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AUGUST 2022 • Vol.9 • No.08 (ISSN 2564-2014)

TRAIN THE RIGHT WAY FOR THE RIGHT SKILL

Themed Edition on

Soft Skills and Hard Skills

- Ken Cooper,

Founder, CooperComm, Inc.

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10 Soft Skills Valuable To Future Workplace - Brett Farmiloe, Terkel.io

20

27

The Premium Is Rising For Soft Skills

Why Soft Skills Are More Vital Than Ever

- Jan Bruce,

- Jason Richmond,

meQuilibrium

Ideal Outcomes

33

Work Ethic: The Science Behind America’s Most Wanted Skill - Cynthia P. Jenkins, skillsgapp

INDEX

Employee Learning & Development Excellence

Themed Edition on

AUGUST 2022

Soft Skills and Hard Skills

Vol.09

No.08

(ISSN 2564-2014)

07 Train The Right Way For The Right Skill Using fundamentally different learning strategies for soft vs. hard skills

On the Cover

- Ken Cooper, Founder, CooperComm, Inc.

Articles 10 Re-Engage And Re-Invigorate Your Workforce With A SkillsBased Talent Strategy Uncover and address your skills gaps from within - Cristina Goldt, GM, Talent Optimization, Workday, and Steve Seykora, Principal, HR Transformation, Deloitte

17 Rethinking Soft And Hard Skills The power of transferable skills to restart careers - Misty Frost, CEO, Penn Foster/Carrus

24 Soft Skill Training: Communication Coaching Techniques For Leaders It is time to help your smart people look and sound smart and decisive - Sheri Jeavons, President, Power Presentations, Inc.

30 Training Hybrid Employees Creating effective training and communications - Eran Heffetz, CEO, Bites

36 Professional Coaching: The Key To Talent Retention Investing in your employees’ future - Cameron Yarborough, CEO, Torch

Top Picks

14

INDEX

10 Soft Skills Valuable To Future Workplace The top soft skills every HR should be looking for in your employees

- Brett Farmiloe, Founder, CEO and CHRO, Terkel.io

20

The Premium Is Rising For Soft Skills The most valuable skills are those that humans can do but machines cannot - Jan Bruce,

CEO and Co-Founder, meQuilibrium

27

Why Soft Skills Are More Vital Than Ever Identifying the attributes for short-term and long-term business growth - Jason Richmond, Founder, Ideal Outcomes

33

Work Ethic: The Science Behind America’s Most Wanted Skill

The desire to level up is in our DNA - Cynthia P. Jenkins, Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer, skillsgapp

EDITOR’S NOTE

Editorial Purpose Our mission is to promote personal and

Deepa Damodaran

Debbie Mcgrath

professional development based on

Editor, Employee Learning & Development Excellence

Publisher, HR.com

constructive values, sound ethics, and timeless principles.

Soft Skills for the Future Workplace Excellence Publications Debbie McGrath

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Employee Learning & Development Excellence (ISSN 2564-2014)

M

ost organizations treat training as “one-size-fits-all” when the reality is that it can only be “onesize-fits-some”. Moreover, having a single strategy for hard and soft skills training is another mistake that many organizations commit.

“Hard skills are perfect for unconscious learning. However, it takes conscious learning for soft skills.

And it takes more of a support system after the learning event to make sure that soft skills are developed, applied, and reinforced,” notes training and consulting specialist and Founder of Cooper-Comm, Inc., Ken Cooper.

Read Ken’s Train The Right Way For The Right Skill, featured on the cover this month, to understand why you can not single-track hard and soft skill types of training, especially not today.

They are simply too different.

From positivity to negotiation to leadership, there are several soft skills that you will find in your employees.

However, how can you identify the most valuable soft skills among them?

Jacksons Point, Ontario L0E 1L0

In Why Soft Skills Are More Vital Than Ever, Ideal Outcomes Founder Jason Richmond discusses the attributes HR professionals must bear in mind when assessing the relevance of soft skills in recruitment and talent development.

Also, read meQuilibrium CEO and Co-Founder Jan Bruce’ The Premium Is Rising For Soft Skills, among others.

That is not all! We bring you a handful of other insightful articles in this edition of Employee Learning & Development Excellence, and hope you find answers to your queries around employee learning and development that help you achieve excellence in our L&D initiatives.

Happy Reading!

Brett Farmiloe, Founder, CEO and CHRO of Terkel, lists down the top 10 Soft Skills Valuable To Future Workplace that HR should be looking for.

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The outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent Great Resignation gave greater relevance than ever to the role of HR professionals in recruitment, internal talent management and succession planning. The ability to identify individuals with an abundance of soft skills will become increasingly important.

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COVER ARTICLE

Train The Right Way For The Right Skill Using fundamentally different learning strategies for soft vs. hard skills

By Ken Cooper, CooperComm, Inc.

A

fter experiencing a sharp pain in the knee during a recent tennis session, it was clearly time to start shopping for a knee brace to stabilize the old patella. A quick search on Amazon revealed a mass of options, from simple compression sleeves to military-grade hinged robo-legs. However, what caught our attention was one brace that advertised, “One-size-fits-all.”

That merited a further look. After all, there are a lot of different body types out there, with a lot of different legs supporting them. If there was a single brace that could handle all of them, then that was the plutonium-level brace of all time.

However, when you looked at the detailed description, you found it was “one-size-fits-most.” Reading further, you were warned to make sure this particular model fits you. In other words, this brace was not really very different than any other brace. It was one size fits some.

