A conversation with Kathleen Unger, Founder, President, and Chair of the Board, VoteRiders
Soft skills. We hear a lot about them these days, but just what are they, exactly? And why should they be so important to your organization? I spoke with Kathleen Unger, Founder, President, and Chair of the Board of VoteRiders (VoteRiders.org). VoteRiders’ mission is to ensure that no eligible voter is prevented from casting a ballot that counts due to voter ID laws, either directly from lack of acceptable ID or indirectly because of voter confusion. (Check ‘em out! They’re non-partisan, and they do important work.) Kathleen asked me a series of questions about how to hire for soft skills, how to reward employees who exhibit excellent soft skills, and how to ensure employees will be able to adapt and evolve in the current work environment. What follows is our conversation, but first, here are some interesting (and convincing) stats, as reported by iCIMS Hiring Insights in Forbes Magazine: A recent report by iCIMS Hiring Insights finds that 94% of recruiting professionals believe an employee with stronger soft skills has a better chance of being promoted to a leadership position than an employee with more years of experience but weaker soft skills. The report finds that 58% of recruiting professionals believe soft skills are more important for leadership and management positions than for entry-level positions. For senior leadership, recruiting professionals rank problem solving (38 percent) as the most important soft skill, followed by oral communication (26 percent) and adaptability (17 percent). According to the report, 75% of recruiting professionals have cut an interview short because a candidate didn’t demonstrate the soft skills needed for the position they had applied for. Fascinating, yes? To see current articles from iCIMS on hiring practices visit https://www.icims.com/blog. And now, let’s jump right into Part I of this two-part series: With technology changing so rapidly, employees’ skills must evolve quickly, too. What are some important soft skills that businesses should value in their employees? Listening skills. We’re sometimes compelled to search for, hire, and then reward employees who are most boldly seen and loudly heard. They’re the ones who do all the talking, especially while their managers are watching. But counterintuitive as it may seem, we might consider an opposite approach: seek out employees who have an innate, well-developed ability to listen. No matter what the nature of your business, employees, managers, supervisors, and customers (actually, people in general) need to be carefully listened to, genuinely heard, and sincerely acknowledged. Demonstrable kindness and generosity. Similar to hiring good listeners, it’s important to find, hire, and reward employees who demonstrate the ability to support and encourage those around them. How do you determine kindness and generosity in an employee? Look for people who smile more. Workers who know people’s names and greet them accordingly. Employees who’re willing to say, “Great job!” when someone deserves it, or who offer to help others with whatever they might be puzzling over or struggling with. Both your staff and your customers will appreciate this kind of attitude. Solution orientation. Look for the person who’s constantly committed to resolving challenges, sorting out problems, and eliminating roadblocks. How does an employee demonstrate this particular soft skill? With both word and deed. Find people who use collaborative, cooperative phrases like, “How can we work together to…” or “Let’s all figure out how to…” or “I’m happy to look at that problem and help resolve it…” Reward employees who offer to serve on committees or help out at company events and conferences. A positive, can-do attitude counts for a lot when a difficult project gets bogged down or a crabby client demands a redo of all the work your company has just completed. How have “soft skills” changed/evolved over the past few years, and why are they more valued/important today, in your opinion? It seems like all we ever talk about (or read about) are technology-related skills and their importance in today’s job market. It appears that people (especially people who are just entering the workforce) have moved away from focusing on their soft skills — to the detriment of the business world. Because of this, we’re seeing a serious lack of positive, interpersonal connectivity among people, and especially between employees and customers/clients. What were once basic communication skills such as making eye contact, smiling, or saying “please” and “thank you,” have now become rare, and sometimes even nonexistent. However, that’s exactly why they’re “more valued/important today,” to answer your specific question. Finding an employee who possesses excellent social and communication skills is like striking gold. Your business or organization will stand out among your competitors if you hire people who are friendly, empathic, positive, and solution oriented. What level of significance should employers place on soft skills in a job candidate? In other words, if their hard skills are solid, what degree of deficiency in any particular soft skills should disqualify them as a candidate in your opinion? Sorting out potential employees based upon their technical skills isn’t too difficult—as long as no one’s lying on their resume. (By the way, that can happen, so you do have to check and confirm what a candidate has submitted.) From there, assuming they’re qualified for the job at hand, it’s important to ask yourself what type of job they’re applying for. Will this employee have contact with customers or clients? Will they have to interface constantly (or frequently) with colleagues or co-workers? Will they be making presentations, either to other staff members or to the public? Will they be essentially working by themselves in a back office (or from home), inputting data, with minimal interaction? Or driving cross-country in a semi, delivering fruit to Indiana? Depending upon the job, a soft skills deficiency might not make a huge difference to the success of your business. (Although, as a quick aside, I always tell the businesses I consult with that everyone — from the receptionist to the senior VP — represents the company and its values!) Next, ask yourself what type of business are you running? If it’s a pizza parlor with a kid-friendly theme, it’s important to hire positive, perky, enthusiastic staff members. If it’s a mortuary business, you want employees who are low key, polished, well-spoken, and able to handle grieving customers. However, if you’re a factory that’s machining parts for an assembly plant, soft skills might be lower on your “employee traits wish list.” So, as we consider the soft skills of a potential new hire, we can make a “go, no-go” decision by applying two criteria. The real and true essentialness of their soft skills mastery depends upon 1.) the type of job they’re applying for, and 2.) the type of business we’re engaged in. That’s it for Part I of this two-part series. Please join me soon for Part II, when we’ll discuss ways hiring managers can screen for soft skills, as well as employee training options for soft skill development.