Soft Skills in The Workplace

What are soft skills? 

Soft skills are general skills that are transferable across any job role, industry, or career. These skills help an employee to excel within the workplace, with high performers often excelling in these skills. The ability to communicate with others in a clear and concise way, manage time, or work well with others are all soft skills that can make a huge difference for an employee in the workplace. 

These skills can be useful in any industry. For example, as an Olympic synchronised swimmer teamwork and time management are crucial when fighting for gold, but these skills are also vital for a part time bar assistant working a busy shift on the weekend. 

There are a number of different soft skills that can be important for different scenarios in the workplace. Here are some examples of key soft skills: 

• Communication 
• Teamwork 
• Time management 
• Problem-solving 
• Critical thinking 
• Organisation 
• Creativity 
• Positivity 
• Conflict resolution 

Soft skills are often confused with hard skills, which are based on specific skills you need to succeed in your role (Graphic design for example). You can read more about the difference between the types of skills in our blog, Hard Skills vs Soft Skills – What's The Difference? 

Why are soft skills needed in the workplace? 

Different roles will require different skills, but most roles will generally expect at least a baseline level of most soft skills to allow you to perform to the required standard. 

As we have already touched on, these skills are transferable across almost every industry. For example, communication skills are a must-have for nearly all roles. Whether you’re speaking to customers, clients, or members of staff, understanding communication skills will allow you to effectively communicate verbally, visually, or digitally.  

Developing soft skills will allow you to enhance your relationships internally and externally within the workplace, as well as your relationships outside of work. It can also help with the development of other hard skills, allowing you to further your career. 

How do these skills help you futureproof your career? 

The job market can be a tough place to find yourself, but employers will often be looking for candidates with a range of soft skills as well as the technical aspects of the role in order to check how they will fit into the workplace culture.  

Knowing this can give you an advantage over those who are simply advertising themselves as the perfect candidate thanks to their qualifications or experience in the job role. Having soft skills allows you to express your personal and professional skills, showing that not only can you complete the job to the level required, but your leadership, communication, or creativity skills can help you go above and beyond to take the job role further. 

With AI having a big impact on industries and roles across the world, it can be wise to have transferrable skills that allow you to make a career change if necessary. Gaining an enhanced understanding of these skills provides you with the perfect platform for change and allows you to futureproof your career should it be affected by AI, technology, or a change in behaviours over the coming years. 

How can you learn soft skills 

You will likely already have a good understanding of most of these skills, with parents and school often teaching these skills throughout childhood. However, it’s likely that you won’t have an understanding of these skills in a workplace environment, other than advice from a manager or colleague.  

Online learning allows you to understand these skills in a way that will help you at work, with certificates that you can add to your CV to stand out to hiring managers and employers. 

We have a number of short CPD accredited courses in these skills, including Time Management, Leadership Skills, and the Principles of Communication. 

View our full list of short online courses today.