You can see where this analogy is heading when it comes to training. Most organizations treat training as “one-size-fits-all” when the reality is that “one-size-fits-some”.

Soft Versus Hard Skills

And there are all kinds of ways to divide learners into the various “some” categories. You can have new learners and experienced learners. You can have

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in-person and remote learners. You can also have informational learning versus mastery learning … and so on.

However, one of the biggest divisions is right in front of learning professionals, yet it is typically not treated as such—soft skills versus hard skills. You will see training covering both topics mixed in together, taught the same way, supported the same way, and followed up the same way.

In many organizations, training is anticipatory learning. You send someone to “Introductory Excel” class to learn the software. You go to “Basics of Selling” before getting a territory. You attend “New Manager’s Class I” before taking over a team. The idea is that you are going to learn all this stuff, and then remember it, so that when an applicable situation comes up you will know.

Unfortunately, this tends to not work, since what people learn in training decays over time if it is not used immediately, reinforced by management, refreshed in review, and rewarded when applied properly.

As a result, what has evolved is essentially the YouTube strategy of learning. If you want to know how to do something, most likely a hard skill, you look it up online. Then, you find the right how-to video, and you watch it and follow along. Once the task is over, you promptly forget what you learned.

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Train The Right Way For The Right Skill

After all, if you need to do it again, you can look it up again.

to successfully interact with someone when they are upset.

When a hard skills task is repeated often enough, employees experience unconscious learning. This is where they have made no special effort to learn something, it just found its way into their memory through repetition—much like you remember TV commercials without trying to.

And third, hard skills can often be developed with self-study. If you have enough basic skills to duplicate what you are seeing someone do on screen, then you will be successful at your task. You are doing this on your own.

This is great for hard skills or processes, but it does not work like that for soft skills. First, soft skills are applied in real-time. You can not stop in the middle of a heated conversation and say, “Hold on a sec, I want to review a conflict management video on how to do a softening rebuttal”.

Second, soft skills are not so much “say this, do that” as they are “here’s the philosophy or strategy for handling situations like these.” There is only one way to install a solid-state hard drive on a motherboard.

However, there might be a myriad of effective ways

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Soft skills, on the other hand, typically require involving someone else. It is rare for a person to have enough emotional intelligence self-awareness and self-control to make behavioral changes by themselves. You need a coach, a guide, or even a peer learner to provide the kind of outside perspective that is often needed.

Plus, with soft skills, you are not going to master something through repeatedly being exposed to the original training until it becomes second nature. With soft skills, you have to first “get it” in terms of the behavior required. Then you have to start applying it, adapting it, and making it your own.

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So what does all this mean to the learning professional?

Summary

Recommendations

For hard skills, it means that your training deliverable has to take on two roles—initial learning and refresh/ performance support re-learning. A good YouTube video does both well. However, if your initial learning product is a lengthy, screen-flipping, embedded testing extravaganze, then it is totally unsuited to being used as performance support.

You will need to create quick how-to versions of content without all the unnecessary instructional design flourishes. It is all about the accessibility of information. Employees want to find out how to do something, and then get back to work. Give them the information the way they want it.

For soft skills, it is a bit more complicated—especially in a remote learning environment. The key question is how you are going to provide the other person with what is required.

Back to the knee brace analogy. It would be much easier if there truly was one size that fits all. You could buy that device instead of having to select from hundreds of options. Yet that is not how it works.

And that is not how it works with soft versus hard skills development either. You can not single-track both types of training—especially not today. They are simply too different.

Hard skills are perfect for unconscious learning.

However, it takes conscious learning for soft skills.

And it takes more of a support system after the learning event to make sure that soft skills are developed, applied, and reinforced.

Do it right, and you will not need any more knee braces.

Ken Cooper is the Founder of CooperComm, Inc., a training and consulting firm specializing in effective e-learning development and video technology. He has conducted over 2,500 seminars, appeared on satellite TV for AnheuserBusch and Apple, and has created over 1,000 video-based online training programs. Ken is the co-author of Taming the Terrible Too’s of Training and The Control Catastrophe, and the author of Effective Competency Modeling & Reporting, The Relational Enterprise, BodyBusiness, and Stop It Now.

One way is to create a new class of training programs. For every “How to do [soft skill #43]” program you offer, you can also offer a quick “How to coach and reinforce [soft skill #43]” program for supervisors. Because if the supervisors are not reinforcing the training, you can be sure the learners will not be applying it for very long.

Another way might be to set up a subject matter expert hotline where remote learners can talk to a trainer and get their questions answered or receive some coaching tips after the learning event, whether online or in person.

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Another way might be to foster the connection of learners on specific topics, such as providing moderated comments areas for each program, where learners can make connections on their own, post questions and answers, and learn from each other.

The point is, if you are to make soft skills training work, you have to also provide the personal touch required to help learners truly change their behaviors.

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Re-Engage And Re-Invigorate Your Workforce With A SkillsBased Talent Strategy Uncover and address your skills gaps from within

By Cristina Goldt, Workday, and Steve Seykora, Deloitte

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burnout, organizations experienced a record number of employees quitting their jobs in 2021.

The pandemic fundamentally changed the needs and expectations of employees, and, with many feeling a lack of career development combined with employee

This talent shortage continues and is now top of mind for every HR leader as they evaluate their talent strategies to understand how to successfully manage capacity against the constantly changing needs of the business.

s the world emerges from the pandemic, employers are still feeling the effects of the Great Resignation, and will be for years to come.

