6 important soft skills that will help you further

Soft skills are not only important for increasing your reputation within the organization, they also contribute to the external reputation of your employer. The way you deal with customers and business partners has an influence on the way people see your company. Your soft skills determine the success of your social interactions and thus also those of the company you work for.

Soft skills and emotional intelligence

In short, soft skills are essential for organizations and their employees. Every organization gains from employees with these skills. That’s why we recently developed over 370 microlearnings about soft skills. Such as short modules on working together, managing, connecting and communicating.

As a customer of Rakoo you (most of the time) get these microlearnings automatically in the library of your academy. Beside your own custom made online training, the library thus consists of general, essential e-learnings with which the employees can start directly.

Well-developed soft skills of employees are extremely valuable to an organization. Soft skills are someone’s personal characteristics that influence relations, communication and interaction with others. Moreover, soft skills are skills that improve work achievements and productivity.

Soft skills are mainly linked to emotional intelligence, but they also include competences such as being able to communicate effectively, listening, conflict resolution, negotiating, presenting, working together, being open for feedback and working under pressure. The better these skills are developed, the better someone functions and works together with colleagues. Soft skills also help by finding, attracting and maintaining customers.

Why soft skills became important

While hard skills, such as technical knowledge and specific skills, were the main requirements for a position until recently, the possession of soft skills are now considered to be essential. That’s not weird, because having an employee with well-developed soft skills has a considerable impact on the ability of an organization to function effectively.

This way, our workplaces changed quite a bit in the past decades. Big office spaces, flex work places, social rooms; the time of closed offices where you worked all day long are far behind us. Smartphones and virtual meeting applications also caused a revolution. The flexibility of our professional life is enormously increased by these developments. In order to work with this flexibility and cooperation, you need better communication skills. You simply cannot do without anymore.

Can you improve soft skills?

When talking about soft skills it’s mostly not about all or nothing. Many people manage certain skills broadly adequate, but still struggle with others. You can for example have excellent communication skills and you are good working in a team, but at the same time you struggle with time management and you experience difficulties working under pressure. It frequently happens that the stake of a lesser developed soft skill is underestimated or that the obtained soft skills generally are overestimated.

The first step in personal development is recognizing and acknowledging the areas in which you can improve. This can be done by personal reflection or by feedback of colleagues or supervisors. As soon as you’re aware of your strengths and weaknesses, you can get started.

The majority of soft skills are supported by confidence and enthusiasm and are undermined by fear, insecurity and negativity. Changing your way of thinking, so you can see the positive in situations, has a significant influence on how you deal with others.

Important skills and how they help you

You’ve already seen a few soft skills in this blog. Down below we’ve listed 6 soft skills for you, from which we know employees appreciate them. We tell you how you can use them, so they’ll help you to function optimally.

1. Accepting and using feedback

The ability to accept and implement feedback is a soft skill a lot of people experience difficulties with. Still, almost all employers prefer employees that don’t only react to the criticism of others, but who consequently search for ways to improve unsolicited. Use your soft skills to be self-reliant and reflecting concerning your job.

2. Being organized

Attention for detail, time management and the ability to delegate are all soft skills that determine how organized you’re at work. By being organized you show that you’re a trustworthy colleague who doesn’t only deliver good work, but also does this on time. Organization skills combined with other soft skills such as communication, helps you to gain the trust of your team.

3. Proactieve attitude

Employers love employees who’re motivated and who regularly show some initiative. Having a positive mindset and creativity shows that you’ll initiate devising new projects or ways to solve a problem. Soft skills help you to carry out your ideas. Take on a proactive attitude to turn brainstorm sessions into executable projects.

4. Develop leadership skills

When focussing on soft skills you show that you think about how your habits and attitude can be of influence on your colleagues. This is an essential feature of good leadership. Employees with strong soft skills are able to analyse what kind of leadership their team needs in order to succeed.

5. Creating trust

Your social skills help you to deal in confidence with problems on the workplace. Your confidence helps you to influence others and to convince them of your vision in professional situations. You profile yourself as an essential member of the team.

6. A good image

In short, soft skills are essential for organizations and their employees. Every organization gains from employees with these skills. That’s why we recently developed over 100 microlearnings about soft skills. Such as short modules on working together, managing, connecting and communicating.