7 Ways Soft-Skills Power Organizational Performance

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How Soft-Skills Power Organizational Performance
How soft-skills power
organizational performance

Rusty Lindquist
VP Strategic HR Insights
BambooHR
Michelle Reed
Chief Marketing Officer
SkillSurvey

18th Century 19th Century 20th Century 21st Century
Agricultural Age
(farmers)
Industrial Age
(factory workers)
Information Age
(knowledge workers)
Conceptual Age
(creators and empathizers)
Affluence
Technology
Globalization
High
Low
Abundance
Automation
Asia
Dan Pink
A Whole New Mind

Hard Skills
Skills that are learned to
perform a specific job function
and are more easily identifiable
and quantifiable.
Mostly about “what you know”
VS
Soft Skills
Skills that are less tangible, and
more associated with one’s
traits or personality, that
determine how we interact.
Mostly about “how you act”.

EQ
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the “something” in each of
us that is a bit intangible. It affects how we manage
behavior, navigate social complexities, and make personal
decisions that achieve positive results.
Emotional intelligence is your ability to recognize and
understand emotions in yourself and others, and your
ability to use this awareness to manage your behavior and
relationships.
Travis Bradberry
Author, Emotional Intelligence 2.0

Soft Skills: What are they?

Soft Skills:
An Economic Necessity

–Ram Charan
Best-selling Author,
World-renowned Business Advisor

According to CareerBuilder:
77% of employers believe that soft
skills are just as important as hard
skills.
Almost 20% said they were more
important than hard skills.

Studies have shown that a high emotional quotient (or EQ)
boosts career success, entrepreneurial potential, leadership
talent, health, relationship satisfaction, humor, and happiness.
It is also the best antidote to work stress and it matters in every
job — because all jobs involve dealing with people, and people
with higher EQ are more rewarding to deal with.
-HBR

Soft Skills: Cultural Fit

Following a national survey of job
seekers and HR professionals, 43%
said that “cultural fit” was the single
most important determining factor
when making a new hire.
“The Multi-Generational Job Search”
-Millennial Branding & Beyond.com

Hiring Managers Want More
* Source: CareerBuilder
Flexible
51%
Self
Motivated
66%
Strong
Work Ethic
73%Dependable
73%
Positive
Attitude
72%
Team-Oriented
60%
Organized
57%
Works Well
Under Pressure
57%
Effective
Communicator
56%
Confident
46%

Resign Yourself
to This Reality
46% of newly
hired employees
will fail within 18
months
* Source: “Hire for Attitude” Forbes, January 23, 2012 † Source: “Hiring for attitude: Research &
tools to skyrocket your success rate” Mark Murphy, Leadership IQ, 2012
89% for lack of soft
skills – such as
professionalism or ability
to get along with others

Hiring Well is Hard
This has probably happened to you before…
Person appears perfect…
 dressed well
 great answers
 a sense of confidence
You hire him in your
organization ….
…and he poisons it

• And you inevitably end up saying…
…the thing is,
he interviewed
really well.
Hiring Well is HARD

“Over 50% of candidates lie on resumes…”
Steven D. Levitt – co-author “Freakonomics”
What Went Wrong?
- Resumes

“81% of people lied about themselves during job interviews…”
Brent Weiss & Robert Feldman, U Mass
What Went Wrong?
- Resumes
- Interviews

“Research consistently demonstrates that candidates are able
to fake personality measures …”
International Journal of Selection and Assessment
What Went Wrong?
- Resumes
- Interviews
- Self-Assessments
“Cognitive ability tests have a high adverse impact for
minorities…”
SHRM Foundation’s Effective Practice Guidelines

“Soft Skills” proficiency:
the truest predictors of success

Professionalism
Interpersonal
Skills
Problem Solving
and Adaptability
Personal Value
Commitment
Managing
Others
Leadership
True Predictors of Success
Proficiency in a short list of competency areas, which focus on soft
skills, are the true predictors of success in almost every job.