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Re-Engage And Re-Invigorate Your Workforce With A Skills-Based Talent Strategy

To address today’s talent challenges, organizations should consider hiring from within before looking outside the business. Why? Because organizations have more skills data on employees than they realize, and when employers – regardless of industry – choose to hire externally, they miss a huge opportunity to re-engage the high-quality talent they already have.

Shifting to a skills-based talent strategy, where workers are valued and rewarded for their skills, not only helps with cost savings (by eliminating costs associated with external hiring processes), it also shows employees the organization is committed to their growth and career development.

With the right technologies and systems in place, organizations can provide employees the opportunity to update their talent profile with items, such as certifications, proficiencies in specific skills, areas for development, career goals, and more.

This provides HR leaders with a treasure trove of insights into the skills, attributes, and desires of their staff so they can better support them by leveraging their strengths and offering growth opportunities.

For example, an HR leader in a healthcare organization might discover that a nurse has strong communication and leadership skills and/or interests in becoming a manager. Using these insights, the organization can match that nurse with relevant learning opportunities and jobs – such as taking a manager course or working with various teams within the hospital – that will further develop this skill and

allow the nurse to take greater control of their career.

This helps employees advance their careers by giving them the insight and tools to move ahead, including the ability to see where the next opportunity might be.

Making skills insights actionable can greatly improve retention efforts because it creates an open dialogue for employees to connect with their managers about how and where they want to grow their skills.

At the same time, HR leaders can uncover and address where they have organizational skills gaps or find skills they were previously unaware of, helping them respond more effectively to business needs and provide relevant skills development to their workforce.

Legacy talent strategies can no longer meet the changing world around us. That’s why adopting a skills-based talent strategy requires technologies and processes that can manage the complexity and diversity of today’s workforce. Skills will need to be threaded through all talent management practices to fully transform into a skills-based organization, but the time and resource investment will be well worth it.

When employees feel like their talents are recognized and they have opportunities for career growth, it increases their desire to be part of and stay with the company. And, while HR leaders can look at skills-based talent strategies to optimize their workforce to meet the evolving needs of their business, it creates a win-win situation for businesses and employees alike.

Cristina Goldt is General Manager of Talent Optimization at Workday.

Steve Seykora is Principal, HR Transformation, at Deloitte.

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TOP PICK

10 Soft Skills Valuable To Future Workplace The top soft skills every HR should be looking for in your employees

By Brett Farmiloe, Terkel.io

W

hat is an example of a valuable soft skill in the workplace?

2. Confidence - David Bitton, Co-Founder & CMO, Doorloop Confidence is one of the most essential soft skills in the workplace — confidence without being arrogant.

Confident people play to their abilities and are aware of their limitations. They are self-assured in their ideas and can freely express them while remaining receptive to criticism. Confidence is essential during decisionmaking processes for crucial project efforts or during collaborative work. Confident individuals may not only convey their ideas effectively, but they can also critique the opinions of others by asking insightful questions to drive creativity. This encourages teams to think outside the box and opens up new paths for success.

To help you identify valuable soft skills in the workplace, we asked HR professionals and business leaders this question for their best tips.

From positivity to negotiation to leadership, there are several soft skills that you will find valuable in the workplace.

Here are 10 valuable soft skills in the workplace: 1. Positivity 2. Confidence 3. Conflict Resolution 4. Energy Management 5. Openness to Criticism 6. Critical Thinking 7. Negotiation 8. Adaptability 9. Communication 10. Leadership 1. Positivity - Lisa Odenweller, CEO, Kroma Wellness The workplace is an interconnected environment, and everyone who is part of it impacts each other. People with positive attitudes lift up others around them, are pleasant to work with, and are motivational in nature.

They also interact well with other members of the team, which keeps the workplace harmonious. If you want an office with high morale, positivity is a powerful soft skill to look for.

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3. Conflict Resolution - Travis Lindemoen, Managing Director, nexus IT group Soft skills are those that are not typically thought of as job-related, such as communication, teamwork, and leadership. However, they are just as important in the workplace as any other skill set. According to a study

by Forbes, soft skills are now more valuable than hard skills in the workforce. This is due to the fact that soft skills can be learned and improved upon over time, whereas hard skills can be developed only through experience.

Therefore, employers are increasingly looking for employees with strong soft skills. Soft skills can be defined as those skills that are most important in the workplace. One of those soft skills is conflict resolution. Conflict is a natural part of life, and it should not be avoided or ignored. However, it must also be handled well if it is to be resolved effectively.

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with more experience who could make a meaningful difference to the way you work. In a developing market fit with ever-advancing technology, one can never assume that they know best.

After the pandemic, we have seen first-hand how quickly the working climate can change and adapt to its surroundings. Having the maturity to identify your weaknesses and seek feedback is a hallmark of a truly effective worker, setting you up for long-term success no matter the industry. Remember that even if you are great at your job, it never hurts to ask if you could be better.

4. Energy Management - Ricardo von Groll, Content Manager, Talentify It is no secret that hybrid or remote work has come to stay, and before the pandemic, time management used to be the trend regarding productivity in the workplace.

The fact is that no matter if people work hybrid, remotely, or in-office, there are times during the day when they are naturally more productive.

Once workers understand their best time, in the morning, afternoon, and night, they can manage their energy to be at their full potential and get the best outcomes possible. Now, it is obvious that not everyone can work at their own chosen time. In that case, I see time management as an essential skill if a person feels their schedule does not match their most productive time.

