There was a time when recruiters only looked at hard skills to select the best candidate for a position. However, there has been a shift. In today’s ever-evolving world, soft skills have become essential to navigate the challenges driven by new technologies like artificial intelligence and economic disruption.
However, AI cannot replace humans in tasks that require skills like people-to-people collaboration or resource prioritization.
Therefore, companies should look at helping their employees build irreplaceable soft skills, like adaptability, and business-critical skills, like leadership, to stay agile and ahead of the curve. Also, developing these skills will help individuals stay employable.
Without further ado, here are the most sought-after soft skills in 2024:
Adaptability and Resilience
The American author and activist Hellen Keller once said “A bend in the road is not the end of the road unless you fail to make the turn”. Keller lost her sight and hearing but, by adapting to her new reality, she overcame her disabilities to become a leading figure in disability rights. She showed great adaptability and resilience, two of the most important skills in today’s business environment.
Many factors, like new technologies, conspire to upend the business environment and the world of work. Both individuals and organizations need to be able to adapt to a fast-changing world and respond effectively to market changes, economic disruption, and other challenges.
So, it is up to managers to build a culture that adapts to change and fosters innovation and continuous improvement so that individuals, teams, and organizations can maintain a competitive edge.
Communication
In life as in business, effective communication is a crucial skill. Organizations need individuals who can identify and bridge communication gaps so that all the players can collaborate closely and reach business goals.
As new technologies like AI gain ground, companies need employees who know how to talk to machines in natural language in such a way that gets the best results. Also, those employees with the capacity to understand insights from data analytics and communicate them in plain language are valuable assets to any company.
As a result of the 2020 pandemic, many companies have chosen a flexible hybrid model that combines remote with on-site work and uses a wide range of channels and platforms. Therefore, effective communication skills are key to connecting and motivating teams, especially if team members are from different cultures. Speaking the same language is fundamental, so providing language training opportunities ensures smooth and effective communication.
Active listening, providing constructive feedback, empathy, respect, and emotional intelligence are some of the skills that nake communication effective.
Project Management
Businesses need project leaders with the necessary skills to pull together people and technology and keep everything organized and everyone on the same page. Therefore, good management skills are highly valued.
Project managers use AI tools for a variety of tasks, like scheduling, testing, or prototyping. However, AI cannot perform certain essential business tasks, such as setting strategic objectives or prioritizing resources, so a good project manager knows how to harness the potential of AI to excel at his job.
Some organizational skills needed to ensure that all the processes run smoothly include the ability to multitask and prioritize resources, excellent communication skills, and planning and scheduling.
Presentation Skills
As already discussed, many companies worldwide have moved to a flexible hybrid work system, whereby some individuals work from home and some, on-site. Because presentations are delivered via platforms like Zoom, team members must hone their presentation skills to capture their audience’s attention.
An effective presentation is compelling and communicates information and ideas effectively through storytelling and visual aids. The skills needed include written and verbal communication abilities, critical thinking, time management, problem-solving capabilities, and confidence. With our double-impact programs, corporate students learn to speak a new language with confidence, while simultaneously developing the necessary soft skills to deliver great presentations.
Get in touch now to learn more about our double-impact language training programs and help your team communicate effectively across different cultures and platforms.
