Essential Soft Skills To Be Included In Every eLearning Program
In actuality, what are known as "soft skills" in corporate organizations are actually the hardest to inculcate within an individual. The reason behind this is the fact that these are not as much "skills" as they are desirable "qualities" that can make a lot of difference in an employee’s performance and growth, and thus, the organization’s overall growth. However, it has been shown that "soft skills" can be developed in an individual through training, although some people are inherently good at certain soft skills. Many major global organizations recognized long ago that soft skills differentiate good employees from the great ones. Soft skills training isn’t really anything new. However, with advancements in training methods, eLearning has replaced traditional classroom training as the preferred training method to develop soft skills in employees. In this article, we’ll discuss 7 essential soft skills that should be a part of every organization’s eLearning program and why each of them is important.
1. Leadership
Leadership ranks at number one on any list as the most desirable soft skill because leaders are required the most in an organization. A person with leadership skills is inspirational, encouraging, and empathetic to other employees. Other employees are influenced by a leader, listen to what they have to say and follow their actions closely. When a person with effective leadership skills leads a team, employee turnover is eliminated, productivity shoots up and employees are happy.
2. Time Management
Another quintessential soft-skill every corporate employee must possess. Time is limited, and every minute that elapses costs an organization money. It is no wonder time-management is a coveted soft-skill, very much required by every organization. An essential part of time-management is to set priorities but to be able to understand what should come first and what later on, employees need a thorough understanding of the organization’s short and long-term goals. When employees prioritize well, they’re less likely to be overwhelmed by pressure and deadlines and achieve a better work-life balance.
3. Teamwork
An organization functions effectively only when all of its employees work together collectively, like gears in a well-oiled machine. That’s the true spirit of teamwork. For an organization to progress and grow, all of its members must forget meaningless competition, jealousy, and underhandedness, and instead bond with each other and move as one unit. This is one of the reasons that you’ll always find team-work in every "top soft-skills” list. But to be an effective team player, an employee must be intuitive, perceptive, and aware of both the needs of their team members as well as of the organization. Then they need to be able to work well with others to complete tasks quickly and efficiently.
4. Communication
Of course, communication is key as much as in an organization as it is outside of it. Communication is not only a soft-skill required by organizations, but it is also an essential life skill. Without skillful communication, many essential soft-skills would be rendered useless. A skilled communicator will tell you that good communication doesn’t only involve talking but more listening. It involves paying careful attention to all points of view and listening closely to find the problem at the core of an issue. When talking, it involves adjusting the tone and style of speech to suit the audience.
5. Problem-Solving
Problem-solving can be defined as the ability to understand a situation in-depth, finding the underlying issue, and resolving it. Problems can be frustrating, particularly when a person is on the clock, which is why maintaining a calm demeanor is a part of the problem-solving skill. Creativity and analytical ability are also required for an employee to be an adept problem-solver.
6. Ownership
People don’t like owning up to their mistakes, particularly in an organization where they could very well be penalized for committing a mistake. Even if they are not penalized, people just don’t like to admit that they took the wrong course of action. And as long as people don’t own up to their mistakes, they’ll never learn not to make them again. Ownership thus, is an essential quality that makes an individual a better person, not just a better employee. When employees own up to their mistakes, they’re fixed faster and employees are more self-motivated to ensure that mistakes will not happen again.
7. Critical Thinking
Automation is on the rise, but organizations do not need their human resource to behave like robots just yet. Employees who are able to interrogate instructions and processes are valued in organizations, at least in the progressive ones. Without critical thinking, employees would never question anything, and as a result, improvement, creativity, and innovation would come to a halt. Transparency, inquisitiveness and open feedback are essential for critical thinking.
