What soft skills translate to great workers?

Whatever position you’re hiring for, expertise isn’t always the be-all and end-all. Knowledge can be passed on and staff can be trained in job-specific skills, but it’s a lot harder to teach someone how to be a good communicator, or how to manage time well. These are examples of soft skills, attributes that can make any job candidate a successful hire, no matter their previous experience.

Soft skills vs hard skills

When hiring, you’re looking for a candidate with the right balance of hard and soft skills. Hard skills are the ability to meet challenges specific to the job and overcome them. This includes any knowledge or experience that comes with working in similar jobs or in the sector as a whole. 

Soft skills, on the other hand, can apply to any job and are transferable between industries. They include things like people skills, personality traits, emotional intelligence or attitude. Practically every job requires a balance of both. To give an example, a successful car mechanic needs the hard skill of how to fix an engine and the soft skill of how to talk to customers.

Why are soft skills important?

While hard skills are often high on the list of priorities for employers, many will forget the importance of soft skills in their candidates. A 2020 study with the HR Research Institute found that 85% of HR departments thought soft skills were more important than hard skills for long-term success. Soft skills dictate how good someone is at working with others, managing their time, and delivering on promises. It doesn’t matter if someone has all the right experience if they don’t have the work ethic to show up on time or to work well with others. Plus, it’s often a lot easier to teach knowledge than attitude, which makes hiring staff with good soft skills a crucial consideration.

Essential soft skills for good workers

Here are just a few soft skills that every good employee should have:

1. Communication skills

The vast majority of work carried out across all industries requires effective communication. Even those who work completely independently will need to report to a line manager or business owner about their progress and needs. On the other end of the spectrum, customer-facing positions rely heavily on the ability to communicate with others. 

2. Work ethic

No matter how skilled a candidate is, they have to want to work for you. Hiring staff with little experience but a strong work ethic is almost always a better choice than someone with lots of experience but no motivation to learn and grow. A motivated individual will receive training gladly and work hard to perform for you and your business.

3. Computer skills

This could be seen as a hard skill, depending on the position and the job, but these days all jobs require some level of technological literacy. Whether it’s operating a POS system or filling out an Excel spreadsheet, it’s always good to hire candidates with some level of computer skills, or those that demonstrate a desire to learn them.

4. Problem solving

While the technical knowledge to solve problems is a hard skill, the creativity and drive behind problem-solving are essential soft skills. Problems come up in any job, it’s how an employee approaches them that’s important. Candidates with good problem-solving skills and less experience might even offer more creative solutions than more experienced candidates.

5. Performing under pressure

Demonstrating skills and knowledge is one thing, doing so under pressure is a skill of its own. 

The competitive nature of small businesses usually requires employees to work hard and fast to meet deadlines or serve customers. The ability to perform under pressure demonstrates a level of confidence in your own skills that indicates a highly competent worker.