Soft Skills –A Tool for Grooming High Performing

Employees

Dr. M.R. Parakandi, Abu Dhabi University , U.A.E.

&Dr. T. Asokan, Kannur University, India

Let me start by defining a few concepts!

The Key Words

A skill is the ability, talent or competence to perform a task well or better than average.

There are essentially two types of skills: soft skills and hard skills.

Hard skills are defined as technical skills while soft skills are the skills that make an individual smart in dealing with himself ,others and the situation. Soft skills are crucial to an employee’s ability to work better, smarter and more effectively.

What was the attraction to go for this study?

The Context

The most important element in any organization is its human capital.

With the advent of globalization and the resultant competition, more and more corporations around the world are recognizing the fact that, in order to gain competitive advantage, in addition to the technical expertise, employees also required to possess `soft skills’.

In an increasingly competitive world of business and industry, these skills are not optional but it is the skills that determine individual performance, leading to organizational excellence.

Candidates who have both technical skills and soft skills are

becoming a hot cake for recruiters and organizations.

Increasing importance of soft skills creates the context for this study.

What are the studies done so far on this topic?

The Literature

107 studies closely related to this topic of research were reviewed.

Soft skills are crucial to a worker’s ability to work smarter. Business and industry representatives have expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the general level of preparedness of prospective entry-level employees. It was found that more than half of young people leave school without the knowledge or foundation required to find and hold a good job. (Alpern, 1997)1.

Employers have serious concerns about the non-technical abilities of graduates because this deficiency reduces their performance at work and their ability to hold a job ( Wentling 1987) 3

87% of persons losing their jobs or failing to be promoted were found to have ‘improper work habits and attitudes’ rather than insufficient job skills or knowledge. The special focus needs to be given to reinforcing the value of being able to refine their soft skills. (Beach , 1982)4

This study reveals that components of soft skills can be classified into three categories such as self management skills, people skills and technology skills.

Self management skills refer to the ability to manage one’s own intra personal features such as attitude, emotions, personality, perception, stress, etc for better personal effectiveness.

Interpersonal skills mean the skill sets required to deal with other individuals and also the ability to influence people’s behavior and performance.

Soft skills also include technical skills, which is now treated as an essential generic competency for most job situations. This include skills to handle technical gadgets like computers, mobile phone, multimedia presentation tools, etc.

What output has come out of the research work?

The Output

What output has come out of the research work?

A. Self Management Skills

1. Conformity to work ethics2. Self confidence3. Self discipline4. Presence of mind5. Positive attitude6. Time management and

punctuality7. Self esteem8. Self awareness9. Adaptability/ Flexibility10.Motivating self11.Decision making/ Problem

solving

12. Acceptance13. Initiative14. Managing non-verbal

behaviour15. Stress management16. Assertiveness17. Conformity to trends/

norms18. Emotional consciousness19. Control over temper20. Managing own perception21. Managing non-verbal

behaviour

1. Building trust and rapport2. Creating relationship3. Socialising skill4. Maintaining relationship5. Impressive speaking skill6. Presentation skills7. Motivating others8. Team player skill9. Decision making (group)10. Agreeableness11. Leadership12. Courtesy13. Listening14. Delegation with respect15. Generosity16. Empathy

17. Forgiveness18. Persuasiveness19. Mentoring/ coaching skills20. Negotiation skill21. Promoting change22. Appropriate use of power23. Affectionate24. Managing expectations25. Counselling skills26. Sensing other's non verbal

behaviour27. Managing other's perception28. Conflict management29. Managing remote relationships30. Tolerance to criticism31. Sensitivity to diversity

What output has come out of the research work?

B. Interpersonal Skills

Computer skills Mobile phones Email etiquettes

What output has come out of the research work?

C. Technology Skills

The components of soft skills such as Self management skills, Interpersonal skills and technology skills are measured and then compared with performance index.

There is significant relationship between performance index

and soft skills.

Findings of the study

Soft skills-Performance link

Attribute Self management

skills

People skills Technology skills

Performance√ √ √

√ Association is significant × Association is not significant

Conclusion

Job positions require frequent use of soft skills Soft skills can be classified into three broad

categories, namely, self management skills, Interpersonal skills, and technology skills.

There is strong link between soft skills and performance.

This is a gentle hint to the youth and educators to equip to ensure possession of soft-skills to increase the chances of better employment and better performance at work.

Future Work

The results of this study are encouraging and we are extending our work to study the factors behind the development of soft-skills, training for developing soft skills, impact of soft-skills on the human relations at work.