Soft Employee Skills - Coursework Example

Soft Employee Skills Introduction Contemporary HR managers appear to have shifted their focus from being based predominantly on the acquisition of staff with strong functional competencies to those with dependable behavioural ones. These second competencies are also known as soft skills; they are influential in the determination of how one performs at their job. Given the relatively high educational levels among job seekers today, companies have an easy time identifying candidates with the right hard skills. American Express in a study found out that over 60% of managers are of the opinion that soft skills are the most important when it came to evaluation of employees, only 32% placed emphasis on hard skills. Unlike the technical competencies, soft skills tend to develop gradually from experience or simple inborn natural talents to one can apply at their job to achieve results. The term hard skills can in most contexts be applied interchangeably with technical competencies, an employee with hard skills is conventionally capable of any or more of the following; math’s ability, physics and analytical skills, programming and design and other similar often formally leant or taught skills (Andrews & Higson, 2008). On the other hand, soft skills are categorized under emotional intelligence or EQ, which is the informal equivalent of IQ, required of hard skills. One of the fundamental differences between the two is that hard skills are constant and inflexible; for example, one’s programming skill is determined by their formal qualification and experience, and it does not change based on where one works or whom they work with. On the other hand, Communication skills being soft skills are bound to change as one may revise their methods of achieving effective communication based on whom they are working with and in what context. Apart from communication, soft skills include motivation, punctuality, commitment, time management team player among others. This paper will focus on discussing the role and importance of soft skills as well as providing a reflection of my particular experience with communication and motivation, which are my main soft skills. Communication The worth of communication skills in the modern business setting cannot be overstated, irrespective of which department one is working in, they need to be effective communicators, a virtue that most managers will appreciate. In fact, a huge part of the face-to-face interview is meant to assess how effectively an employee can communicate especially while under pressure. In a typical recruitment drive the HR department will only shortlist candidates with the requisite hard skills; for example, a car manufactures looking for mechanics will immediately know which of their applicants is the most effective and experience mechanic based on their testimonials. Therefore, assuming that all interviewees are relatively well qualified, the panel is left with the option of determining which one of the shortlisted candidate’s best verbally expresses their competence and justification for consideration for the position. The reason for this is that employers are aware of the importance of an effective communicator. Among the key challenges of the workplace environment is learning the specific communication systems that people respond to and those that are the most effective. Sometimes, employees will deal with supervisors who directly ask for their opinion while others assume that when an employee feels that something is important they should bring it to their attentions. An effective communicator will know which communication approach to take for best results by taking to account all the prevailing factors before attempting to express the message. When employees in management positions possess the soft skill of communication they often know when best to speak out their doubts in a project as well as how to articulate it. An effective communicator can send a clear message to the audience without any fear of distortion such that they received exactly was is was intended they do (Wardrope, 2002). In the corporate world, effective communication is critical in that it helps get jobs done in good time and within the budget. When the individual coordinating it is an effective communicator, there will be no ambiguity in the task performance or sharing of duties. Duplication of roles will also not be an issue and all the different participants in the project will operate in harmony as long as the communication between and among them is handled meritoriously. A boss or team member that can communicate the objectives and goals of the organization effectively is by far more effective than one who only holds technical skills (Kumar & Hsiao, 2007). This is because in addition to simply leading and managing, they need to inspire and motivate their staff, this is only achievable if they can reach out to them and render firm’s shared values in a coherent and convincing manner. In the globalized business world, businesses can only ignore the role of communication, more so intercultural communication at their own peril. An effective communicator can fit well in different cultural contexts and quickly adapt to new communication methods for various intercultural experiences. Ultimately, an effective communicator is a critical asset to any organization and this makes the soft skill one of the most sought after in the corporate world as well as public service. Motivation Human resource in any given organization is equivocally its most fundamental asset and as such, its ability to function effectively is directly related to how well motivated they are. While each organization must have its team of decision making and visionaries most of whom are motivated by the desire to keep productive, it is important to consider the “front line” staff whose role is arguably the most important since they provide the actual effort that drives the organization. Consequently, there is no better way to maximize output and drive revenue than to increase the employees’ motivation to be more effective and productive. However, motivation is far from and exact science; it is in most cases impossible to predict what motivates everyone most employees tend to be motivated by different things. For some, money is the main motivator while others are motivated by promotions or equity in the company among other things. However, this only applies to extrinsic motivation, which is based on what one expects to get after working for a given period of time (Frey & Osterloh, 2002). Ultimately, the most important motivational factor is intrinsic which makes motivation one of the most important soft skills and employee can have. When hiring