3 Fundamental Soft Skills for Employees

Soft Skills are an indispensable part of the everyday operations in a company. There are certain soft skills that all employees are expected to have to help the company prosper and reach further success.

Collaboration Skills

Collaboration and team work skills give employees the tools to work effectively with team members on a common work task. With collaboration skills, employees are able to take action while respecting the contributions and needs of others and negotiating a solution to achieve task objectives. Collaborative listening and collaborative behaviour are vital skills for employees and these skills need to be nurtured.

Collaborative Listening

Collaborative listening refers to a course that helps employees learn from heard or observed information.

Collaborative Behaviour

Collaborative behaviour comes down to managing a situation that involves team work. Employees should have the tools/ knowledge to work with others to achieve a common goal. Employees are taught how to share knowledge, listen to others, be empathetic and understanding while building mutual consensus effectively.

The critical behaviours that should be focused on include: timely communication, team building, cross-functional team building and problem-solving behaviours.

By improving these behaviours, employees gain an understanding of appropriate behaviour and different methods of communication. The value of collaboration is incredibly significant, collaboration isn’t just a frivolous, fun endeavour and it is more than a competency – it should be considered an operational model for leaders, teams and organisations who need to be collaborators in order to be successful.

Delegation Skills

Delegation refers to assigning a responsibility to a person, be it a manager or subordinate. Being able to delegate is at the core of management leadership. Delegation skills is one of the most vital management skills, and is helpful for personal development, succession planning, and seeking and encouraging promotion.

By learning delegation skills an employee can:

Many new managers struggle with the transition from individual contributor to manager, and this is why learning and development professionals should always place focus on delegation skills in their courses.

Problem Solving Skills

A fundamental part of a manager’s role is to find ways to solve a problem. Employees need to be able to work through details of a problem in order to reach an effective solution. Problem solving gauges an employee’s critical and analytical thinking skill. Analytical thinking is critical in the workplace as it helps employees gather information, articulate, visualise and solve complex problems.

By learning problem solving skills an employee can:

Every employee needs to be able to make decisions and solve problems. Essentially, all employees are paid to prevent or solve a problem in some way. Problem solving courses should help employees define a problem clearly, generate and strategise alternatives, and implement solutions effectively.

Masterskill offers a variety of soft skills courses, including: