What skills are essentials for your employees to possess?

Times have changed.

To adapt, companies are adopting more horizontal organizational structures and their skill demands are also shifting.

In the past, essential skills were almost always fixed assets in the workplace; employees would be hired, develop their niche skill set, and gradually get promoted over time within their unit.

Not any more.

Before we dive into what’s essential today, like the expert L&Ds we are, let’s first align on the basics – There are two types of essential skills every HR specialist or manager needs to know: soft skills (AKA “power skills”) and hard skills. Your companies recruiters have likely identified these during the recruiting process, and discussed their importance with you while planning onboarding, training & development initiatives.

In this guide, we’ll look closer at the most essential skills every employee should have (the soft, power skills that training for is much harder to do), and help you learn how to identify skill gaps in your own organization.

Keep an eye on our blog, we’ll soon publish our thorough guide on how to plan the training process that close skills gaps fast.

Essential Employee Skills for Every Company

These skills lend themselves to greater independence, efficiency, potential, and cross-functional collaboration.

Communication

How many resumes have you read that list “communication” as a skill? How often have you listed “excellent communication skills” on a job listing? All companies want good communicators, regardless of their industry.

It’s not just essential to a role; it’s vital for a company’s operations. That being said, what really defines communication? What makes it excellent instead of just “good”, and how do you improve it?

The core communication skills employers should look for and develop are:

1. Verbal communication. A good verbal communicator knows how to actively listen, and routinely uses communications strategies like respectfully sharing feedback, responsiveness, and clarifying.
2. Written communication. Employees need to be able to express their thoughts, share ideas, give feedback, and communicate through a variety of channels. They should know how to write clearly, effectively, and efficiently in differing situations, whether they are drafting reports for a meeting or sending messages on Slack.
3. Interpersonal communication. When interacting with others, employees need to exhibit emotional intelligence, which lends to greater emotional regulation, empathy, and understanding. This type of communication can also include skills like negotiation and feedback. Non-verbal communication also falls under this category, which includes making appropriate eye contact, respecting others’ physical boundaries, and being able to recognize and interpret body language for social cues.

Adaptability

Adaptive employees are more likely to innovate and experiment in the workplace; they’re less afraid of failure because they can readily adjust their actions while maintaining a positive mindset.Low adaptability among teams ultimately leads to functional silos, reduced effectiveness, and lower efficiency. At the department level, or even company level, a lack of adaptability translates to less creativity, collaboration, and strategic risk-taking.

Creating a more adaptive workplace takes a team-based approach; in fact, without a strong team culture, individual adaptivity will ultimately be ineffective. Team-building exercises and a look at operational flexibility can help build this skill internally.

Technical Skills

The depth of technical skill requirements will vary by industry, organization, and even unit, but the need for them is universal. One of the greatest reasons companies struggle to coordinate across departments is because of significant skill and knowledge gaps.

Sales reps may not need to know network logistics, but they should be well-versed in technical systems they use, common troubleshooting procedures, and basic computer literacy.

On that note, every employee should have basic digital literacy that includes good cybersecurity practices, email functions, Microsoft 365, G Suite, and presentation design and demonstration.

The best way to gauge technical skills in the workplace is to send out a survey. You can either have employees deliver direct feedback, or ask managers to contribute performance ratings that help paint a clearer picture of each employee’s strengths and areas for improvement.

Organization

Organized employees are more efficient in everything they do; and by organization, we don’t just mean being able to keep their desk neat and documents in order. As a skill, organization encompasses factors like attention to detail, prioritization, and multitasking.

An organized employee is ultimately more flexible and capable of knowing how to optimize their own productivity. They can identify the most pressing tasks at any time, shift their focus easily, and manage multiple responsibilities without becoming easily overwhelmed or overlooking important details.

How to Build Essential Skills in the Workplace

The best thing to do is perform an employee skills assessment to identify your organization’s most critical areas for improvement. From there, you can hand-pick the most beneficial learning and development resources that will help close gaps.

Keep an eye on our blog, we’re soon publishing a practical guide on how to do just that!

If you don’t want to wait for the guide, set up a time with us to learn more on how we can help develop your next training program here 👈