The Soft Skills Gap: How Employers Are Falling Behind in Addressing Crucial Soft Skill Needs
The Soft Skills Gap: How Employers Are Falling Behind in Addressing Crucial Soft Skill Needs
The Career Advisory Board of DeVry University recently conducted in-depth research into the prevalence of key soft skills within the modern workforce. In a press release published in late December of 2018, Anne Unger discusses the findings of the 2018 Talent Activation, Employee Experience and Skills Development research. She states that the research reveals, “a gap in soft skills such as communications, business acumen and customer service.”
While employers have been taking steps to combat these gaps in soft skills, their efforts have not been completely successful. The study showed that when it comes to certain key soft skills, approximately half of the workforce is falling behind. These skills relate to:
- Digital fluency
- Communication
- Business acumen
- Cultural awareness
- Customer service
These skill gaps are occuring at all levels of employment. However, soft skill gaps are most notable among lower paid employees, with the research showing that 71 percent of frontline employees lack vital soft skills. By comparison, employers noted a lack of soft skills in 63 percent of the supervisory level and only 45 percent at the executive level.
According to Unger, in spite of this lack of key soft skills, “Respondents are confident they are activating their talent and providing strong candidate and employee experiences.” In fact, more than 75 percent of employers believe that they are providing employees with development programs and learning opportunities that empower them with the information, tools, and skills needed to further their careers. Furthermore, 60 percent of employers actively seek to improve employee/employer relationships by practicing continuous feedback and providing regular opportunities for employees and managers to check in with each other and monitor progress.
Alexandra Levit, chair of the Career Advisory board says of the situation, “Many large-scale companies are taking steps to activate their internal talent and are enhancing the employee experience along the way. However, evidently it’s not enough to close soft skills gaps that are present at all levels of an organization.”
Employers seeking to close the soft skill gaps in their organizations should take the following actions:
- Review job candidates and employees so as to identify any soft skill gaps.
- Implement strategies and action plans that specifically address significant skill gaps.
- Regularly update and replace training programs and learning opportunities as needed.
- Utilize multiple formats for providing training such as external classes, onsite courses, or onsite training days.
- Meet with leaders to consistently reinforce the benefits of closing soft skill gaps.
- Establish metrics for tracking and demonstrating the positive effect of closing soft skill gaps.
- Ensure that senior leadership is aware of the benefits of closing soft skill gaps so as to ensure that any training initiatives receive sufficient budgetary funding.
While employers have been taking important steps in closing the soft skill gap, there is still much work to be done. Soft skills such as business acumen, digital fluency, and communication are essential to the success of the modern worker – and to modern business organizations as a whole. Employers who wish to remain competitive would do well to institute training initiatives that address these vital skill needs.
