People skills in the Workplace

Hi,

I’m Alix and it’s my mission to help as many of the next generation as possible to work in jobs that make them happy and fulfilled adults.

And, once in that job, to help them succeed by providing support and hand holding where they may not have any. Be a ‘virtual mentor’ if you like.

So, grab a snack and join me today as we delve into people skills (also known as soft skills) for the workplace, critical skills needed that are not taught in the classroom.

What are soft skills…

Soft skills are less taught than learnt from your surroundings, the people you spend time with, the books you read and films you watch. Most you learn naturally as you grow up, picking up the basics from your parents, siblings, and teachers.

They include how you react to both those around you on a day-to-day basis, along with those you meet casually.

Hopefully these will all have been positive traits.

And the good thing is that by now you’ll have at least a basic understanding of them, ie communicating – both listening and speaking, - empathy - the ability to understand and share the feelings of another, - problem solving and more just from growing up - though you should, of course, only keep hold of the positive ones.

Other people skills you’ll have learnt, say at nursery, when you’ve been told that behaving a certain way is not acceptable (oops!).

These are the skills that you use to make the day better for others. Holding a door open, smiling at a stranger. Encouraging others with their dreams.

And in the workplace? Doing all those things will make your colleagues’ days better, leading to a more productive atmosphere all round.

Why develop soft skills…

Exam grades and technical skills will get you the job, but these supporting soft skills will make the job both easier and more rewarding for you, especially long term if you’re looking to progress upwards in a firm.

Once mastered, by using them to make your and your colleagues’ daily working life better you’ll be known for it and your superiors will take note.

For instance, just by being the calm one, able to keep things harmonious rather than allowing conflict to escalate, by spotting challenges early, knowing what to say, how to say it and when to are critical skills.

They’ll give you the power to ask for help when you need it because your colleagues know you’d help them whenever possible. We all learn something new, almost daily, and it’s a comfort knowing you needn’t worry about seeking that help when necessary.

With the rise of the internet, technical skills are crucial, and, for certain jobs, particular grades are critical, but these are the hard and fast, skills. The ones that are measured by exam results.

However, they're not the only skills needed for career success.

People skills are equally important for settling and fitting in, in any professional setting.

Being able to get along with bosses, co-workers, and everyone around you will play a crucial role in your career and can be a deciding factor when you’re being considered for promotion as, having worked in the firm, they’ll have seen your soft skill abilities in action.

Being a good team member and communicator, both with your colleagues and bosses, and making sure you understand the task at hand through mastering the listening soft skill, offering solutions when challenges arise and being known for helping others will make you indispensable.

I hope it goes without saying that, whether you’re starting a new position or are already established, it’s important to treat people with respect, always.

If you perhaps think of it as wanting to be a mentor for those around you, you’ll work towards being that mentor, even on a bad day, which can help you remember to be understanding, guiding and ready to give that helping hand, spotting a need perhaps before being asked. And knowing how to help through empathy is a key soft skill.

So, by mastering soft skills you’ll not only stand out but increase your status enormously. And your supervisor and managers will notice. Store it away for when a promotion, especially a managerial role, comes up.

Soft skills include…

So, what do soft skills include?

Problem solving: these definitely come into full play when challenges arise.

By keeping calm and, instead of fixating on how it became a challenge, you focus on possible solution(s) instead, taking these with you when having to report issues to a supervisor, will be appreciated - and remembered.

All too often people concentrate on the challenge, who caused it and how/why it happened. Looking for ‘someone’ to blame. And then making sure that that ‘someone’ knows it.

This can lead to inevitable feelings of embarrassment for the person who may have been responsible. But, when you step in with solutions, not only will the boss be grateful, but you could have a colleague as a friend for life.

Note: I work in a small office and the blame culture is everywhere. Any problem that comes up has to have a person to blame for it. The solution is not a priority, just find someone to pin it on. Makes for a toxic atmosphere and it’s no wonder that issues that need dealing with, even the simple ones like we’re running out of coffee, are not highlighted to management, who micro-manage to the point of choosing which coffee is bought for replacement. for fear of being the one who gets the curt email, snappy response or the stamping past your office as they go to check for themselves.

When challenges arise as they inevitably will, think outside the box. Use your logical mindset, invaluable in any workplace, to work out the next steps. Try and deflect any blame, focus on the solution.

Even it’s just damage control.

Flexibility: being flexible includes being able to work with change when new technology, or new department direction, throws a curveball into the mix.

Note: I used to work in Personnel for a large American bank. As a department we provided hand holding, a shoulder to cry on, advice for conflicts. Then one day we were grouped together and told we were no longer Personnel but were now Human Resources. Didn’t know it at the time but it was a huge change. Instead of guiding staff, overnight we became a resource that staff came to. No bed-side manner or caring support, just ‘this is what you do’. We were told to think about every aspect of our working day to see if it made sense to continue working the way we had been bearing in mind we were now a resource, look for ways to streamline processes, save time and, therefore, money.

So, stay flexible to having to change and fit in with new organisation changes. Even, perhaps, suggest changes when you spot something that could be streamlined before being asked.

Note: if you transfer into a position, be careful of the over-use of saying ‘In my old job we…’. This can be both helpful but irritating when used too often. Perhaps change it to something along the lines of ‘how about we try doing it this way? It could save resources and time.’

Time is an invaluable commodity and affects the bottom line (a firm’s profit) every time.

And, of course, with technology expanding so fast, being able to accept and adapt will be ever more important in this regard alone.

