Adecco Staffing USA, is the lack of soft skills. In a report co-authored by the International Association of Ad- ministrative Professionals, Office- Team, and HR.com, two-thirds of HR managers said they’d hire a candidate with strong soft skills even if his or her technical skills were subpar. Con- versely, only 9% would hire a candi- date with strong technical but weak soft skills. Additionally, the LinkedIn survey revealed that 59% of hiring managers have difficulty finding candidates with soft skills, and 58% reported that the lack of soft skills is limiting pro- ductivity inside their companies. In fact, more than 60% of the LinkedIn respondents admitted to difficulty screening for soft skills, which aren’t always expressed in résumés or dur- ing interviews. Source and Strengthen Soft Skills A company’s first task is to decide which soft skills are most crucial to its success—and be hon- est about it. For ex- ample, advertising that touts a culture of inquiry when, in reality, the company rewards conformity confuses employees and foments distrust. Once the company identifies and veri- fies its most critical soft skills, it needs to build those skills into its recruiting, screening, and selection processes, tools, and materials. After the hiring decision, first-line supervisors and training profession- als face the challenge of developing soft skills when they are inadequate or ab- sent. There are some courses addressing some of these skills— e.g., time manage- ment, negotiation, communication, team building— but others, such as curiosity, critical thinking, sociability, empathy, creativity, and adaptability, are notoriously hard to teach and learn. In the article “HR’s Hard Chal- lenge: When Employees Lack Soft Skills,” the Society for Human Re-
We might pull in our CFO to teach a case study on finan- cial management or the corporate director of strategic pricing for a course on con- tracts or negotiating pricing with vendors. As many as 95% of the SESCO University courses are taught by associates.
—AMY BYERS,
Springfield Electric Supply
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;; ; ;; ;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ; ;;!;;"#$
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;!;;;; ;;;;;;";;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;
#;$;%;;;;;;&;;;;;;;;#;!;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; &;;;;;;;
';;;;;;;;;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
(;;;;)*;;;;;;; ;;;;;
;;;+;;;;;;;;;;;;,;;
,;;;;-;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; &;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ';;;;;;;; ;;+;;;;;';;;!;;;;.;;;/.;; .;;;;( ;;..;;
';;;
;;;;;;;;
,;;;;;;;;;;
;;;; ;$;;;;;
;;;;;;%;;
;;;;;;; ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ; ;;; ;;;;
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
