81a638f40ddb1ff3fb43458d26fbd7f8c5a4e70c_pexels-photo-1076809.jpg

Why training for soft skills should be your number one priority

h
John Sherman
2018-09-23

When establishing a training program for your company, you want to focus on a variety of topics. However, training for soft skills should be your No. 1 priority. Why? As explained in a recent report published by LinkedIn, automation has become significant in the workplace, regardless of company size or industry, and it continues to advance.

null

This same report showed that among hiring managers, an astounding 58 percent said that job candidates lacked the soft skills required. That statistic is a clear indicator that a lot of businesses lose productivity because employees do not have proper training. If you want to stay competitive, it is critical that you bring your entire staff up-to-speed on soft skills.

With ever-changing technology, your staff is in a constant learning mode to keep up. Unless you have skilled employees to handle the automation in your organization, they will fail at their jobs, which puts the business at risk. For your company’s talent development endeavor, it is essential to focus on soft skills training.

Changing landscape

In today’s work environment, it is critical to maintain technical fluency across the board, meaning that all employees need to learn soft skills to one degree or another. As demand for automation continues to rise, it becomes even more vital for you to have a leadership team consisting of critical thinkers, excellent communicators, and people who can easily adapt.

Vital soft skills training courses

  • Leadership – Training needs to start with your managers. By completing online training courses, they gain new skills, expand on existing talent, and lead by example. Because your employees follow what their managers require, it is essential that you have your leaders up-to-date on soft skills. Otherwise, there is no way for them to lead their team effectively. Without training, you would either have disgruntled employees who leave the company or stay but make a significant number of errors that negatively impact the customer’s experience.
  • Communication – Excellent communication skills are an essential part of any successful business. Even when it comes to automation, there has to be a clear path of communication between your managers and their staff. As part of this, your managers can relay information or make requests in a way that employees understand. As a result, the department runs seamlessly. Both your leaders and employees need to know that communication is not just about talking but also listening.
  • Collaboration – Any time you have a team of diverse employees, there are going to be some bumps along the way. In addition to fundamental online training courses on collaboration, you want your managers to suggest some that pertain to soft skills. The focus is to have everyone work together to achieve a common goal. With the right learning opportunities, teams work cohesively. Along with a creating a more pleasant work environment, collaboration gives employees a sense of pride when completing a project as a team.
  • Critical thinking – For a business with excellent growth potential, you need to have critical thinkers in position. Especially when it comes to technology, this becomes even more vital. While some people are naturally self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-motivated, most are not. With the right online training courses, you can help your staff become critical thinkers who analyze, assess, and reconstruct to achieve optimum results.
  • Time management – A lack of time management skills is a huge detriment to any organization. Along with fast-advancing technology, customer demand in on the rise. Therefore, your staff needs the skills to work efficiently. As for the other things mentioned, you can find hundreds upon hundreds of online training courses developed specifically for people who need to improve on time management skills. You will see productivity improve, along with employee morale and customer satisfaction.
  • Role specific skills – For training courses, it is essential to select topics relevant to the business but also each employee’s role within the company. For example, a skilled computer programmer could complete a course like Objective C Programming while someone without much software knowledge could take a beginner’s course on how computer software works. With so many skill specific courses available, you can help all your employees improve and advance.

Our courses are also short, meaning that most are between 30 minutes and one hour. For manager and employee training, that makes it much easier for them to find time to devote to learning. Finally, all our courses have affordable prices. As such, you can develop an online training program for your company without compromising the budget. Regardless of your industry, stay viable by having both your managers and employees complete various soft skill courses.

Go1 helps millions of people in thousands of organizations engage in learning that is relevant, effective and inspiring.
Latest stories and insights