especially for managerial positions, a firm must ensure it picks an individual who is not only capable of managing but also inspiring those under them to maximize their performance work harder. The ideal motivators do not only use extrinsic motivators as aforementioned but appeal to an individual’s sense of duty and professional pride to inspire them to become more productive committed to their work. One of the most effective managerial styles is based on transformational leadership, since transformational leaders harness the power of efficient management and effective leadership to get the best out of their employees by both recognizing their contribution and leading from the front. While motivation may exist in theoretical concepts, its full realization cannot be limited to them, and on a practical level, it is more of a personal ability rather than formal skills that is why it is characterized as a soft skill. Motivational leaders are charismatic and their sense of commitment and loyalty to the firm is infectious, as they are enthusiastic and make those around them feel exited to be working with them. These individuals often have a series of other soft skills such as communication, team building and self-confidence, all which can be harnessed by an individual to motivate members of staff. A manager with effective communication skills is able to communicate feedback to employees such that he/she can criticize them without appearing overly harsh or unfair; this way, his feedback is interpreted positively and the employees is motivated to improve their performance. On the other hand, they are capable of being consistent and fair in his praising and rewarding employees, by communicating positive feedback to them, he encouraged them to improve their performance. A study by Cho and Perry (2012) concluded that intrinsic motivation contributes substantively to employee motivation as well as the turnover intention; in addition, it reveals that managerial trustworthiness goal directedness tend to increase the leverage on the motivational factors. The underlying implication in this case is that a manager who can motivate employees indirectly contributes to the firm’s effectiveness productivity and naturally the bottom line. Therefore, it is understandable that many firms while recruiting or promoting employees will base their decision heavily on their ability to motivate those with whom they work. Personal Reflection The reason I selected the two particular soft skills among numerous others is because I have in a personal capacity experienced and witnessed their effectiveness from a professional capacity and therefore it is easier for me to appreciate their importance. A few years ago, I was working part time as an accountant in a company that dealt in processed foodstuffs and bottling water. As may be expected there were many staff members as the tasks involved were labour intensive. One of the main challenges I noticed facing the company was the fact that most of the employees had difficulty communicating especially with their seniors. In some instances, I realized that even when there were problems on the production floor, most of the staff would not point them out unless they were directly hindering their immediate task or they were asked about them. The communication was mostly from the managers and supervisors, in form of orders and instructions that left little room for debate or discussion, while I did not like the autocratic leadership I had to admit it worked and most of the tasks were finished in time. However, the firm’s management was changed after a buy out and the new director implemented a more transactional leadership style where communication was encouraged from the bottom up with employees being asked to provide feedback. It was difficult at first, but after realizing they would not be victimized for it most would speak up and they related freely to the new managers. The result was remarkable and within two months the output had increased by nearly 20%, this was ironic since the employees appeared to be less serious and spent more time interacting with each other than they did previously where each would just report to their work station and mechanically carry out their duties until the end of their shift. I realized that the key difference between the two administrations was that the previous one had failed to encourage communication and openness among its staff and the only motivation they had was the fiscal reward they received at the end of each working period. However, the new managers realized that the workers were the most informed and experienced at their own individual and collective tasks they showed their respect for them and encouraged them to air their views and openly communicate with each other. The rigid system was deconstructed and people were given more autonomy, this motivated them to work more effectively since they were made to feel that their efforts and opinions were respected. In addition, communication fostered teamwork with different members being allowed to choose to work on joint projects or individually, but universally allowed to interact and communicate as long as it did not compromise their output. At the end of the day scenario proved to me that the most effective employees are not necessarily those who unquestioningly follow orders and work by the book. When people are allowed a free reign and given space to express themselves, they are motivated to be more productive and cooperative; ultimately, improving their capacity for teamwork and innovations. By combining the theoretical constructs from this course with personal experience as well as practical applications, I believe as a future employee or employer I will effectively capitalize on soft skills which many tend to ignore at in favour of the more explicable and measurable hard ones. References Andrews, J., & Higson, H. 2008. Graduate employability,‘soft skills’ versus ‘hard’business knowledge: a European study. Higher Education in Europe,33(4), 411-422. Cho, Y. J., & Perry, J. L. 2012. Intrinsic motivation and employee attitudes role of managerial trustworthiness, goal directedness, and extrinsic reward expectancy. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 32(4), 382-406. Frey, B. S., & Osterloh, M. (Eds.). 2002. Successful management by motivation: Balancing intrinsic and extrinsic incentives. Springer. Kumar, S., & Hsiao, J. K. 2007. Engineers learn “soft skills the hard way”: Planting a seed of leadership in engineering classes. Leadership and Management in Engineering, 7(1), 18-23. Wardrope, W. J. 2002. Department chairs perceptions of the importance of business communication skills. Business Communication Quarterly, 65(4), 60-72. Read More