Improve Employee Soft Skills Training to Future-Proof Your Team

Level up your team with a dedicated soft skills training program

Imagine your new employee, who aced the interview process and has the necessary technical skills required for the job, isn’t communicating well with their team lead. Or you receive feedback from a potential client that many of their questions went unanswered during a recent meeting with your sales team, and they felt generally unheard.

This may be a sign that your training initiatives don’t cover the most important soft skills, which have been proven to increase revenue by $90,000. In fact, one survey showed that over 85 percent of HR professionals agreed that soft skills are more important than hard skills for long-term employee success.

Organizations that offer dedicated soft skills training courses—covering topics like active listening, teamwork, adaptability, and communication skills—enjoy higher productivity, increased employee retention, and a more positive company culture.

In this post, discover why teaching soft skills is essential to business success, as well as the e-learning strategies to maximize your soft skills training.

The lasting benefits of soft skills training

Experts at Deloitte Access Economics predict that jobs that depend on soft skills will make up two-thirds of all positions by 2030. With a workplace environment that presents new challenges every day, training your team on the most important soft skills can help your organization weather the change.

Creating a dedicated soft skills training program through e-learning will help your organization:

• Recover from the great resignation. While the massive exit from work during covid times has slowed, the effects are still being felt. High turnover rates in a variety of industries still remain. Maximizing soft skills training leads to higher employee engagement and dedication to the company, increasing employee retention.
• Navigate remote and hybrid work. Your organization has likely made the switch—and maybe even switched back and forth—to hybrid or remote work. Soft skills like adaptability and communication are paramount to employees being able to seamlessly move from one to the other.
• Keep up with the rise of automation and AI. While the use of AI has its many advantages, it can’t replace soft skills like empathy and creativity. These indispensable human traits give your clients—and your team—the personal connection they’re looking for.
• Thrive in a global market. Globalization allows for a wider customer base, but it also means exposure to more competition and cultural differences. Communication, adaptability, and emotional intelligence are soft skills that will help put your team in the best position to earn clients’ business and respect.

Additionally, soft skills like teamwork, communication, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving will help you maintain a positive, safe workplace culture. These skills also offer measurable business value—studies show that well-developed soft skills account for 85 percent of job success.

The top 5 soft skills and how to teach them

Looking to create a forward-thinking organization with a dedicated soft skills training program? Learn why you should start with these five skills, and discover how to maximize their value using e-learning.

1. Teach adaptability using branching scenarios

As the work landscape changes by the minute—from hybrid to remote to in office and back again—adaptability skills are essential. This soft skill is demonstrated by the ability to roll with any changes, like an in-person meeting changing to virtual, collaborating across time zones, and accommodating different cultures.

Branching scenarios through e-learning allow your team to practice decision-making when encountering unexpected or unique situations, giving them the chance to tune up their performance. Additionally, your team will get used to navigating change in a low-risk environment.

2. Teach emotional intelligence using story-based learning

The ability to recognize emotion in others and relate to them accordingly can be the difference between a client feeling heard and feeling ignored. The rise of automation and AI in industries like customer service can sometimes leave soft skills like emotional intelligence underdeveloped.

Story-based learning uses customizable characters to help introduce your team to diverse perspectives from different geographical and cultural backgrounds. This not only enhances your brand’s value from a client’s perspective but also helps your team members form stronger bonds.

3. Teach problem-solving using gamification

At the heart of every business is the ability to problem-solve and think critically to uncover and address your client’s needs. The future may bring many solutions, but new problems will always arise as the landscape changes. With a team that’s practiced in facing any challenge, problems become opportunities rather than obstacles.

Gamifying an e-learning course builds in rewards to logical ways of thinking and opportunities to see the effects of our decision-making in real-time action. Earning rewards—even if it’s just points on a leaderboard—builds ownership and autonomy while making learning fun. Strengthening each individual’s ability to tackle challenges creates a stronger team.

4. Teach teamwork using scenario-based learning

Strengthening the connection between team members and across teams is the backbone of a well-rounded organization. More than ever, teams are separated by time zones, language gaps, and learning levels. Great communication, understanding everyone’s role, and giving and receiving feedback without contention are all marks of a good team.

Scenario-based learning gives your team members ample opportunity to take on challenges they may not have experienced or considered before. You can use relatable characters, real-life opportunities, and information directly from your subject-matter experts to help your team apply their knowledge. In an online learning environment, actions and consequences are safely explored without risk.

5. Teach communication skills using role-playing

According to a SHRM report, workers are four times more likely to stick around in a job where a positive workplace culture is cultivated. While all soft skills contribute to positivity on the job, communication skills may be the biggest contributor. Without open communication, team members can quickly feel confused, left out, or underappreciated.

AI tools can be handy for generating example scenarios for your learners. For example, you can use them to generate ideas for difficult or tense workplace situations, then create e-learning courses based on those situations that your team members can interact with. This allows your team to test their communication skills and improve problem-solving, teamwork, and adaptability.

Employee soft skills training benefits the whole organization

Soft skill development is increasingly important to employee retention, navigating the changing work environment, and future-proofing your organization. A dedicated training program geared toward adaptability, communication, teamwork, emotional intelligence, and problem-solving can prepare your team for long-term success.

Inspired to learn more? Discover how to determine the right soft skills for the role, why practice makes perfect, and the importance of feedback cycles in your training program.