Here’s a lesson in basic anatomy for small businesses seeking to recruit the right candidate: Hard skills constitute the sturdy skeleton that keeps a worthy job applicant standing upright, but their soft skills provide the flesh and blood that makes this person human and hirable.
Indeed, soft skills—like critical thinking, communication, creativity, emotional intelligence, and people management—are in greater demand today than ever before.
McKinsey recently reported that as technology advances, the need for social and emotional skills will grow across all industries by 26% in the United States and by 22% in Europe by 2030. “The rise in demand for entrepreneurship and initiative taking will be the fastest growing in this category, with a 33% increase in the United States and a 32% rise in Europe. The need for leadership and managing others will also grow strongly,” reported the consulting firm.
Indeed, automation and artificial intelligence are accelerating the shift in skills that the workforce needs. Soft skills augment and improve machine performance in ways that benefit customers and businesses across sectors.
People-minded proficiencies
Soft skills are all the rage lately because employers, managers, coworkers, and clients appreciate these human talents in an increasingly high-tech world.
“As technologies such as automation and artificial intelligence become commonplace, soft skills are also becoming more prized,” says Kim McDonald, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Prescott's, Inc. “Remember—the best technologies are meaningless without a human connection. Technology is great for helping with efficiency, but the real strategies have to be handled by a real person.”
Chuck Underwood, Founder of The Generational Imperative and Host of the PBS TV series “America’s Generations With Chuck Underwood,” agrees.
“Soft skills are more valued today because, in the two American generations currently aged 18 to 54, they are diminished. This is due to technology’s damage as well as other formative years’ events during the childhood of both generations,” Underwood said, who includes a long attention span, empathy, punctuality, and social savvy among the soft skills most sought after by employers.
Today, small and large companies alike can’t afford to be deficient in workers who lack these and other aptitudes.
"Landing an employee who is rich in soft skills—particularly social and communication adroitness—is like striking gold,” says Denise Dudley, Author and Founder of SkillPath, an online learning and professional development platform. “Your organization will stand out among its competitors if you hire people who are friendly, empathetic, positive, and solution-oriented.”
Of course, the importance and degree of soft skills needed will depend on the type of business and position, she added.
“If you’ve got a pizza parlor with a kid-friendly theme, you’d better hire some positive, perky, enthusiastic servers. If you’ve got a mortuary business, you want employees who are low-key, polished, well-spoken, and able to handle grieving customers,” Dudley said. “But, if you own a factory that machines parts for an assembly plant, soft skills may not be as high on your employee traits wish list.”
The best technologies are meaningless without a human connection.
Kim McDonald, Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Prescott's, Inc.
Hard skills vs. soft skills
The distinction between hard and soft skills used to be clear. However, as technology gets smarter, these skill sets have become more similar.
Simply put, hard skills are specific, teachable abilities or knowledge sets that can be quantified. Hard skills are often technical in nature and can be measured through tests, certifications, or practical demonstrations. Examples include programming languages (like Python or Java), data analysis, graphic design, and project management.
Soft skills are more interpersonal traits that are often more subjective and harder to measure but are crucial for teamwork and communication. Examples include communication, empathy, adaptability, problem-solving, and leadership.
Many soft skills can be measured and improved: Leadership and communication are two skills that are less innate and more trainable. Moreover, McKinsey also separates cognitive skills, technological skills, and physical/manual skills into their own categories.
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter how you categorize a skill; it’s about designing an hiring process that considers the full range of talents someone has to offer.
How to identify soft skills in an interview
You can assess a candidate’s soft skills via the initial screening, interview process, and personality or writing tests.
“For example, reading the cover letter and resume, as part of the initial screening process, provides an opportunity to assess written communication skills,” says Patricia Buhler, Business Management Professor at Goldey-Beacom College.
However, the most telling tool is your face-to-face interview with the aspirant.
“Pay attention to the candidate’s eye contact with you, facial expression, voice tone and loudness, and body language,” recommends Dudley.
Behavioral interview questions can also uncover someone’s soft skills. Asking questions such as “Tell me about a time you worked with an especially difficult individual on a team” or “What are you most proud of creating from scratch at your last job?” can provide further insights into the candidate’s soft skills.
Here are some other soft skills interview questions to try:
- Tell me about a time when you managed your team through a difficult situation.
- How would you explain an unfamiliar topic to a coworker effectively?
- Tell me about a time when you handled a very tense workplace situation.
- How would you explain to your 95-year-old grandmother what you do for a living?
If the prospect is deficient in certain soft skills but outshines rivals in other areas, don’t be too quick to disqualify him or her. Not all soft skills are inherent — many can be improved by training, upskilling, mentorship, and constructive feedback. After hiring, plan to assess your employee’s soft skill development at routine markers, such as the six-month or one-year evaluation.
“It’s important to make improving an employee’s soft skills an ongoing effort. The best results come from 360-degree feedback where your manager and peers evaluate you,” McDonald said.
For instance, Springer Venture Group, where McDonald was Executive Vice President—People, uses a system where our employees answer questions, she said. “Then, [the] HR team condenses the responses into actionable feedback, not to criticize but to point out actions to help an employee grow.”
Erik J. Martin also contributed to this article.
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