5. Openness to Criticism - Max Wesman, Chief Operating Officer, GoodHire Though often overlooked, being receptive to criticism is a crucial soft skill in the workplace. Regardless of how much experience you have, there are always new things to learn and improve. You could benefit from the perspectives of people with varied backgrounds, some

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6. Critical Thinking - Linda Shaffer, Chief People and Operations Officer, Checkr Critical thinking is a valuable soft skill in the workplace because it allows employees to assess a situation and make sound decisions. This skill is important for both individual contributors and leaders, as it can help prevent costly mistakes and ensure that company goals are met. Without it, employees may make poor decisions that can impact the bottom line or cause safety hazards. Additionally, critical thinking can help employees solve problems and come up with creative solutions.

7. Negotiation - Franceen San Andres, CocoLoan For businesses focused on money and finances, it is only natural to offer a proposal and strike a deal.

Although soft skills vary from role to role, one key soft skill that we are looking for almost generally is negotiating skills. Negotiating skills can easily be seen during the hiring process. The way individuals accept, reject, or make counteroffers during the recruitment process when presented with offers and possible compensation is one of the best methods to gauge this skill.

Closing a deal or managing expectations are key factors in this industry. We cultivate skills that aim to help people without hurting the business. Affiliated with this, the failure of an individual to create offers that compromise the desires of both parties to meet in the middle ground can result in a backlash in interpersonal or business relationships, which can result in a loss in profit.

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Two-way communication is vital – nobody wants to be talked at; they want to join in on the conversation, to have their voice heard. Again, this applies to both employees and clients. Great communication also leads to earned respect. Communication and respect are two core values, and two soft skills that companies should strive for each and every one of their employees to have.

8. Adaptability, Saadia Hussain, Pearl Scan Adaptability is one of the most valuable soft skills you can have in today’s workplace. With constant change being the new normal, being able to adapt to new situations quickly and efficiently is a highly sought-after attribute. There are many ways you can develop and hone your adaptability skills. One of the best ways is to simply make a point of observing how people around you handle change. Pay attention to what works well for them and what doesn’t, and then try to apply those lessons to your own life.

10. Leadership, Nina Paczka, career advisor and job search expert, Resume Now Leadership is one of the soft skills that employers value and which is extremely useful at work.

Regardless of the position, leadership skills allow employees to gain further career milestones and managers to lead a team effectively. This skill makes a person trustworthy and reliable. Co-workers feel they can rely on the person and can count on their support. Leadership traits boost active listening and responding to issues that require immediate action. In fact, leadership skills entail several other valuable soft skills, such as decision-making, organizational skills, management, communication, and problem-solving.

As a result, it turns out that one such extensive skill makes an employee a great asset and maximizes their potential.

Additionally, stay open-minded and flexible in your own approach – be willing to try new things and embrace change instead of resisting it. Of course, not every situation will be perfect. HR leaders need to be able to become comfortable with change, and be able to support staff with how they can also effectively deal with, and adapt to, an ever-changing working landscape.

Brett Farmiloe is the Founder and CEO – and currently CHRO - of Terkel. io. Brett is an SHRM Influencer and has also been a keynote speaker at several state SHRM conferences around the topic of employee engagement.

9. Communication - Aimee Ashworth, HR & Administration Manager, Access2Funding A soft skill that not only applies internally but also externally to clients, is communication. Effective, open and honest communication enables a business to thrive because well-informed and actively engaged employees make for a positive workplace culture.

This then has a direct correlation with customer experience, with research showing that a highly engaged organization will strive to improve customer experience. Customer service-focused companies have employees 1.5x more engaged than those who do not.

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Rethinking Soft And Hard Skills The power of transferable skills to restart careers

By Misty Frost, Penn Foster/Carrus

T

he last few years have seen massive shifts in people’s careers and recordbreaking interest in developing professional skills through online learning.

Many employers are hiring, but jobs are going unfilled. In fact, government data on job openings

and labor turnover shows a deficit in the millions between open roles and hiring numbers.

Organizations fiercely compete for talent and are taking new steps to attract and retain talent.

Retail and hospitality are ramping up efforts to attract back the talent they lost last year. Major

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retailers recently made news when they announced they will cover 100% of college tuition and books for employees. Yet, many people working in sectors like retail and hospitality are quitting in record numbers, citing the desire for improved pay, benefits, or a different career path.

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Rethinking Soft And Hard Skills

3. Map your path:

Once you have taken a personal inventory and identified your desired career, map the steps to get there. If the career requires certification and training, speak with those who have successfully done it, and write down how you can achieve your goals.

4. Stay the course:

As a healthcare training organization, we have seen record levels of interest from learners wanting a fresh start.

roles are often surprised at the many roles that are available in healthcare where their people skills can shine.

If I could spend time with each person, who is bravely restarting their career, I would encourage them to keep moving forward.

Often, when starting something new, we can feel like we are starting over completely. This fact can make people feel overwhelmed or, worse, hold them back from trying something new.

When it is time for a career restart, it’s important to take the following steps:

One important thing for anyone seeking to develop new skills to remember is that throughout careers, no matter the industry, people gain transferable skills.

The former retail manager, who leveraged data to ensure in-demand items were in stock, could bring that skill set to their local pharmacy after completing pharmacy tech training and certification. Those who were customer-facing in previous

1. Remember your strengths:

Listing out the aspects of you that you want to grow and use in a future career can often help you determine what training or professional program is right for you.

