The Importance of Soft Skills Training
Is there an area you find your team is lacking in? We often spend a lot of time learning skills that are directly what we need to accomplish. We call these hard skills- learning how to build a truss, install a safety pole and so on. These hard skills we need to carry out our jobs effectively.
But there is a lot more that goes into being a professional. Having a team with both hard skills and soft skills that are well developed is an asset. Here’s how.
What are Soft Skills?
Soft skills are any skill that is not technical or related to the task of completing the specified job. Keeping up with technology and the required skill sets can be daunting in this fast-changing world.
With technology comes a specific need for specialized etiquette surrounding professionalism. On top of all the technical skills needed to perform daily work tasks, industry professionals are also required to obtain skills that foster professionalism while using emails, phone calls, and texts and the increasing demand for video conferencing.
So much more goes into our jobs these days, and often soft skills are just assumed to be “known.” It is expected that companies don’t offer exact training on how to manage several tech systems at one or effectively communicate with other employees. But when we think of a successful professional, it is these skills we think of first.
Fostering Soft Skills at ICG
ICG’s training department is working behind the scenes to add soft skills training to its offerings.
If we place importance on these skills and find them valuable in our workplaces, then we should be thoroughly training for them.
Sure, hiring someone who has already shown instances of the developed soft skills you require might be beneficial, but training someone to develop the exact soft skills necessary to succeed in your workplace has its benefits too.
For one, they are much more loyal to your company as it shows you put the faith and trust in them to learn exactly what you need. It also ensures you will have effective and productive employees who can carry out all the required tasks to continue excelling.
New Training to Address a Need
At ICG, the training modules on soft skills will be varied yet still significant to everyday occurrences in professional spaces. One such training has a focus on email composition and protocol.
Every email sent can impact the recipient, and we aim to raise awareness surrounding this impact and coach employees toward making that impact a positive one.
Everyone has, at some point, gotten an ambiguous email that leaves more questions than answers and can likely relate to the frustration that comes with that. Therefore, teaching the importance of communicating clearly aims to cut down on the back and forth of email miscommunication and inefficiency. Especially during this time of year where many are down to the wire with deadlines, it is important to remember timeliness and follow up when responding to emails.
To further assist with communication, the training discusses conveyed tone. Something as simple as a greeting or closing can profoundly impact the reader’s perceived tone of the message. Changing even these simple elements can change the whole tone of a conversation between people and the entire company.
Creating Impactful Change
We must foster the skills we wish to see in employees as a business. This goes much more profound and much farther than just assuming everyone knows “the basics.” Communication, technology and productivity are all realms that are constantly shifting and changing. Being proactive and offering soft skills training can only benefit your workspaces and ours.
Want to know more about effective and appropriate training in the construction field? Visit our blog to read about the latest in construction innovation and learning.
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