Business Skills

What are business skills?

Business skills are the core skills employees should have so they can be successful within their roles. They are generally soft skills, such as communication and organization, that can be transferred and further developed as they grow within your business. It’s these skills that ensure employees consistently produce high-quality work. Without them, they’ll never be as efficient as they could be.

When your workforce develops business skills they can work effectively and confidently together, even in a remote or hybrid environment.

What skills should employees develop to be confident in business?

Not every employee will need to develop every business skill, but most are beneficial to the employee and the business regardless of their role. These skills include:

• Communication - solid communication is key, whether it’s communicating with colleagues, stakeholders, suppliers, or customers. Clear and concise communication, including verbal and written, ensures smooth collaboration and helps to limit misunderstandings.
• Negotiation - employees negotiate daily, from agreeing to deadlines to outlining points in a contract. Good negotiation skills prevent issues.
• Problem-solving - your employees will often encounter challenges, and being able to embrace them and come up with creative solutions is important.
• Leadership and management - Good leadership skills are about focusing on your people, so you can get the most out of them to ensure your business meets its goals.
• Emotional intelligence - by developing self-awareness and social skills employees can improve relationships and better understand the emotions of others.
• Data analysis - your business runs on data, so being able to manipulate, understand, and present data will help with decision-making.
• Decision-making - employees make multiple decisions every day, and making decisions based on critical thinking helps lower risk.
• Financial knowledge - having an understanding of finance and budgets, even in roles not specifically finance related, ensures decisions have a positive financial impact.
• Business writing - many employees write throughout the day, from emails to ebooks, and solid business writing ensures they produce clear and concise work every time.

Which employees should develop business skills?

As previously highlighted, business skills aren’t something that should only be developed by entrepreneurs, business owners, or senior managers. Many business skills can be used by employees across your organization.

For example, communication, organizational, and emotional intelligence skills are important for all employees to develop, regardless of role or seniority. However certain skills, such as data analysis or business writing, might not be appropriate if employees work in manual roles. Similarly, developing management and leadership skills might only be necessary for employees who manage a team or are looking to progress into a management role.

The benefits of learning business skills

Developing your employees’ business skills is crucial for producing productive, efficient, and well-rounded employees. In doing so it ensures your business produces consistently high-quality results on time and on budget. In turn, it helps to increase revenue, reduce costs, and retain customers and employees.

There are also plenty of benefits to your employees, as business skills courses teach them everything they need to be more confident in their roles, which increases morale and job satisfaction, and allows them to progress throughout your organization.

Can you learn business skills online?

One of the most effective ways for employees to develop is through online business skills training.

eLearning is completely self-directed, so employees learn whenever and wherever they have the opportunity. That means training doesn’t have to interfere with their daily responsibilities, and doesn’t cause unnecessary stress or pressure.

Because online training courses have already been produced, they can be accessed instantly. They’re also cost-effective and can be easily scaled, meaning you can offer training to one employee or your entire organization.

eLearning courses cover a wide range of business skills, so employees can personalize their development, which improves engagement and helps with retention.

What are the best online courses for developing business skills?

There are plenty of eLearning courses that your employees can take to improve their business skills. Below are just some of the courses your employees can take to develop their skills:

• Advanced Communication Skills
• Introduction to leadership
• Leadership Development
• Negotiation Skills Module
• Mastering Data Analysis
• Emotional intelligence: Self-management
• Organizational Skills at Work
• Business Email Etiquette
• The Project Management Course: Beginner to PROject Manager
• Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving
• Self Leadership: Developing Yourself
• Creative Problem-Solving
• Effective Sales Techniques
• Become a Great Listener
• Project Risk Management

Develop your employees' business skills today with Go1

Ready to develop the business skills of your employees? At Go1, we have a wide range of eLearning courses that can be accessed right now. For more information on how Go1 can support your organization’s learning and development program, schedule a demo with a member of our team today.