You will encounter doubt.

Uncertainty or frustration may sneak up on you, but reviewing the steps it takes to complete your goal and growing your existing skills is all part of the process that, once finished, can unlock new opportunities.

A new career and a fresh start bring a lot of energy. In hard moments, they can also bring doubt and uncertainty. It is reassuring to be centered and know that a fresh start does not mean a start from zero. Existing skills brought to new endeavors can help people accelerate toward and thrive in their new careers.

2. Identify your skills:

Write down what soft or transferable skills you have already developed. Aspects of how you work do not disappear simply because you have selected a new career path.

Talents, such as clear problem solving, communication, strategic thinking, resilience, and collaboration can take you far in a new career.

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Misty Frost is CEO of Penn Foster/ Carrus.

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TOP PICK

The Premium Is Rising For Soft Skills The most valuable skills are those that humans can do but machines cannot

By Jan Bruce, meQuilibrium

I

n this new world of work, the most valuable skills are those that humans can do but machines cannot. These skills are often called soft skills, which include emotional intelligence, relationship management, having

empathy and emotion control, as well as making decisions based on ethics and judgment.

The premium is rising for these essential human skills. Employers are looking for employees who

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COLLABORATE, INNOVATE, AND COMMUNICATE well.

Managing stress and emotions is foundational to these skills because we cannot grow, learn, or thrive if we are stuck in stress loops.

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The Premium Is Rising For Soft Skills

are the building blocks of hard skills. It’s difficult to learn data science, for example, without collaborating with a team or communicating your results to your leadership. Similarly, you could have all the hard, technical, scientific skills in the world, but if you lose your cool in an important meeting, no one will listen to your advanced knowledge.

The demands of collaboration and innovation often create more stress than simple technical tasks. Yet the world of work requires this new level of interrelationship with co-workers and rapid adaptation. This expectation of the ability to change fast demands the ability to learn fast.

A resilient mind equips us with the skills necessary to thrive in a complex world, to be agile, and embrace opportunity amid change. However, employees and employers alike are finding this level of agility difficult. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal emphasized the talent shortage and the skills gap for the new world of work.

“Employers,” the article explained, “are still trying to master the challenge of mapping the skills of their current workers, identifying the skills required of their future

workforce, and filling the gaps between the two. By the time many companies figure out exactly who they need, it is often too late to invest the necessary time and money into retraining.”

An Accenture survey of 1,200 executives found that while nearly half say skill shortages are a major concern for the future of their firm, only 3% said they will significantly increase their training budgets over the next three years.

Leaders are now starting to realize the value of soft skills: They increase the impact of hard skills. Reskilling employees is clearly on the minds of many executives, as companies are desperate for collaboration, team building, communication, and leadership. These are the skills of the future, and they can not be replaced by machines. Not only that, but these soft skills

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Without soft skills, hard skills are moot. That is why we believe resilience is the most important skill of the 21st century: It is the foundation upon which all other work takes place. To get there, however, you will need a culture built for learning resilience.

Jan Bruce is CEO and Co-Founder of meQuilibrium. Jan is a recognized resilience and workplace behavioral health and technology subject matter authority. She is a co-author of the book meQuilibrium: 14 Days to Cooler, Calmer, and Happier, and is a regular contributor to Forbes on Leadership.

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Soft Skill Training: Communication Coaching Techniques For Leaders It is time to help your smart people look and sound smart and decisive

By Sheri Jeavons, Power Presentations, Inc.

Y

ou have painstakingly hired the most qualified personnel. Your professionals are intelligent, knowledgeable, and reliable. So why do they “umm” and “ahh” their way through meetings and high-profile communications? They are experts in their field but sound unsure and unprepared. While you know

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they’re intelligent, these credibility-busters can hurt your brand.

It is time to help your smart people look and sound smart and decisive. By doing this, you will be helping them thrive in every communication scenario.

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Soft Skill Training: Communication Coaching Techniques For Leaders

Virtual Communication Skills

Since we are all communicating online and very few have learned how to do it effectively, here are a few tips for applying the “Communication Tipping Point” to your meetings:

Philosophy to Coach to Success

As managers, we tend to start by stating what employees are doing incorrectly. It is easy to leave a meeting and tell your direct reports: “You’re talking too fast,” “You say ‘umm’ or ‘like’ too much,” Or, “your voice is too monotone.”

In reality, telling people what not to do does not help them understand what they should do. It is best to provide specific, decisive information regarding your desired behavior.

a) Pausing and breathing can significantly impact online communication skills and professional presence. It helps eliminate non-words and helps professionals sound decisive and confident. It also gives the audience time to process what you have said and helps when there are lags in technology.

Implementing this skill for the first time will feel clunky and temporarily change your cadence. Do not give up. Practice makes perfect.

Here’s how to practice this skill: ● When you get to the end of a sentence, stop talking and breathe. ● When you want to make a key point, particularly if you have a diagram or data-heavy chart, stop talking and breathe. ● When you change slides, stop talking, take your hand that is not on your mouse and tap your leg two times. ● When requesting a verbal response, stop talking and breathe. ● When you request interaction, such as chat or drawing tools, stop talking and breathe.

In addition, it is crucial that you do not overcoach.

At Power Presentations, we coach professionals to achieve their “Communication Tipping Point.”

We could tell them six different things to work on, instead we direct them to focus on one skill that will significantly impact their overall communication style.

