Training and coaching: Soft skills important for every employee

Tashon Ziara

If you're a growing company faced with the prospect of recruiting new talent, you've probably noticed that it's a very competitive world out there. The reality right now — and most likely for years to come — is that it's an employee's job market.

"That's why investing in the training, coaching and mentoring of staff to ensure that they are equipped with the most current tools to do their job is in the best interests of every employer," says Andrew d'Eça, general manager of Angus One Professional Recruitment Ltd. "If you haven't built that cost into your business, you need to do it."

Investing in your employees is also a good way to show them that you are interested in advancing their goals as well as your own.

"Not only does it keep them stimulated and help to build self-esteem," says d'Eça, "they will also respect you for empowering them and as a result, they will be better prepared to meet the needs of your customer and less likely to be lured away by a competitor."

According to d'Eça, responsibility for seeking out the latest information and training lies with the employer, not the employee, and Angus One's certified professional consultants often assist client organizations in this regard.

"That's just one of the reasons why we sponsor the workshop series at the BC Human Resource Management Association (BCHRMA)," explains d'Eça. "BCHRMA is a great resource for businesses of all sizes. In addition to their workshops and seminars, they also host industry roundtables and networking events and run a mentoring program."

When it comes to training, d'Eça urges employers to not just focus on the technical skills. "The soft skills make a lot of difference, no matter what job a person does within the organization," says d'Eça. "Everyone needs to have people skills, negotiating skills and customer service skills, and depending on the position, we place a lot of emphasis on these skills when evaluating candidates. In fact, we can put up to a 75 per cent weighting on soft skills."

Just as soft skills are often overlooked in favour of technical expertise, so too are mature workers passed over for their younger counterparts.

"Interestingly, our mature candidates are the ones who have the best soft skills, and yet many of the businesses that are struggling to find employees just aren't tapping into the mature market and it's to their own detriment. This is particularly true of the retail sector where the demand for customer service staff is booming."

For more information, visit www.angusone.com.