Ivy Jan 08, 2015 No Comments
The year 2014 witnessed a significant shift in workplace demands across the country. Skill sets that display high levels of interpersonal skills are now in greater demand. As 89 percent of businesses worry about the quality of future leaders, people-centric soft skills occupy space in new hiring criteria.
Employers are faced with an always-connected generation inseparable from their mobile devices. They report a lack of people-skills among the tech savvy ‘Generation Awkward’ – as they call the generation of young professionals brought up on a diet of social media and rote learning.
According to the recent groundbreaking survey conducted by global management consultancy Hay Group,
“businesses across India are reporting that it is becoming increasingly difficult to hire graduates who have the self-awareness and self-management skills to succeed in their organizations.”
So the practice of looking at ‘people‘ skills has gained traction. These skills are defined by “the attitudes and behaviours that can determine success or failure in the workplace”. Yet, not so easy to train. These skills also decide “whether you are getting hired“. For every business looks at employee ROI.
Surefire people-connect skills that out you on the employer’s radar screen!
Strong ‘people skills’ are required to fit in the workplace ecosystem, build relationships, resolve conflicts, deal effectively with stress or get across ideas in the right way. These are soft skills required to work well in a team and communicate effectively with colleagues, seniors, clients and stakeholders.
How you connect with people, position yourself with seniors, or cut across interpersonal barriers – are being looked at more closely by employers.
Although, team spirit is a key competency all employers look for, it is more significant in the Analytics workspace which involves working in teams. Whether it is the small-sized firms with a lean workforce or a big company with dedicated analytics division, team playing is a soft skill critical to the analytics industry.
With employee engagement becoming more personal, individual strengths are leveraged for increased teamwork productivity. This moves beyond the interpersonal and team playing skills to individual personal strengths.
The ability to accept corrections and dress downs with humility, is a soft skill every boss looks at with respect. Grace in accepting mistakes, can make a big difference when working in a high-pressure environment or on projects with rigid time frames.
Confidence in presenting ideas and opinions while being open to feedback is found to stimulate the workplace positively and spark innovations. As the analytics industry thrives on innovative approaches, creative ideas and solutions, this is another highly sought-after soft skill.
Hirers look for strong networking skills that harness the personal touch. The ability to interact in a real-world environment – reaching out over the phone, rather than text messaging; communicating face to face and networking with industry colleagues – are skill sets that add value in today’s multidisciplinary work structures.
How do you work on this?
Make effort to meet people in your industry. Attend conferences or industry awards shows. Make yourself visible. Interact in a way as to put yourself in front of potential employers. Build a network of peers. This helps build your confidence and knowledge while working on your networking skills.
Strange though it may sound, this is part of the personal skill sets that employers also look at, as part of ‘being a team player’. With businesses looking at people ROI, firms want to avoid problems related to inter-gender work relationships or ego issues that affect project success.
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