Prioritising: use your time in the most efficient way.

By focussing on the next critical or important task coming up you won’t find yourself running out of time if you’ve prepared and then something else is thrown into your day. If you have a meeting the next day or week, make sure you’ve prepared for it first, then move on to other things on your list.

You never, ever, know if something might happen that takes up the time you’d planned to sit down and prepare for that meeting, leaving you rushing against the clock and maybe unable to collate information in time.

There are many ways to do this, but a popular one is to plan your day as if you only had one hour before having to leave the office – what would be the most important thing or things you would need to do so that you could leave without repercussions?

Get those done first and the pressure will be off for the rest of the day.

And once that thing is done, what’s the next one thing?

Just one way to meet deadlines, while also being able to leave the office for home and not worry overnight.

Communicating: this not only covers speaking but being able to listen.

Obviously how you speak to others is crucial. It includes your tone of voice, words used and how they’re used.

When asked to explain something to a colleague always keep it simple and use non-jargon words where possible.

Assume they know nothing. It doesn’t matter if they know part of the process, by going back to basics you won’t leave a small but critical part out, something perhaps they didn’t know yet crucial to the outcome, making it harder for them to complete the task and neither of you, or the firm, win then.

Communicating with clients is also crucial for repeat business and your reputation. Make your interaction pleasant and professional with customers.

Never, ever, promise something that you can’t deliver on. If forced into giving a date when you’ll deliver, over-estimate, saying you’ll deliver on Thursday and do so on Wednesday – not the other way round!

And put it down in writing so that you don’t forget – pretty much unforgivable in the workplace.

Written communication also comes under this heading. Make sure your writing is easy to read. Punctuate properly. A poorly placed comma can change the whole meaning of a sentence.

Listening is also a skill in itself. When taking instructions, repeat them back to make sure you’ve grasped what you need to do.

Note: I had a boss that only ever gave the bare bones of a task. Presenting him with my work I’d then find out that I’d only have completed half of the equation and that I would have to go and find out the additional part. Frustrating and irritating.

So, repeat back what you understand the end result is and complete it first time round. Will help with your blood pressure!

Also coming under this section is critical feedback. It’s inevitable that during your career you’ll receive feedback on your work. This can come as an annual review meeting, or just comments made when you present your work.

How you respond to criticism is key. Read my article on ‘Criticism in the workplace – an opportunity’ for more thoughts on this.

Team player: Being a team player is essential in the work environment. No matter who the person you interact with is, everyone has a role, so don’t look over what you may perceive are the junior members of a firm, you’re all cogs that turn together to make a company great.

If, when, approached by a colleague who’s having issues with whatever aspect of a job is troubling them listen carefully. Help where you can and, if you can’t, guide them to where they can get that assistance, supporting your colleagues is a crucial part of teamwork.

And for you? Team players find it easier to network, a key part when applying for a promotion. Networking opens doors, gives you mentors you can call on and gaining experience through their experience.

Mentors: Talking of mentors - choosing a mentor is very important. Make sure you choose one(s) that inspire you. Watch how they interact with others and communicate, however, if, for instance, they use profanities in every other sentence, look around again. If they lose their temper quickly and shout, putting everyone on edge, look again.

How do they deal with conflict? Do they have the blame culture trait? Do they smile at everyone? Is their office like a bombsite?

A mentor should be someone you respect if you want to be respected yourself.

So, look around. Find people you look up to and see how they deal with day-to-day interaction. What words do they use, how do they make others feel? Be sure they have the attributes you want to learn.

You may not be a mentor (yet), but being a mentor, someone colleagues want to imitate, is a skill that will be recognised.

Management: Being excellent at the technical skills does not mean you’ll be a good manager.

Being able to lead is invaluable but it’s so much more than just giving out orders and delegating and soft skills are seriously advantageous in management.

A manager should always lead by example and motivate and encourage where you can.

Being able to delegate using communication skills in a way that inspires and motivates is also so important.

Challenges at work are bound to happen but, by managing effectively, you can be the one to steer towards the right solution. You can be the calm one in tense situations, the one who doesn’t let events fluster you (outwardly, even if they are inside!).

Be the one who doesn’t have such a cluttered desk that colleagues are hesitant to approach you because you appear to be struggling to cope.

Note: I’ve worked for several bosses and with several colleagues. I have those I respect highly and a couple who taught me more about how not to be a boss or colleague.

Which would you rather be remembered for?

How to learn soft skills…

Firstly, recognise your own soft skills. Develop those naturally there, then look around for ways to develop those you haven’t mastered yet.

There are a series of articles both already on our website and being written ready to upload.

So, pop in and stay a while…

In the meantime, listen to constructive criticism, it could give you a heads up on areas to start with.

Firstly, make sure it’s justified, ie not someone having a bad day or looking for someone to let out their anger on and, secondly, make sure it’s constructive. Even if it’s negative, turn it around and drill down to find any lessons you could learn from it. Again, read my article on how to turn it into a positive.

And always remember how it felt to be the new one. The employee just arriving, trying to fit and do things right - learn the company’s ways and rules.

Maybe the best rule is the old adage, treat others how you want to be treated.

Conclusion…

Recognising soft skills as a key part of working is crucial both for you and your colleagues. It’ll make your day-to-day working life more rewarding, while setting you up for promotion for all the right reasons, not just your technical skills.

Success is within your grasp if you just know what to grab hold of on the way!

Good luck!