Are you missing the boat on hiring for soft skills?

Successful Organizations Hire Soft Skills

How critical is it to hire soft skills? Hiring for soft skills is more important than ever. Although these skills often take a back seat in the interviewing process, the lack of honed social skills may make their debut at the most inopportune time. Whether it occurs on a team Zoom or worse a client call, soft skills are less about the role, and more about the social dynamics of the team and the customer experience.

The top 7 soft skills in demand right now are leadership, teamwork, communication, problem solving, work ethic, flexibility/adaptability and interpersonal skills.

What if your candidate has all the right hard skills but lacks social, problem solving or communication traits that would ensure their successful on boarding and assimilation into your company culture? With a soft skills assessment deficit in the hiring process compounded with the challenges of remote management, vetting candidates appropriately can make or break your company’s success.

The demand for social skills in the workplace continues to rise at a rapid pace in all industries.

How do you identify soft skills?

Taking stock of how a candidate positions themselves in their resume, LinkedIn and cover letter often reveals their soft skills from the get-go. Take note of their personal style, professional presentation and look for examples of teamwork, collaboration or leadership.

Incorporating behavioral questions in the interview process is imperative. Asking for examples of a situation that they’ve solved portrays critical thinking and dependability. Asking about examples of conflict resolution in the workplace can display adaptability and leadership. Their proudest professional moment can demonstrate their ability to effectively communicate.

With a large portion of your work force working remotely, hiring team members that possess communication, problem solving, work ethic, flexibility, adaptability and interpersonal skills will certainly be of value and help drive team momentum.

Leveraging the right tactics during the recruitment process is vital to locating these candidates. Whether it’s reviewing their social media, LinkedIn profiles, or digging into their job application, evaluating whether their soft skills are a match for your company culture and the position is well worth the extra time it might take.