While some professionals resist change and are confident in their communication skills, that does not mean they do not need help. It is important to remember that even elite athletes have coaches, who help them refine their skills. On a more basic level, you can compare it to learning a new sport. When I took pickleball lessons, the coach told me several things I needed to improve.

However, I can only focus on one thing at a time. I chose to focus on my “pickleball tipping point.” For me, it was to watch the ball hit the paddle. When I did that one thing, other aspects of my game fell into place.

Notice, I am not telling anyone to slow down their speaking pace. Fast talkers can talk fast. Instead, take that pause, stop talking and let some air in.

Silence is golden.

Resource: Communication Coaching Techniques for Leaders - Video https://youtu.be/ipDIECc_D7E

Sheri Jeavons is President of Power Presentations, Inc.

Bottom line: Focus on one skill at a time and provide clear instructions regarding what they SHOULD do.

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TOP PICK

Why Soft Skills Are More Vital Than Ever Identifying the attributes for short-term and long-term business growth

By Jason Richmond, Ideal Outcomes

I

t’s still true that most people are hired based on their technical know-how and qualifications.

Hard skills obtained through years of education, training sessions and on-the-job experience are quantifiable and obviously vital.

But the need for soft skills, which some like to call people skills, is more important than ever, especially in the wake of the once-in-a-century, Covid-19 pandemic.

In a LinkedIn report, 92% of talent professionals said that soft skills are equally or more important to hire for than hard skills. And a staggering 89% reported that when a new hire does not work out, it is because they lack critical soft skills.

Soft skills including empathy, adaptability, collaboration, emotional intelligence, and critical thinking are required for a post-pandemic workplace to move beyond the upheaval

and turmoil and settle into a new environment.

They are important too for the long haul because they provide “career durability,” says Alexandra Levit, a workforce futurist and author of Humanity Works: Merging Technologies and People for the Workforce of the Future.

“For someone to be successful 10 years down the road, they need to be resilient and be able to reinvent themselves in different learning environments,” she adds.

What should the HR professional bear in mind when assessing the relevance of soft skills in recruitment and talent development?

1. Look Close to Home

One easy way to identify the soft skills that have the most impact is to look no further than your organization’s top-performing and most respected employees.

Assess what characteristics and qualities they share that serve them and the company well. Also,

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get managers to go back through past performance reviews to identify an individual’s strengths and weaknesses in soft skills.

2. Get Management Buy-in

Ensure senior executives are on board by consulting with them, asking what they regard as the employee soft skills they value the most. You want to be marching to the beat of the same drum from day one.

3. Build a Team

Developing the right kind of soft skills in the workforce is not an undertaking for HR alone. To champion the cause, put together a team of about ten people from different departments and functions, who have individually displayed strong soft skills.

4. Never Forget Your Culture

What is your core corporate culture? What is your purpose?

Your values? If teamwork is a primary value, for instance, make sure it is taught in the soft skills training programs.

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Why Soft Skills Are More Vital Than Ever

into the future. Leading through empowerment allows Gen Z to flourish and develop their skill sets while building trust along the way. By doing so, organizations prepare Gen Z for success, and they also create a culture of learning that can benefit the overall organization.”

The outbreak of the pandemic and the subsequent Great Resignation gave greater relevance than ever to the role of HR professionals in recruitment, internal talent management and succession planning. The ability to identify individuals with an abundance of soft skills will become increasingly important.

5. Communicate

Since the workplace has expanded to the home environment—and remote work to one extent or another will remain with us—the ability to communicate clearly and effectively has grown. It is a fundamental skill that underlies everything we do.

6. Consider Gen Z

The pandemic, which enforced remote learning and dramatically increased work from home, may have short-changed members of the Gen Z generation, especially when it comes to soft skills.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) found that half of the employees from Generation Z felt burned out from work versus one-fourth of Baby Boomers.

And a survey of more than 2,400 Gen Z students by online platform Tallo discovered that 92 percent could confidently identify the soft skills they possessed (or didn’t possess) and by and large recognized what they needed to do to acquire missing abilities.

Thirty seven percent selected “stepping outside of your comfort zone” as the best way to develop soft skills while 15% chose to be open to feedback, and another 15% chose to communicate often.

They can acquire those skills with the right kind of leadership and training, says Neil Khaund, president and CEO of The National Society of Leadership and Success.

Khaund wrote, “Gen Z values ethical, servant leadership that supports them and helps them develop their skills now and

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Jason Richmond is the Founder of Ideal Outcomes. Jason is an in-demand keynote speaker, widely recognized as a noted authority on helping companies build strong, sustained revenue growth by empowering their employees and developing energizing office cultures. Over the course of his career, he has assisted organizations ranging from startups to Fortune 100 companies. He is the author of Culture Spark: 5 Steps to Ignite and Sustain Organizational Growth and Culture Ignited: 5 Disciplines for Adaptive Leadership.

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CHART YOUR PATH IN OUR UNCERTAIN WORLD OF WORK 16-17 November 2022 ExCeL Venue, London

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Training Hybrid Employees Creating effective training and communications

By Eran Heffetz, Bites

I

n my role as CEO of Bites, I spend a lot of time talking with HR managers and CEOs, trying to understand their most significant training and communication challenges. Across the board, they tell me that training and staying in touch with remote employees is one problem they have not been able to solve.

This challenge is not going away, despite what appears to be the end of the pandemic. Recently, McKinsey & Company published survey results looking at Americans, who work from home.

