Marc, your accountant for 15 years, can't stand accounting anymore! He is applying for the position of digital project manager that has just become available in the company... And why not offer him this opportunity for reconversion? You decide to give him a chance and that a solid training in digital tools will do the trick. Be careful, not so sure! Of course, you will bring him the technical know-how and Marc already has many skills and professional qualities, but what about the soft skills? skills Creativity, teamwork, communication... All these "soft skills" that he may lack to excel in his new job?
How to develop soft skills?
To develop soft skills, it is necessary to establish a diagnosis, to organize simulations, to choose the appropriate training materials and to regularly evaluate their progress.
Establish a soft skills diagnosis
Before giving him the job, you can suggest that Mark take personality tests, known as "cognitive aptitude" tests.
Even though you have known him for 15 years and he has the main professional skills required skills , Mark may have emotional qualities (curiosity, imagination, empathy, etc.) that were not particularly prominent in his previous job as an accountant, but which will prove to be valuable in his new position. The objective of the psychometric tests is therefore to capture the weak signals relating to personality traits that may be buried and interesting to develop and to include them in Mark's list of personal skills .
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Organize a simulation
Proposing to Marc to work on a practical case, in the presence of HR collaborators and his possible digital colleagues, can be very relevant. The exercise will allow to evaluate Marc's technical skills , but also his interactions with others and his cognitive abilities in a work situation. It is also a great opportunity to challenge him, based on a concrete situation.
Set up appropriate training courses
Once the soft skills to be developed have been perfectly identified, the use of training can make sense. It is of course easier to learn how to handle Excell than empathy, but training and workshops dedicated to the development of soft skills do exist. If you find, for example, that Mark, for his new job, has a rational mind but that acquiring a little creativity would be beneficial to him, why not offer him one of the very fun workshops on the theme: "how to develop my creativity"...?
More technical trainings - dedicated to digital, for example - can also be mixed with modules promoting team agility, thus killing two birds with one stone.
Finally, you can also punctuate the year with moments that combine learning, relaxation and team cohesion... Seminars, hackathons, workshops, MOCCs and other cultural or artistic activities have proven their worth... There is nothing like a meditation session or a cooking class to contribute to the development of the skills softness of your employees!
To propose a framework and specific equipment
The implementation of flexible work spaces encourages the development of soft skills. Indeed, you offer your employees the possibility to choose the framework and the work mode that correspond to them. Of course, it is not a question of offering a remote or a roof top office on demand, but taking into account the sensitivities (to noise pollution, for example) of each person and individual preferences, favors creativity and productivity. Moreover, specific computer tools such as Slack, Trello or Zenkit, which are very intuitive and conducive to interaction and collaborative work, are also excellent for developing soft skills!
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Evaluate their progress regularly
What will be true for Marc will be true for all the employees... A "human" management is crucial for your employees to grow and develop. Listening, dialogue and availability are all managerial qualities that encourage team members to develop their own soft skills.
In the register of particularly virtuous practices, let us note for example:
- Establish a collaborative decision-making process: structured debates and the designation of a rapporteur/leader in charge of processing, synthesizing and deciding thus allows the integration of all the stakeholders in a decision or the launching of a project.
- Systematize feedback: a debriefing on mistakes and successes is also valuable. This allows you to work together on solutions, areas for improvement, etc.
- Knowing how to show recognition: valuing good practices, whether individually or collectively, is of course also crucial to developing employees' soft skills...
Immersive training is being adopted by many clients and is relevant to skills . Read our page dedicated to"Metaverse Opportunities for Training".