Professionalism
It’s the “price of entry” and consists of
a wide variety of behaviors and skills.
Some apply to jobs across the board:
- Dependability
- Following instructions
- Work ethic

Professionalism
Chemical Engineer
- Develop and implement
comprehensive safety
procedures for workers who
handle chemicals and operate
equipment
- Ensure compliance with all
relevant safety and
environmental regulations
(e.g., follow all rules for
disposal of hazardous
materials
Sales Professional
- Accurately prepare customer
orders, proposals,
presentations and out-ward
facing communications to
customers
- Consistently meet or exceed
sales goals
- Comprehend the sales cycle
and follow best practices
throughout the entire process

Interpersonal Skills
Having interpersonal skills like the
following will make a candidate far more
likely to succeed:
- Listening
- Relationship-building
- Collaboration

Interpersonal Skills
Housekeeper
- Provide a high level of service
to all guests
- Remain calm and helpful
when handling complains
from guests
Registered Nurse
- Provide others with personal
assistance, medical attention,
and emotional support in a
caring and compassionate
manner
- Listen carefully to patients
and co-workers, taking time to
understand and ask
appropriate questions without
interrupting

Every job essentially requires the ability to assess
and analyze issues as well as adaptability to changing
conditions:
- Analyzing and summarizing information
- Making decisions
- Adapting to change
If you can determine problem solving and
adaptability of a candidate based upon the
challenges of a specific job, you will get insight
into the candidate’s likely success in your organization.
Problem Solving
and Adaptability

Problem Solving
and Adaptability
Help Desk Support
- Remain flexible and adapt to
variety on the job (e.g.,
effectively handle unexpected
situations and changing
conditions)
- Handle multiple projects
effectively in a fast-paced
environment
Payroll Clerk
- Make high-quality decisions
based upon facts and
business priorities
- Know when to escalate
issues to manager in order to
ensure prompt resolution to
problems

Personal Value Commitment
A candidate’s commitment to values and ethics is a key
driver of your own risk exposure. It’s important to know to
what degree and applicant possesses:
- Integrity
- Respect for others
- Adherence to standards
and policies
There are positions that provide
employees with access to sensitive
personal, financial or security data.

Personal Value Commitment
Graphic Artist
- Ensure that all aspects of a
project meet or exceed
industry standards
- Act with ethics and integrity,
maintaining confidentiality
and privacy of client and
company information
Controller
- Act with ethics and integrity,
ensuring that the
organization’s financial
activities and records meet or
exceed accounting standards
- Maintain confidentiality and
privacy of company and client
information

Hiring Someone to Be
in a Position of Power?
If so, you’re probably going to
need to understand two additional
competencies and apply them
to determine job success.

Managing Others
While many jobs clearly demand management skills,
many others will call on them at times.
Skills needed include:
- Selecting and retaining talent
- Leading a team
- Holding others accountable

Leadership
The truly high profile positions
call for an even larger set of
competencies.
Skills needed include:
- Setting direction
- Managing change
- Motivating others

Leadership
Chief Financial Officer
- Work with the executive team to develop short and long-term
financial plans, objectives, policies and actions
- Serve as a trusted advisor to the President and others on challenging
solutions
Chief Information Officer
- Act as a catalyst, communicating the need for change and inspiring
action
- Create the vision to master information technology as a competitive
tool

Soft skills are
important
Resumes, interviews,
personality assessments

Feedback related
to past work
performance is
the single best
predictor of future
job success

“When the criterion was academic
achievement or job performance,
other-ratings yielded predictive
validities substantially greater than
and incremental to self-ratings.”
Connelly & Ones, 2010, p. 1092
“Nothing in the science of prediction
and selection beats observing actual
performance in an equivalent role.”
Peter Cappelli, Director, Center for Human Resources, The Wharton School

Job Specific Insights from References
Better Compliance
More Informed Hiring Decisions
A Different Approach

Studies and Published
Reports are Proof

Bottom-Line:
Soft Skills Matter

While leaders need analytical competencies such as those
associated with strategy, finance and all the planning
processes, research on Emotional Intelligence suggests it is
increasingly the "soft" skills that differentiate those who are
highly successful from those who just get by.
- “What makes a leader” HBR
“

What can’t be replaced in any organization imaginable in the
future is precisely what seems overlooked today: liberal arts
skills, such as creativity, empathy, listening, and vision. These
skills, not digital or technological ones, will hold the keys to a
company’s future success. And yet companies aren’t hiring for
them. This is a problem for today’s digital companies, and it’s
only going to get worse.
- Tom Perrault, Chief People Officer
“

Soft-Skills Identification & Hiring

Soft-Skills Alignment

Soft-Skills Development

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7 Ways Soft-Skills Power Organizational Performance

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