The survey showed that 58% are able to work from home one day a week, while 35% reported having the option to work from home every day. When allowed to work from home, 87% take it.

Flexible work may have been born out of desperation in response to a crisis, but with the pandemic seemingly on its last leg, its legacy may be bringing work-from-home into the mainstream. It is so popular that lawmakers in the Netherlands plan to submit a proposal to the Dutch parliament to make working from home a legal right.

In this environment, HR and training departments need to look for novel solutions that can help new and existing employees maintain their level of expertise.

There are actually a few challenges layered in here. ● How do employers successfully train employees who never come to work? ● How will employees learn new skills to help further their careers? ● How can senior-level managers reach lower-level employees to communicate the company’s mission?

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Training Hybrid Employees

These are serious challenges.

Businesses rely on employee training to stay ahead of competitors and ensure their workforce is on par with anyone.

Furthermore, employees who do not understand their company’s mission are more likely to join the Great Resignation and look for other work.

We need a better way to reach and engage employees.

Creating Effective Training and Communications As a training professional, I have noticed a few techniques businesses use to engage employees working remotely.

Some of these relate directly to training, while others enhance top-down communication.

1. Keep it short and sweet We live in a social-media-driven world, and many adults lack the patience to watch a 30-minute video training session. At Bites, the data shows that our customers’ most successful training videos range from 60-90 seconds. During that time, the training focuses on a single item, driving home the message quickly and succinctly.

To be fair, it takes a series of videos spread out over time to impart larger chunks of information, but these videos have open and watch rates that are over 90%. On follow-up, we are seeing employees retain much of the information they received.

2. Engage employees during course design Often employees do not feel the materials they are being trained on are relevant to them or their role. Inviting employees into the training development process helps to overcome that objection.

Find out where their pain points are, what they need help with, and what they would like to see in a training session. When employees believe that training programs are designed to help them succeed in their roles, they are far more likely to engage with and retain the training materials.

3. Invite employees to train their co-workers Here is another powerful method I have seen at Bites. While most training videos come from outside experts or managers, many of the more successful videos come from in-house subject matter experts and internal influencers. We are all working in a creator’s economy, and employers would do well to embrace the trend.

Employees watch and retain these videos that were created by colleagues. It is comfortable for them because they know it is not coming from a place of authority, and their colleagues are offering real-world help that will benefit them in their role. Developing peer training is always a strong play.

4. Create mini messages from upper executives One of the main reasons we have seen cited for the Great

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Resignation is employees do not feel connected to their company’s mission. Working from home creates a layer of separation between the employee and the company. One remedy is “on-the-flow” training, where executives share short video clips about the company, its successes, and its goals.

5. A serious challenge that needs to be solved Employees love hybrid and fully remote employment but need the training to stay on top of their job. Creating an effective, well-designed training program provides employees with the information they need to remain effective in their roles.

Eran Heffetz is CEO of Bites. Eran is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for innovation and service.

With past successes in hospitality, real estate and technology, Eran co-founded 8 restaurants and bars, is a board member of fintech startup, Obligo, and led one of Tel Aviv’s leading urban renewal companies through a merger with a public company.

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Work Ethic: The Science Behind America’s Most Wanted Skill The desire to level up is in our DNA

By Cynthia P. Jenkins, skillsgapp

T

he hard skills employers look for change just about every year, and then again with every major advancement in technology. For example, cloud computing reigned as the most in-demand technical skill globally two years ago, only to be bumped down a notch by “cybersecurity” – a skillset in response to growing, global cyber attacks that only a handful had heard of, let alone possessed, in 2020.

“I’d be happy if someone just showed up the second day,” reported a training manager of an international medical device company, after sharing the cost of attrition. “Bring me someone with some soft skills, and I’ll train them in the technical skills,” says a GM of a global wastewater treatment company.

Of course, a lot of things caught us by surprise in 2020.

Inarguably, Covid-19 had a devastating effect on the American workforce. It was not merely an epidemic of disease, but of fear and vulnerability. Today, as we get back to pre-pandemic hiring levels, it is important we learn from the hard lessons that unprecedented time in our nation’s history taught us, and fast.

With 32% of US-based companies struggling to find talent to fill open positions, and a skills gap reported to leave 2.4 million jobs unfilled through 2028 causing a potential economic loss of $2.5 trillion, the power of a pivot is now.

Hybrid work environments, greater benefits, and higher wages are indeed a strong start to checking off this next generation of talent’s boxes. But what about your - the employers’ - boxes?

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Work Ethic: The Science Behind America’s Most Wanted Skill

Today, post-pandemic, work ethic just may be the most employable skill in 2022, no matter the industry.

And there’s no school for that.

Maybe We’re Born with it?

According to Thinkers Point, work ethic is a soft skill and a belief that diligence and tough work have an ethical benefit and an inherent ability, virtue, or value to strengthen character and individual abilities. Based on a group of values centered on the importance of labor, manifested by determination – according to many – you are either born with it or you are not.

Psychologist Marie Hartwell-Walker recently studied disparate degrees of this valuable skill between kids, who lived on small family farms, and kids, who lived in the city. The “farm kids” worked (and worked hard), she reported, while the “city kids” lamented over routine chores, such as clearing the table.

Did the city kids simply get in the wrong line at birth?

“I think it comes down to this,” she writes. “On the smaller farms, work is clearly valued, it is done routinely, by everyone, and the consequences for not doing it are obvious and clear. In other households, kids experience work as capriciously imposed by the big people and whether they do it or not has little observable consequence.”

