Soft skills matter more than ever

In a rapidly changing world of work, soft skills have become (and will be) increasingly critical for managers and leaders.

According to a McKinsey study, faced with the pandemic, companies have significantly strengthened their focus on soft skills, with half of respondents prioritizing leadership (50%), followed by critical thinking (48%), resilience and lifelong learning (40%). The skills that have grown the most are especially those related to empathy and interpersonal relationships (40% in 2020 vs 20% in 2019).

And there is more: by 2030 – says Deloitte – two-thirds of all jobs will be in ‘soft skill intensive occupations’ compared to one-half in 2000, and the number of soft skill-intensive jobs will grow more than twice as fast as other types of jobs.

Whilst traditional hiring approaches largely focus on hard skills, today it is more important than ever to take a person-centred perspective.

In our latest White Paper, we present the opportunities offered by holistic hiring in assessing the “soft side” of candidates.

The study takes an in-depth look at the High Potential Trait Indicator assessment by Thomas International, which has become an additional and qualitative step in our methodology: by measuring 6 key personality traits, it helps us to have an open conversation with our final candidates about the compatibility  between their “soft side” and work context. In this way, we increase the probability of a good match between the individual, the role offered and the company culture, and – in the end – increase employee retention.