Soft Skills, Not Just Warm and Fuzzy
Do you consider soft skills as a “nice-to-have” or a necessity? Obviously, employees must have the hard skills required for the job. Often the challenge is not so much finding someone with the technical skills needed. It’s more likely that the difficulty will be in recruiting someone with the soft skills that would make that candidate the right fit for the company. With all the new demands on businesses to deal with issues related to Covid19, soft skills are even more important now.
Take a look at your interview questions and your job description. Is it mostly specific about the hard skills you need to fill your position? You probably include some adjectives about being organized, focused and a multitude of other attributes you value in an employee. But, are you screening for the soft skills that make your employees priceless assets?
Do soft skills matter?
Maybe now is the time to figure out if you understand what soft skills are. I’ll put a list here, but to make it easier to pinpoint it, think about a person that is a great asset to the company. Consider how that person communicates, self-manages, shows empathy, initiative, attitude, critical thinking, problem solving, time management and more! Then think of someone you know that is highly technical and skilled but impossible to work with. Okay, so now you understand how important soft skills are!
Obviously, most employers understand that customer service staff should be good with people. Less obvious are the specific attributes that make an outstanding customer service person. How about patience, empathy, a good listener, someone who truly cares about helping people and knows how to calm an angry customer? A good voice/tone and the ability to match the pace of the customer makes for smoother interactions. Customers should feel that they are the only thing that is important at that moment.
It’s not just customer service staff that needs soft skills
Technically, almost everyone is a customer service person simply because they may have some contact with clients. Even if they don’t, they have contact with internal customers and co-workers and soft skills make for a better work environment.
For some employees, soft skills come naturally and all they need is a little coaching on how to best represent the company. But for many of us, it is a work in progress.
So, how are your own soft skills?
While we are talking about hiring people with great soft skills, maybe it’s time to evaluate your own. Here’s some tips to help you improve your soft skills too.
- If you are having a bad day, leave it at the door. Pick up your worries and think about them on your way home if you need to
- Put yourself in the other person’s shoes and treat them as you would want to be treated
- Consider the best possible outcome and strive to achieve it
- Talk to your supervisor about what you are empowered to do for clients
- Always practice active listening
- Even on the phone, try to smile while you are talking to clients, your voice sounds friendlier when you are smiling
- For managers: take the time to coach your staff. Try some role playing to get everyone up to speed!
Remember, unless your company is selling a product or service that is not available anywhere else, customers typically have a lot of choices of where to buy. Use your staff’s soft skills to earn customers that will stay loyal even when there is a problem.
Great hires can turn into problem solvers
Using a professional CRA (Consumer Reporting Agency) for your pre-employment or vendor screening services will save you time and money. For a free consultation or more information, contact Genesis Background Screening Services at 866 944-0041 ext 101. Online, you can email or visit www.genesisbackgroundscreening.com. You can sign up to be emailed whenever we post a new blog at https://genesisbackgroundscreening.com/blog/
Genesis Background Screening is not a law firm and provides our blogs for informational purposes only. Blog is not a substitute for experienced legal advice. Research laws or regulations mentioned in our blogs and ask your legal counsel any questions you have to be sure your organization is within the law and compliant with regulations.
Jacqueline McClure
Genesis Background Screening Services
