Developing soft skills will be fundamental to the advancement of technology

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

It is time to prepare and train, especially in soft skills, because in a few years technology will take care of developing more than 50% of professionals' tasks.

Combining the development of human 'soft skills' that machines cannot develop such as communication, empathy, or the desire to learn, with more technical skills, is key to the future of organizations.

The technological development of the last decades has brought unprecedented changes in the workplace and organizations. New jobs, new generations of 100% digital employees and new automated and cloud workspaces have emerged. A revolution that - far from disappearing - will continue to grow steadily over the next few years: according to the World Economic Forum by 2025, technology will be responsible for developing more than 50% of the tasks of professionals. Given this perspective, the development of soft skills that machines cannot learn, in combination with more technical or digital skills, has become a key piece to face the future challenges that organizations face.

What are the essential social skills and competences for 2020?

B-Talent, the technology company for skills and business training, lists these 4 areas of knowledge to promote the social or ‘human’ development of internal talent in organizations.

1. Communication

Having professionals who know how to communicate effectively improves relationships within the team and facilitates the achievement of objectives. Empathic listening, assertiveness or knowing how to speak in public are some of the competencies that can be developed to improve the effectiveness of your verbal and non-verbal communication.

2. Leadership and management

Knowing how to adapt to the different profiles of workers, motivate, communicate, supervise, control and guide are some of the key skills and competencies to lead and manage teams efficiently. The professionals who develop these leadership and management skills learn not only to enhance their own talent, but also that of their collaborators.

3. Emotional intelligence

As stated by David Goleman, a renowned American researcher, psychologist and journalist, 70-80% of success in adulthood comes from emotional intelligence. Knowing one's emotions, that of collaborators and learning to manage them, helps identify triggers that can affect team performance. By promoting emotional intelligence habits, conflicts, misunderstandings, insecurities or fears are avoided, however gaining confidence and security.

4. Personal development

Having a team with a constant learning mindset is an added value for any organization. How to get it? Through the promotion of creativity and innovation or the implementation of agile learning systems such as Learning Agility, it is possible to promote guidelines that promote the self-development and self-motivation of professionals.

What happens to soft skills of a technological nature?

As indicated by B-Talent, in addition to developing "soft" skills, it is essential to promote the development of technical or digital skills to convert internal talent into the transformation engine of any company.

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