Demand for soft skills soars in the face of increased automation and AI

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

As new technologies automate more traditional and routine tasks, executives and employees recognize that Emotional Intelligence (EI) skills, such as self-awareness, self-management, awareness - also known as "soft skills" are still a major imperative in the industry.

Social and relationship management will be a key requirement for success in the coming years.

While the demand for EI capabilities will increase six times in the next three to five years, recruitment and training in this area has not been able to adapt, resulting in the inability of many companies to obtain the benefits soft skills offer in terms of satisfaction of employees, income generation, less wear, and cost reduction. The report "Emotional intelligence: set of essential skills for the era of AI" of the Capgemini Research Institute provides a global vision of how companies perceive EI and recommends that they combine technology with talent to develop relevant skills among their employees.

The main findings of the report include:

As AI and automation accelerate, emotional intelligence is becoming an essential competence

In the face of the automation of more traditional and routine tasks, organizations value EI's skills more, from self-awareness to relationship and communication management. Executives noted that employees need to develop EI skills to be able to adapt to more customer-oriented roles (76%) and take on tasks that require EI capabilities that cannot be automated (also 76%) such as empathy, influence and work.

61% of executives surveyed mentioned that emotional intelligence will become an "essential" skill within the next five years and 41% of employees without supervisory functions share this point of view. Overall, 83% of organizations noted that an emotionally intelligent workforce will be a prerequisite for success in subsequent years.

Nervousness among employees due to the impact of automation and AI on the relevance of their skills

The proportion of employees who believe their skills are or will be redundant due to automation and artificial intelligence has increased by 10 percent in two years. In general, the percentage of employees who believe their skills are or will be redundant in the next two to three years has increased from 30% to 39%. In addition, the proportion of millennials who share this feeling has increased from 40% to 50%. Obviously, millennials are aware of the impact of automation and AI, and are increasingly worried because they believe they will absorb the maximum impact of automation.

Organizations with an emotionally intelligent workforce are capitalizing on the benefits

Organizations that have employees with high emotional intelligence are seeing significant benefits. On average, 60% of the organizations surveyed saw benefits of 20% by having employees who displayed high EI. The main quantitative benefits include: higher productivity, greater employee satisfaction and greater market share.

The study estimates that organizations that make a sustained investment in EI will have an investment return of between 2.2x and 4.4x when their effects on income, productivity, costs and attrition are contemplated.

“Consider mathematical ability. Each of us is born with a certain ability to work with mathematics, but if we do not take courses at school dedicated to teaching subjects such as algebra, we will have little capacity to find ways to manipulate variables and equations for ourselves. Similarly, with emotional intelligence there is a certain amount of teaching and mentoring that can be useful. We can acquire knowledge in the area to increase the effectiveness with which people apply their intelligence."

Dr. John Mayer, professor of psychology, University of New Hampshire

Personnel processes in organizations have not adapted to face the age of machines, especially for employees without supervisory functions

While 75% of organizations indicating that they can develop EI skills in their employees, the vast majority of them are still not providing relevant training to contribute to achieving that goal. Only 42% of organizations provide training for senior management and leadership, decreasing to 32% for middle management and only 17% for employees without supervisory functions. Although employees in unsupervised roles are the most likely to be affected by automation, less than 40% of organizations value EI skills during hiring or evaluate these skills in their existing employees in non-supervisory positions.

The report concludes that companies need to integrate EI into their various personnel practices and adopt ascending and descending approaches to create a high EI-level workforce through modifications to existing processes. Organizations should also create a culture that values ​​EI and strives for continuous improvement. It highlights four key areas in which organizations should focus to build a more emotionally intelligent workforce:

• Customize existing learning programs to integrate EI and make them accessible to all
• Modify recruitment processes to include EI evaluation
• Apply an IE approach by promoting and rewarding talent
• Use technology and data to create a strong EI culture

"Companies are increasingly aware of the need for emotional intelligence skills, but they don't move fast enough to invest in them," said Claudia Crummenerl, global leader in practices, people and organization at Capgemini Invent. “This new study shows both the need for EI as routine tasks are automated, as well as the benefits that companies can obtain by having an emotionally intelligent workforce. The experience of the most successful companies in this regard shows that organizations must prioritize EI in recruitment, training and culture to build a resilient team in a changing world."

This article was written and published in Spanish and has been translated into English via Google Translate. Click here to read the original article.

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