Soft Skill Development: The Key to Professional Success

It is increasingly complex to compete as professionals in a rapidly changing work environment like the one we live in. However, there are two things we can do to stay on the market.

Work environments are constantly evolving, mainly due to the introduction of new technologies within companies. This is generating significant changes in business models and, consequently, also in the area of??human resources. Today's professionals face the challenge of staying up to date and competitive in an ever changing environment. How to overcome this obstacle? The answer lies in the development of soft skills and in learning ability.

If new technologies are having a big impact on a general level, their effects are multiplying in companies that are dedicated to the "digital world": consultancies specialized in online marketing (as in our case), purely digital activities such as apps, e-commerce... In this case the challenge is twofold, since the need to stay up to date and competitive adds to the difficulty of working in relatively new sectors, such as those of the app can be, to stay on the subject.

In this uncertain and changing context, professionals and companies must find ways to overcome the challenges that have emerged and ensure that collaborators are always up to the company's needs. From our point of view, especially in the digital professional’s world, the answer lies in the development of soft skills and continuous training, closely related to each other.

The development of soft skills: a growing need

Specifically, soft skills are all those skills that have to do with emotional intelligence, the ability to work in a team, leadership, conflict resolution. So they have to do with the employee's aptitudes and ability to deal with and know how to manage his or her job. It is also defined as transversal skills. On the contrary, hard skills are the technical skills and experiences gained over the years of work such as, for example, the knowledge of graphic design or the use of specific tools.

Why is the development of soft skills more important today? The answer is simple: they don't have an "expiration date". Knowing how to use Photoshop will be useful until the next editing program is released, as the creation of spreadsheets in Excel will be useless when Artificial Intelligence will do them for us. In return, these "transversal skills" make us unique as professionals and, in every working environment in which we find ourselves, they will continue to be useful to us, today as in the next ten years.

As highlighted in our report on tourism trends, studies from Harvard and Stanford universities show that 85% of success at work comes from the development of soft skills. Technology giants like Apple and Google, and companies like IBM or Ernst & Young, are looking for people without a university degree, instead giving priority to soft skills.

Success at work is obviously the result of a balanced combination of soft and hard skills. However, it is also true that when one has to develop one or the other one tends to pay more attention to the latter. In fact, we often forget how important it is to know how to speak in public, develop leadership skills or strengthen our ability to work in a team.

All these aspects, related to soft skills, are those that will allow us to overcome present and future job challenges. In any sector, at any time and in any condition, your soft skills will help you have a unique and competitive profile, that no machine or technology can ever replace.

Of all your skills there is one that must be particularly developed and is the key to overcoming current and future challenges: the ability to learn. It is not a question of continually acquiring new knowledge as such, but of developing an attitude towards growth and a will to learn constantly over the years. This will mark the difference between a flat professional career and a steadily growing career.

Employee training as a business strategy

When a person adopts continuous learning as a "lifestyle", the assimilation of ideas or skills ceases to be a source of fear or stress. In fact, you end up "becoming attached" to continuous improvement, entering and leaving your comfort zone.

In the same way, when a project, or our tasks within it, change, the development of this attitude facilitates the transition and allows an imbalance not to arise. We live as a new starting point, a new challenge and a new possibility of learning. This increases the ability to maintain control and productivity in the face of difficulties.

What is the role of companies in all this? Their role must be that of facilitators, promoting continuous training among its employees. The advantages are numerous, from personal to group ones, even to economic ones. If employees are updated on the latest industry news and develop new skills, they will be more efficient in their work, promote innovation within the company and could lead to new services or significant improvements in current ones. More importantly, they will be more motivated and involved.

In addition, companies that invest in training are much more interesting and better able to retain and attract new talent. Today's professionals, especially young people who belong to the digital world, use video platforms or online courses to develop new skills. What will they think of a company that puts all this at hand?

In WAM, for example, we know that our employees have constantly moving minds and love learning new things, staying up to date and making the process quick and easy. This is why we offer our team access to platforms and initiatives that allow them to choose between different alternatives, depending on their role or personal motivations, aiming to develop their curiosity and learning ability.

Therefore, we all have a responsibility and it is in our hands to find the right formula to face the challenges presented to us by the current world of work.

Digital communication consultant. I deal with Strategy and Digital Communication. Web & Digital Manager, SEO, eCommerce, Content, Social Media. Songwriter, Guitar Player, and then anyway I look at everything.