
It’s every employer’s dream: a member of staff who proactively tackles issues and finds solutions to problems instead of complaining. You may want to prepare a specific interview question or scenario that’ll reveal how your applicant would act under pressure. Would they sit back and stay passive or jump right in and get things done? It’s obvious who’d be most employers’ preferred choice!
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Being a good listener:
Any conversation partner wants to feel understood by the other party. In the workplace, being an active listener can help establish trust and build relationships. You want employees who share information and engage with each other, rather than just rehearse in their mind what they’re going to say next without really listening to what the other person has to say. Being a good listener is just as important as being a good communicator!
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Conflict resolution:
Let’s be honest, no workplace has ever benefited from conflict among staff. Of course, occasional disputes are inevitable – your employees are only human after all! But festering discontent and ongoing disagreements can create a toxic working environment. Morale will suffer, and low employee satisfaction is sure to lead to sub-par results. So when recruiting, look for applicants with an agreeable personality who value conflict resolution and have a positive approach.
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Flexibility:
Many jobs require at least some degree of flexibility. While you can’t expect staff to work late every night, staying behind for an extra half hour to get that all-important project delivered to your customer on time is what can make or break a business. An employee who is adaptable when it matters is a huge asset to any company. Consider the information in this article and examine potential candidates carefully in light of both their soft and hard skills. This can make all the difference to successful recruitment. And your team will thank you later on! Once you’ve identified the right candidate, you might have to move quickly though because, not surprisingly, applicants with the right soft skills are highly sought after.
Are you ready to hire? Post your next vacancy on Indeed today! Our 10 Recruiting Strategies for Hiring Great Employees are full of more valuable tips that will help you in your search for the right candidates.