Hierarchy of Motivation

One of the most influential psychologists of the twentieth century, Abraham Maslow, established “the hierarchy of motivation”, theorizing that in any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth, or to step back into safety or comfort.

Both are immersive actions but inspired by disparate levels of ambition, a key ingredient of work ethic.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

This model would indicate that every person is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy toward one’s highest level of achievement, just maybe at different times or based on different circumstances. With job security as one of the lowest rungs to climb, perhaps our pivot lies within what we are looking for vs. who we are looking for. After all, a candidate with a degree does not mean much if they can not get along with others. A credential is irrelevant if they do not show up.

As 2022 continues its foothold on a tight labor market, widening our nets to include the less decorated, specifically the under-resourced and under-served, will bolster our workforce with a new generation of talent born to succeed. After all, technical skills can be taught. The desire to level up, according to science, is in all of our DNA.

Cynthia P. Jenkins is Co-Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of skillsgapp.

His hierarchy of needs comprises a five-tier model of human needs, in the following sequential order: Physiological (food and clothing); safety (job security); love and belonging (friendship); esteem (feeling of accomplishment); and, finally, self-actualization (achieving one’s potential).

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Best-in-Class Education For All Your Learning And Training Needs HR.com prepares HR leaders to be strategic business leaders by curating and delivering best-in-class products and services so you don’t have to waste time seeking out content on your own. We leverage technology and experience to provide you with customized solutions to best meet your professional development needs at every stage of your career.

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Professional Coaching: The Key To Talent Retention Investing in your employees’ future

By Cameron Yarborough, Torch

T

alent retention provides advantages for businesses of all kinds. Some are more obvious, like the reduced cost of backfilling open positions, which is often estimated at up to two times an employee’s salary.

Beyond the immediate bottom line, however, we see a host of additional benefits for improved talent retention.

For starters, there is the benefit of having an employer brand as a place, where people love to work.

A company with low turnover will more easily achieve alignment in ideas and culture as employees stay longer and get further entrenched in company goals and daily processes.

Talent retention can also create ambassadors for the company, making recruitment easier when it is time to find additional talent.

While there are no silver bullets, one key to talent retention is professional coaching.

According to Torch data, a B2C technology company saw a 38% retention boost, based on an average increase in retention vs. employees. When implemented correctly, coaching shows employees that leadership is willing to invest meaningfully in their personal and professional development. It is a clear message that could help in retaining elite talent.

could make more money by simply switching jobs. Offering promotions and raises makes sense — but offering coaching takes it a step further. The investment demonstrates an ongoing commitment to employees’ growth by supporting employees in developing the mindsets, skills and behaviors that are central to a path to promotion.

Employee Investment

The new generation of professionals cares more about developing the psychological tools that are important in order to help them thrive professionally, and this demand is fueling the popularity of coaching. When you demonstrate a commitment to learning and development that is personalized and based on trusted relationships like professional coaching, you are now equipping your employees with the tools they need to both reach — and excel in — the positions or promotions to which they aspire.

When you implement a professional coaching program within your businesses, you show your employees you care about their learning, development and professional growth. In fact, you have made a literal investment in their future. Most employers know that to retain talent they must provide paths through which employees can progress in their career, often measured in promotions and raises.

For example, according to a Jobslist survey, 72% of respondents believe they

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Professional Coaching: The Key To Talent Retention

goals, they can be a powerful force for shifting attitudes and behaviors far beyond those of standard training programs.

For some employers, this may turn into breakthroughs in the creation of a better working environment and improved retention for employees of various backgrounds.

A Culture of Coaching

Coaching was once reserved for the C-suite, but is increasingly recognized as important at all levels, especially for the people leaders, who are the main connection to the company for employees in a world of hybrid work. If business leaders — from C-suite executives to managers, to supervisors — are receiving coaching, they begin to build a ‘culture of coaching’ where leaders are committed to self-awareness, curiosity and continuous learning.

This in turn can be the catalyst for a company-wide culture that is receptive to coaching, encouraging each member of the organization to accept challenges to grow, develop and improve their own performance.

Company Adaptability

One could argue the most important benefit of coaching is it will enhance a company’s ability to adapt and grow.

If everyone, from C-suite to entry-level, is working to become a better human, a shift in culture to one that is more inclusive,

collaborative and productive is almost inevitable.

For example, coaching may help employers successfully deploy the benefits of better work-life balance. As much of the workforce is now working from home, it is harder for some to establish a separation between work and home, leading to an increased likelihood of burnout.

A successful coaching program can help employees at all levels be more aware of the dangers of burnout and highlight changes to mindset and behaviors that will support improvements in work-life balance. As more employees model these solutions, it could encourage an environment with less burnout and stress, where everyone feels able to do their best work.

Coaching can, and even should, align to and support any key initiatives in the organization, helping to enact change where it is needed. When coaching programs are informed by strategic objectives, such as diversity, equity and inclusion

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37

Creating an Environment Where Employees Can Stay and Thrive

It should be every company’s goal to create an environment, where their employees want to stay, grow, and contribute to company objectives.

This is not impossible unless each member of the company is growing, both personally and professionally, every day.

Once companies unlock the benefits of coaching they will notice an increase in not only talent retention, but also an improved company culture where employees are empowered to give and receive feedback, invest in relationships and build enduring trust within a team environment.

Cameron Yarbrough is CEO of Torch.

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